North Branch Mehoopany Creek (also known as North Fork Mehoopany Creek or North Branch Mehoppany 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 ...

Mehoopany Creek Mehoopany Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Sullivan and Wyoming counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long. In Sullivan County the creek flows through Colley Township and in Wyoming County it flows thr ...

in Bradford County, Sullivan County, and Wyoming 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 Wilmot Township in Bradford County, Colley Township in Sullivan County, and North Branch Township and Forkston Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek has eight named direct tributaries, including hollows. In the 1940s and 1950s, the average discharge for September was found to be just , but was found to be over for July and August. North Branch Mehoopany Creek has a deep, narrow valley, with "rough and hilly" topography. The upper reaches of the creek's watershed contain swamps and small lakes. Although forested land is the most prevalent

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

in the creek's watershed, agricultural land is also present. A number of bridges have been constructed over the creek. Its watershed is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The creek has wild

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 ...

naturally reproducing within it.

Course

North Branch Mehoopany Creek begins in Wilmot Township, Bradford County. It flows south for several tenths of a mile, flowing through an unnamed lake, before turning southwest and then south-southeast, entering Colley Township, Sullivan County and crossing

Pennsylvania Route 87 Pennsylvania Route 87 (PA 87) is a north–south state highway located in northern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at exit 21 of Interstate 180 (I-180)/U.S. Route 220 (US 220) in Montoursville. The northern terminus is a ...

. After several tenths of a mile, the creek turns east-southeast for several tenths of a mile before receiving the tributary Wolf Run from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

. It then meanders south for a few tenths of a mile to receive the tributary Smith Cabin Run from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

. The creek then flows east, continuing to follow Pennsylvania Route 87. After more than a mile, it turns southeast and then east again for several tenths of a mile. It then turns northeast for several tenths of a mile, receiving the tributary Barnes Brook from the right and the tributary Scotia Brook from the left and turning east. North Branch Mehoopany Creek then enters North Branch Township, Wyoming County and flows east-northeast for a few miles, still following Pennsylvania Route 87. It receives the tributary Miller Brook from the left and then turns east-southeast for more than a mile, receiving the tributaries Burgess Brook from the left and Douglas Hollow from the right. The creek then turns east-northeast and enters Forkston Township, where it turns east-northeast. After several tenths of a mile, it turns east for several tenths of a mile, receiving the tributary Farr Hollow from the left and turning south. A short distance further downstream, the creek reaches its confluence with Mehoopany Creek. North Branch Mehoopany Creek is approximately long. The creek joins Mehoopany Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology and climate

Between 1942 and 1958, the average annual

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

of North Branch Mehoopany Creek near Lovelton ranged from in 1954 to in 1948. Between December 1940 and September 1958, the months of the year with the highest average discharge were April and March, with discharges of , respectively. The months of the year with the lowest average discharge were September and July, with discharges of . The highest average discharge for an individual month was , which occurred in April 1958. The lowest was , which occurred in September 1941. In the early 1900s, the average annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek is .

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 North Branch Mehoopany Creek 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 near 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 above sea level. The topography of the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek has been described as "rough and hilly". The creek has a deep and narrow valley flanked by steep hills. In the early 1900s, the creek's valley was noted to be very fertile. Near the headwaters, there are

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and small lakes. The creek has a

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

that is

sinuous Sinuosity, sinuosity index, or sinuosity coefficient of a continuously differentiable curve having at least one inflection point is the ratio of the curvilinear length (along the curve) and the Euclidean distance (straight line) between the ...

and flows through

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

s consisting of

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) ...

and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

in the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek consists entirely of

. The Arnot-Oquaga-Dystrochrepts soil association occurs between North Branch Mehoopany Creek and Mehoopany Creek. In the 2000s, accelerated erosion of

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 and lateral shifting were identified at five locations on North Branch Mehoopany Creek. This was caused by man-made alterations after

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in 1972 and other flooding events, as well as

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

in the creek. Remedying this would reduce the

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 ...

load of Mehoopany Creek.

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 North Branch Mehoopany Creek has an area of . The mouth of the creek is 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 Forkston. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Meshoppen. The creek's mouth is located within of Forkston. There are of streams within the creek's watershed. The watershed of the creek occupies parts of Wyoming County, Sullivan County, and Bradford County. There is a pond known as Saxe Pond in the upper reaches of the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek. The pond has a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

in Wilmot Township, Bradford County.

runs alongside the creek for much of its length. There is a

stream gage A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

on the creek near Lovelton, at an elevation of above sea level. The creek drains an area of at this point. The main

in the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek is forested land, but there are significant areas of agricultural land as well. The watershed of the creek contains 10 drilled wells and another 14 permitted wells. North Branch Mehoopany Creek is the largest tributary of Mehoopany Creek, forming approximately a third of the creek's watershed.

History

North Branch Mehoopany Creek 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 1193036. The creek is also known as North Fork Mehoopany Creek and North Fork Mehoppany Creek. The latter variant name appears in a 1983 county highway map created by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

. However, in 1969,

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

Ronald W. Hurs was unable to find any evidence that locals referred to the creek as "North Fork Mehoopany Creek". Deeds dating back to about 100 years before that all called the creek "North Branch Mehoopany Creek". North Branch Township probably takes its name from the creek. The first road in North Branch Township, Wyoming County was built from Forkston up the valley of North Branch Mehoopany Creek. In the early 1900s, the main industry in the watershed of North Branch Mehoopany Creek was

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Major communities in the creek's watershed at the time included Lovelton, with 136 people, and Colley, with 75 people. The creek was used as water power for a

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 ...

at Lovelton in the early 1900s. A two-span prestressed box beam or girders bridge carrying State Route 3001 over North Branch Mehoopany Creek was built in Forkston Township, Wyoming County in 1987 and is long. A steel stinger/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying T-410 over the creek was built in Colley Township, Sullivan County in 1925 and is long. In 1973, a 21-year-old man drowned in North Branch Mehoopany Creek. When the Mehoopany and Little Mehoopany Creek Watershed Assessment was completed by Borton-Lawson in 2003, North Branch Mehoopany Creek was identified as "problem area" in need of restoration. However, by 2013, projects were being done to stabilize the banks of the creek. The

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) is an anti-nuclear organization which focuses on the environmental safety of nuclear weapons production, ozone layer depletion, and other issues relating to energy In physics, e ...

was planning on installing a real-time continuous monitor on the creek, but flooding has made these plans uncertain.

Biology

Wild

naturally reproduce in North Branch Mehoopany Creek from its upper reaches downstream to its mouth. The drainage basin of the creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. A total of of streams in the creek's watershed are designated a Natural Trout Reproduction, while are Trout Stocked. In the 1980s, the creek was noted to be best for trout fishing in the early part of the season. North Branch Mehoopany Creek is stocked with

. In the 1980s, it was stocked with

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 ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

, and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

. Stocking occurs in both Wyoming County and Sullivan County. In the 2000s, a total of 31 species of fish were observed in the creek, including

darters The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...

dace A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily ...

s, suckers, and

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

s. North Branch Mehoopany Creek is too small to support viable

hellbender The hellbender (''Cryptobranchus alleganiensis''), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of th ...

populations, even at its mouth.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Map of the North Branch Mehoopany Creek watershed
Rivers of Bradford County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Mehoopany Creek