Meredith Brook 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 Lackawanna River in

Susquehanna County Susquehanna County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,434 Its county seat is Montrose. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from part ...

, Lackawanna County, and Wayne County, in

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. It is approximately long and flows through Forest City and Clifford Township in Susquehanna County, Vandling in Lackawanna County, and Clinton Township in Wayne County. In the early 1900s, the stream was clear in its lower reaches despite receiving water from a borehole and culm banks. There are two shallow lakes in the watershed: Lake Erie and Kennedy Pond. Various fish inhabit the lakes.

Course

Meredith Brook begins in a lake in Forest City. It flows southwest for several hundred feet, almost immediately entering Clifford Township. The stream then turns south for a short distance, crossing Pennsylvania Route 247 before turning east and reentering Forest City. In Forest City, it passes through another lake and reenters Clifford Township. From the southwestern end of the lake, the stream flows southwest for a few hundred feet before turning south-southeast for a short distance, exiting Susquehanna County and entering Vandling, in Lackawanna County. Upon entering Vandling, it turns east and then northeast, reentering Forest City and Susquehanna County after a few tenths of a mile. Once in Forest City, it turns east for a short distance before turning north-northeast. After a short distance, the stream crosses Pennsylvania Route 171 and turns east-northeast. A short distance further downstream, it reaches its confluence with the Lackawanna River. Meredith Brook joins the Lackawanna River upriver of its mouth.

Hydrology

In the early 1900s, Meredith Brook was clear in its lower reaches. However, water from some culm banks at the Forest City Colliery drained into the stream. Mine water from a borehole was also pumped directly into the stream. However, the stream was free of pollution of any variety upstream of the No. 2 Shaft.

Geography and geology

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 Meredith Brook 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 stream's source is between above sea level. In the early 1900s, Meredith Brook was troughed under mining railroad tracks or rock and culm banks in some reaches. However, its

streambed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood st ...

was in good condition and free of debris. The steam's

streambank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

s were "well-formed", preventing wash. It is a small tributary stream.

Watershed and biology

Meredith Brook is entirely within 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 Forest City. The stream flows through three counties.

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the watershed of Meredith Brook include Kennedy Pond and Lake Erie, both of which are in the western part of the borough of Forest City. Both lakes are fairly shallow, with an average depth of around , but Lake Erie is three times larger. Meredith Brook is a

first-order In mathematics and other formal sciences, first-order or first order most often means either: * "linear" (a polynomial of degree at most one), as in first-order approximation and other calculus uses, where it is contrasted with "polynomials of high ...

stream. In the early 1900s, a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on the stream was owned by the Pennsylvania Coal Company and used to supply

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

. Panfish occur within Kennedy Pond, in the watershed of Meredith Brook. Such fish also occur in Lake Erie, as do pickerel and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

History

Meredith Brook 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 January 1, 1990. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1202341.

References