Pancoast Creek (also known as Trib 28544 Of Lackawanna River) 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 Price Creek in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Dickson City. The watershed of the creek has an area of . Part of the watershed is on coal measures. The creek was historically affected by streams of surface water and sewage. A number of wetlands are in the creek's vicinity.

Course

Pancoast Creek begins on Bell Mountain in Dickson City. It flows nearly due south for about a mile and receives an unnamed tributary 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 ...

before turning south-southwest. The creek then turns southeast for several tenths of a mile before reaching its confluence with Price Creek.

Hydrology

In the early 1900s, Pancoast Creek was clear of culm from its source downstream to its mouth unlike Price Creek, into which it flows. However, Pancoast Creek was discolored by streams of surface water and

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

. The borough of Dickson City once applied for a permit to discharge

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

into the creek. A mid-20th-century report estimated that the rate of surface water seepage into mine workings at Pancoast Creek was 6.24 gallons per minute per inch of rain. The estimated rate of

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 ...

seepage into mine workings was 3.49 gallons per minute per inch of rain.

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 Pancoast 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 is between above sea level. A mid-20th-century report found that a total of of the watershed of Pancoast Creek was on

coal measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...

. The report found that approximately of the creek's length were on coal measures. There are several

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 ...

patches near Pancoast Creek. A 100 year

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 ...

is also present near the creek's middle reaches. The creek crosses a number of streets and roads, including a spur of U.S. Route 6.

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 Pancoast Creek has an area of . The mouth of Pancoast 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 Olyphant. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Scranton. Pancoast Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery.

History

Pancoast 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 January 1, 1990. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1202414. The creek was added because of its presence in Patton's Philadelphia and Suburbs Street and Road Map, which was published in 1984. The creek is also known as "Trib 28544 Of Lackawanna River".

References