North Mahanoy 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 ...

Mahanoy Creek Mahanoy Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northumberland and Schuylkill counties, Pennsylvania. There are ...

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Schuylkill County (, ; Pennsylvania Dutch: Schulkill Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the heart of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the popula ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Delano Township, Mahanoy Township, and

Mahanoy City Mahanoy City (pronounced MAHA-noy, also MA-noy locally) is a borough located southwest of Wilkes-Barre and 13 miles southwest of Hazleton, in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Coal Region of Pennsylvania and is located e ...

. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek is designated as an impaired waterbody due to sedimentation/siltation and water/flow variation from

abandoned mine drainage Abandoned mine drainage (also known as AMD) is a form of water pollution involving water that has been polluted by contact with mines, typically coal mines. Although it is sometimes called "acid mine drainage", not all abandoned mine drainage i ...

. The creek is relatively small, an

ephemeral stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...

in its lower reaches, and is located within the

Western Middle Anthracite Field The Western Middle Anthracite Field is a large basin containing veins of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania. The region is in the Appalachian Mountains and is the third-largest anthracite field in the anthracite region in Eastern Pennsylvania behind ...

. The watershed of North Mahanoy Creek is in the upper part of the Mahanoy Creek drainage basin. It is one of the major tributaries of Mahanoy Creek. A number of bridge have been constructed over North Mahanoy Creek. The creek's watershed is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It has a few

macroinvertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate s ...

taxa, but no fish. However, 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 reproduce in two of its unnamed tributaries.

Course

North Mahanoy Creek begins on Bear Head in Delano Township. It flows southwest for a few tenths of a mile before turning south and flowing along the border of the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * De ...

. The creek then enters a valley and turns west-southwest for a few miles, almost immediately entering Mahanoy Township. Further downstream, it receives three unnamed tributaries 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 turns southwest for several tenths of a mile, receiving another unnamed tributary from the right before turning south and then south-southeast. It then turns southwest for several tenths of a mile, entering Mahanoy City and reaching its confluence with Mahanoy Creek. North Mahanoy Creek joins Mahanoy Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

North Mahanoy Creek has no named tributaries. However, it does have a number of unnamed tributaries. Two of these are known unofficially as "Pole Run" and "Cold Run". Their lengths are , respectively.

Hydrology

North Mahanoy Creek is designated as an impaired waterbody. The causes of impairment are

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

and water/flow variation and the likely source of impairment is

. The creek loses most or all of its flow to underground mines. The lower reaches of the creek are

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

due to this flow loss. The discharge of North Mahanoy Creek at its mouth was in March 2001 and in August 2001. In March 2001, the concentration of

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

was . The pH was 5.6 and the net

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 ...

concentration was . The concentration of

water hardness Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...

was . In late March 2001, the water temperature of the creek was measured to be . The

specific conductance Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allow ...

of the creek's water was 54 micro-siemens per centimeter at . In March 2001, the concentration of dissolved

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

in North Mahanoy Creek at its mouth was . The concentrations of dissolved

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

were , respectively. The concentrations of recoverable

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

and

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

were , respectively. The concentrations of recoverable

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

and

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

were , respectively. In March 2001, the dissolved

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...

concentration at the mouth of North Mahanoy Creek was and the dissolved

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

concentration was . The concentration of dissolved

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

s was . The concentration of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

was measured to be .

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 Mahanoy 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 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 above sea level. The creek is a relatively small stream, being approximately a few feet wide in the late 1800s. North Mahanoy Creek is situated entirely within the

, where

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

was extensively mined between 1840 and 1950. There are relatively large

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

piles in the vicinity of the creek. The landscape in the creek's vicinity is scarred by past mining operations, but there are no large abandoned mine drainage discharges in its watershed. There are still mining operations and abandoned mine lands in the watershed. The headwaters of North Mahanoy Creek are in unpolluted springs and surface runoff near Locust Mountain. However,

strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

has caused significant disruption to the watershed. A coal basin known as the North Mahanoy Basin is in the vicinity of the 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 Mahanoy 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 Shenandoah. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Delano. The creek is one of the major tributaries of Mahanoy Creek. The designated use of North Mahanoy Creek is

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two ...

. The creek's watershed is in the uppermost part of the Mahanoy Creek drainage basin. There are a number of lakes and/or ponds in the watershed of North Mahanoy Creek.

History

North Mahanoy 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 1193047. By the late 1800s, walls high had been built on both sides of North Mahanoy Creek to keep its waters in. It was alleged during a case in the late 1800s that waste from a nearby

gas works A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

was being discharged into the creek. In the early 1900s, numerous private sewers discharged into North Mahanoy Creek. A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying Park Place Road over North Mahanoy Creek was built in 1960 and is long. Another bridge of the same type, and carrying the same road was built across the creek in 1961 and is long. As of 2015, the Gilberton Coal Company has a permit for surface mine renewal, reprocessing of coal waste, and refuse disposal in in Mahanoy Township; the receiving stream is North Mahanoy Creek.

Biology

The drainage basin of North Mahanoy Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. In 2001, no fish were observed in at the mouth of the creek. However,

s were observed there. Wild

naturally reproduce in two unnamed tributaries of the creek. In 2001, a total of five macroinvertebrate taxa were observed on North Mahanoy Creek. The taxa ''

Chironomidae The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species ...

'' and ''

Simuliidae A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

'' were classified as "common", with 10 to 24 individuals being observed. The taxa ''

Limnephilidae __NOTOC__ Limnephilidae is a family of caddisflies with about 100 genera. They belong to the main lineage of case-constructing caddisflies, the Integripalpia or tube-case caddisflies. The Limnephilidae is one of the most species-rich Trichoptera f ...

'' and ''

Rhyacophilidae The Rhyacophilidae are a family in the insect order of Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can ...

'' were classified as "present", with 3 to 9 individuals being observed. ''

Oligochaeta Oligochaeta () is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworm ...

'' was classified as "rare", with only one or two individuals being observed. In 2001, the family-level

Hilsenhoff Biotic Index The Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI) is a quantitative method of evaluating the abundance of arthropod fauna in stream ecosystems as a measurement of estimating water quality based on the predetermined pollution tolerances of the observed taxa. This bi ...

value of North Mahanoy Creek at its mouth was 5.24.

References

External links

USGS 0155521049 North Mahanoy Creek at Mahanoy City, PA
{{authority control Rivers of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Mahanoy Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania