Penns Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 8, 2011

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 central

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.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. The creek was called the Kaarondinhah by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

who were in possession of the Susquehanna Valley from the mid-17th to the mid-18th centuries. Between 1754, when the Iroquois sold most of the Susquehanna Valley including the creek to the provincial government of Pennsylvania, and 1772, it was called both Big Mahany and John Penn's Creek (after the younger brother of Pennsylvania founder

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

) by the European settlers who moved there. Penns Creek drains a watershed of approximately in Snyder,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and Centre counties. It flows from its headwaters north of Spring Mills to the Susquehanna River, approximately downstream of Selinsgrove. A large spring within

Penn's Cave Penn's Cave House is a historic structure, once used as a hotel from 1885 until 1919. It is located on the property of Penn's Cave & Wildlife Park at Gregg Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is now used strictly for offices for Penn's Cave, ...

, a commercial cave that offers guided tours by boat, forms one source for this limestone creek. The upper reaches of Penns Creek offer some of the best trout

flyfishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

in the Northeast, with a Green Drake hatch occurring in late May that is one of the largest in the world. Additional Hendricksons, Sulphurs, and Tricos also attract anglers. As the water travels towards the Susquehanna, the temperatures gradually warm to levels best suited for

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to any ...

Tributaries

(In order heading downstream) * Sinking Creek * Elk Creek * Pine Creek * Middle Creek

Environmental issues

Ongoing pollution and soil erosion in the region continue to degrade the water quality and the environment locally as well as regionally. Farming, surface mining, wastewater treatment facilities and industrial spills are cited as contributing factors to loss of water quality. It also contributes to the pollution of the

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 ...

. Controlling the wastewater discharges alone is expected to cost local taxpayers millions of dollars.

Organizations

The Lower Penns Creek Watershed Association (LPCWA), the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, and the

Susquehanna River Basin Commission The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) is a federal-interstate compact commission created by the Susquehanna River Basin Compact (Pub. L. 91-575) between three U.S states: (Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland), and the federal government, a ...

are organizations concerned with Penns Creek. The Snyder County Conservation District and the Union County Conservation District both have watershed specialists that participate in LPCWA.

References

*Inch, Bill. ''A Bi-Centennial Look at Penns Creek Through the Years 1806–2006'', The Country Print Shop, Middleburg, Pa., 2006.

External links

Penns CaveU.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
{{authority control Rivers of Centre County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Snyder County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Union County, Pennsylvania

Tributaries

Environmental issues

Organizations

See also

References

External links