Lick Branch is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of Huntington Creek in

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township and Fairmount Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of and has no tributaries. The stream is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be

Class A Wild Trout Waters Class A Wild Trout Waters are the highest biomass class given to streams in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. They are considered to contain the highest-quality naturally reproducing trout populations in Pennsylvania. Th ...

for brook trout throughout its entire length. Glacial till, alluvium, and wetlands can be found in its vicinity.

Course

Lick Branch begins in a steep valley in the foothills of North Mountain, just south of

Pennsylvania Route 118 Pennsylvania Route 118 (PA 118) is a state route located in northeastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at PA 405 in Hughesville. The eastern terminus is at PA 415 in Dallas. The road is known briefly as East Wa ...

in western Ross Township. The stream flows southwest and enters Fairmount Township. In Fairmount Township, it turns south and then south-southeast, reentering Ross Township and its valley deepens. In Ross Township, the stream continues flowing south-southwest for more than a mile, while its valley deepens. It then turns southeast and then south, leaving the valley and reaching its confluence with Huntington Creek. Lick Branch joins Huntington Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Lick Branch has no tributaries, named or unnamed.

Hydrology, geography, and geology

The concentration of

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of ...

in the waters of Lick Branch is 9 milligrams per liter. The elevation near the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Lick Branch is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The elevation of the creek's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

is between above sea level. Most of the length of Lick Branch is on Wisconsinan

Till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

. Most of the till in the vicinity of the stream is expected to be more than thick. Near the stream's mouth and also a few areas in its middle reaches, there are areas of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

. In the valley of the stream, the alluvium is approximately . Nearer to the valley of Huntington Creek, the alluvium is thick or more. Additionally, there is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

in the stream's upper reaches.

Phillips Creek Phillips Creek (also known as Philips Creek) is a tributary of Huntington Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Fairmount Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of and ...

attempted to flow down the valley of Lick Branch prior to the glaciation of the area. However, a mass of till under Pennsylvania Route 118 diverted it to its present course.

Watershed

The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Lick Branch has an area of . Both the mouth and the source of the stream are in the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

quadrangle of Sweet Valley. A total of 3 percent of the stream's length is on public land. The remaining 97 percent is in

private land Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

that is closed to the public.

History

Lick Branch has had its name since at least 1958, when it was on a map created by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. The stream was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1179276. The stream was designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in 1999.

Biology

Lick Branch is considered by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

between its headwaters and its mouth. The stream is one of six direct tributaries of Huntington Creek to be designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters. The others are

Mitchler Run Mitchler Run is a tributary of Huntington Creek (Pennsylvania), Huntington Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Ross Township. The wat ...

, Shingle Run, Arnold Creek,

, and part of Kitchen Creek.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Fishing Creek (North Branch Susquehanna River) Rivers of Pennsylvania