Pine 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 ...

of the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exte ...

Potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

, Tioga, Lycoming, and Clinton counties 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, ...

. The creek is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 8, 2011 Within Tioga County, of Pine Creek are designated as a Pennsylvania Scenic River. Pine Creek is the largest tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River and has the largest watershed of all the West Branch’s tributaries.

Name

Pine Creek is named for the many

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees that lined (and now again line) much of its banks. 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 ...

called Pine Creek ''Tiadaghton'', which according to Owlett, either meant "The River of Pines" or "The Lost or Bewildered River". Pine Creek is the largest "creek" in the United States.

Geography

Pine Creek's source is in Potter County, southeast of

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

. It flows southeast to Galeton, where it receives its first major tributary, the

West Branch Pine Creek West Branch Pine Creek is a tributary of Pine Creek in Potter County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Summit Township, West Branch Township, and Galeton. Course West Branch Pine Creek begins in ...

. It then flows east to Tioga County and the village of Ansonia. Here it receives its second major tributary, Marsh Creek, and turns south again for . This stretch is the start of the

Pine Creek Gorge Pine Creek Gorge, sometimes called The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is a gorge carved into the Allegheny Plateau by Pine Creek in north-central Pennsylvania. It sits in about of the Tioga State Forest. The canyon begins south of Ansonia, nea ...

, which is about deep in places. left, upPine Creek At the village of

Blackwell Blackwell may refer to: Places ;Canada * Blackwell, Ontario ;United Kingdom * Blackwell, County Durham, England * Blackwell, Carlisle, Cumbria, England * Blackwell (historic house), South Lakeland, Cumbria, England * Blackwell, Bolsover, Alfre ...

, Pine Creek receives its third major tributary, Babb Creek. It continues southwest and enters Lycoming County, where it turns southeast for to its mouth. At Waterville it receives its fourth major tributary,

Little Pine Creek Little Pine Creek is a tributary of Pine Creek in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Pine Township and Cummings Township. Course Little Pine Creek begins at the confluence of Texas C ...

. Pine Creek continues south and forms part of the border between Lycoming and Clinton counties. Its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the West Branch Susquehanna River is at this border, between the boroughs of

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

(in Clinton County, to the west) and

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

(in Lycoming County, to the east). The elevation at the source of Pine Creek is , while the mouth is at an elevation of . The difference in elevation——divided by the length of the creek——gives an average drop or relief ratio of 22.0 ft/mi (4.2 m/km ). The meander ratio is 1.08, so the creek is fairly straight in its bed.

Watershed

Pine Creek's watershed covers , the largest watershed of all tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River.

Recreation

Pine Creek and

(also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania) are a popular outdoor recreation destination. The West Rim Trail is a hiking trail along the west rim of the Pine Creek Gorge. The

Pine Creek Rail Trail The Pine Creek Rail Trail is a rail trail in the Appalachian Mountains of north-central Pennsylvania. The trail begins just north of Wellsboro, runs south through Pine Creek Gorge (also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania) and ends at J ...

runs beside the creek through the gorge from Ansonia to Jersey Shore. The railroad through the gorge opened in 1883 as the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway, passing into the control of the Fall Brook Coal Company in 1884, and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

via a lease in 1899, with full integration into the NYC in 1914.

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

took over the line in 1976, and the last train ran through the gorge on October 7, 1988.

History

The

Fair Play Men The Fair Play Men were illegal settlers (squatters) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley of Pennsylvania in what is now the United States. Because they settled in territory cla ...

were illegal

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s ( squatters) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the

valley of

in what is now the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Because they settled in territory claimed by Native Americans, they had no recourse to the Pennsylvania colonial government. Accordingly, they established what was known as the Fair Play System, with three elected commissioners who ruled on land claims and other issues for the group. In a remarkable coincidence, the Fair Play Men made their own

declaration of independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

on July 4, 1776, beneath the "Tiadaghton Elm" on the west bank of Pine Creek, very near the mouth.

Bridges

* The Bridge in Porter Township was built in 1889. * The

Bridge in Brown Township Bridge in Brown Township is a historic lattice truss bridge spanning Pine Creek at PA 414 in Brown Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1890, by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut. The bridge measures ...

was built in 1890. * The

English Center Suspension Bridge English Center Suspension Bridge is a historic suspension bridge spanning Pine Creek (Pennsylvania), Little Pine Creek in Pine Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Pine Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1891 and has a si ...

was built in 1891.

References

External links