Mahantango Creek (also known as Mahantongo Creek) 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 the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

in Snyder and Juniata counties,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the United States. Its name comes from a Delaware Indian word meaning "where we had plenty to eat". The creek flows along the border between Snyder County and Juniata County. Historically, numerous

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

s have been built on the creek. The first inhabitants of the area arrived in the late 1700s. In the 1750s, Peter and Michael Shaffer had land grants along and near the mouth of Mahantango Creek. They were both farmers, Michael also had a lumber mill and a distillery. The watershed of the creek has an area of .

Trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

inhabit the tributaries of Mahantango Creek, but not the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

. Smallmouth bass, however, may inhabit Mahantango Creek itself.

Course

Mahantango Creek begins at the border between Perry Township, Snyder County, Chapman Township, Snyder County, and Susquehanna Township, Juniata County. The creek's headwaters are at the confluence of

North Branch Mahantango Creek North Branch Mahantango Creek is a tributary of Mahantango Creek in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is long and flows through West Perry Township, Perry Township, and Chapman Township. The creek's mouth is at above sea leve ...

and West Branch Mahantango Creek, near

Pennsylvania Route 104 Pennsylvania Route 104 (PA 104) is a state highway located in Perry, Juniata, Snyder, and Union Counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at US 11/US 15 between McKees Half Falls and Liverpool. The northern terminus is at PA 45 in M ...

. It heads southeast for a short distance and then turns northeast. Shortly afterwards, it turns southeast again, passing by the community of Mahantango. The creek then turns nearly due-south and crosses under U.S. Route 11 and

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

. Shortly afterwards, it reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Mahantango Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth and upstream of

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Tributaries

Mahantango Creek has two named tributaries. These are

and West Branch Mahantango Creek. West Branch Mahantango Creek is long and North Branch Mahantango Creek is long. Both of these tributaries' headwaters are in

Bald Eagle State Park Bald Eagle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Howard, Liberty, and Marion townships in Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir, formed by damming Bald Eagle Creek and ot ...

Hydrology, geography and geology

There is a broken

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

ridge between Richfield and Mahantango Creek. A feature known as McKee's Half Falls is located near the creek's mouth. There are also

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

formations at the mouth of the creek. A rock formation known as the Marcellus black

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

forms visible outcrops at the headwaters of the creek. Mahantango Creek forms part of the border between Snyder County and Juniata County. In 2009, a $600,000 project was to alleviate

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...

on Mahantango Creek was carried out. There are also no-till planting practices being done in the creek's watershed to reduce the amount of

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

flowing from it into the Susquehanna River and

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. The water temperature of Mahantango Creek can be as high as .

Watershed

The watershed of Mahantango Creek has an area of . The watershed is located in Snyder County and Juniata County. Parts of the watershed of Mahantango Creek are

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

and is mostly used for agricultural purposes.

History

Mahantango Creek's name comes from the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

word ''mahantongo'', which means "where we had plenty to eat". It was apparently named after a group of Native Americans had a large meal on the creek. George Herrold had a tract of land on the creek in 1765. It is unlikely, but possible, that Peter Shaffer settled on the creek around 1765. Michael Witmer gained access to a tract of land on Mahantango Creek around 1770. In May 1772, there were plans to construct a road from Sunbury to Mahantango Creek. The Mahantongo

Methodist Circuit The organisation of the Methodist Church of Great Britain is based on the principle of connexionalism. This means that British Methodism, from its inception under John Wesley (1703–1791), has always laid strong emphasis on mutual support, in ...

historically included the watershed of the creek. Historically, there were twelve

s and fourteen

s on Mahantango Creek and its tributaries. As late as 1919, there were still a large number of mills in the watershed, including the Old West Perry Mill, producing fermented pear cider, or

perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

, which was built in 1778. In March 1901, flooding and

ice jam Ice jams occur when a topographic feature of the river causes floating river ice to accumulate and impede further progress downstream with the river current. Ice jams can significantly reduce the flow of a river and cause upstream flooding—som ...

s severely damaged a number of bridges over Mahantango Creek. There are two

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

s located on Mahantango Creek near Pennsylvania Route 104. One of them is called the

North Oriental Covered Bridge The North Oriental Covered Bridge, also known as Beaver Covered Bridge, is a historic wooden covered bridge located at Perry Township near Meiserville in Snyder County, Pennsylvania and Susquehanna Township near Oriental in Juniata County, Penn ...

and was built in 1908. The other is known as the Sheaffer Covered Bridge and was built in 1907. Both bridges are

burr arch truss The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered bridge ...

bridges.

Biology

The Mahantango Creek Confluence Pools are a series of small pools located near Mahantango Creek in Susquehanna Township, Juniata County and Snyder County. These pools are surrounded by hardwood forests, which have been somewhat affected by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

. Additionally, there are

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s on the tributary West Branch Mahantango Creek. These are known as the West Branch Mahantango Creek Vernal Pools. Mahantango Creek flows through an area of forest with an area of greater than . Mahantango Creek is not stocked with fish. It is, however, a warmwater community for fish. No

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

inhabit the creek, although it is possible that smallmouth bass inhabit it. However, trout are stocked on the tributary West Branch Mahantango Creek.

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 ...

have inhabited North Branch Mahantango Creek in the past. A barn on the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of Mahantango Creek is inhabited by 30,000

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s. These include little brown myotis bats and

big brown bat The big brown bat (''Eptesicus fuscus'') is a species of vesper bat distributed widely throughout North America, the Caribbean, and the northern portion of South America. It was first described as a species in 1796. Compared to other microbat ...

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
{{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Snyder County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Juniata County, Pennsylvania