Raccoon Creek is a tributary of

Tomhicken Creek Tomhicken Creek (also known as Tomhickon Creek) is a stream in Luzerne County and Schuylkill County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and is the largest tributary of Catawissa Creek. Named tributaries of the creek ...

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

and Schuylkill 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 Black Creek Township in Luzerne County and North Union Township in Schuylkill County. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is considered to be a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and

Class A Wild Trout Waters Class A Wild Trout Waters are the highest biomass class given to streams in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. They are considered to contain the highest-quality naturally reproducing trout populations in Pennsylvania. Th ...

. The main rock formations in the stream's watershed are the Mauch Chunk Formation and the Pottsville Formation and the main soil is the Leck Kill soil.

Course

Raccoon Creek begins in a valley between Little Sugarloaf Mountain and another

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

in Black Creek Township, Luzerne County. It flows roughly west and within a few tenths of a mile, passes through the community of

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

. Upon exiting Weston, the creek continues west for more than a mile before turning southwest and leaving Black Creek Township and Luzerne County. Upon exiting Luzerne County, Raccoon Creek enters North Union Township, Schuylkill County. It continues southwest on the border of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. The valley gets narrower as the creek flows through North Union Township and the creek eventually reaches its confluence with Tomhicken Creek. Raccoon Creek joins Tomhicken Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

The

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 in the waters of Raccoon Creek is 20 milligrams per liter. The pH of the creek is 7.0. Its

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 ...

is 36 milligrams per liter. The water chemistry is affected by human development in the area. On 1:00 P.M. on July 11, 1997, the air temperature in the vicinity of Raccoon Creek was measured to be . The water temperature of the creek was measured to be at that time. The

specific conductivity Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the fina ...

of the creek's waters is 129 umhos.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Raccoon 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 stream's source is slightly over above sea level. The entire length of the watershed of Raccoon Creek is on rock of the

Mauch Chunk Formation The Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. It is named for the township of Mauch Chunk, now known as borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and for nearby Mauch Chunk Ridge where th ...

. However, the northern edge of the watershed has rock of the

Pottsville Formation The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama. It is a major ridge-former in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States. The Pottsville Fo ...

. The entire length of the creek is on Leck Kill

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

. The headwaters of Raccoon Creek are between Little Sugarloaf Mountain and South Buck Mountain. Raccoon Creek is a small stream, with a width of . It has a moderate gradient of 19.9 meters per kilometer. The creek has been known to overflow its banks and flood nearby homes.

Watershed

The watershed of Raccoon Creek has an area of . The watershed is mostly in Black Creek Township, Luzerne County, but a substantial portion is in North Union Township, Schuylkill County. Most of the lower reaches of the stream (in Schuylkill County) are in

agricultural land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other organism, forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous ...

. Additionally, there are two areas of developed land in the upper reaches of the watershed: the communities of Nuremberg and Weston. The main roads in the watershed of Raccoon Creek include Mahanoy Street, Main Street, and Weston Road. The community of

is in the northeastern portion of the watershed. 43 percent of the length of Raccoon Creek is within of a road. 99 percent of the creek is within of a road and all of the creek is within of one. Raccoon 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 Nuremberg.

History and recreation

In 2011, the Department of Community and Economic Development gave Black Creek Township, Luzerne County a $10,000 grant to do a study of Raccoon Creek. The purpose of the study was to reduce the effect that the creek's flooding had on nearby residential areas and also to stabilize the stream's

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

. The North Union Township Park is in the vicinity of Raccoon Creek.

Biology

Raccoon Creek is considered by the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws. ...

to be a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery, although it was historically considered by be only a Coldwater Fishery. It is also considered by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for

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 ...

between its headwaters and its mouth. Seven species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

inhabit Raccoon Creek. These include

and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

, but the latter most likely escaped from nearby farm ponds. Trout naturally reproduce in the stream between its headwaters and its mouth. The biomass of brook trout in the creek is 65.55 kilograms per hectare, although this figure may include stocked trout. 8.85 kilograms per hectare come from brook trout less than 175 millimeters long and 56.70 kilograms per hectare come from brook trout more than 175 millimeters long. The length of these trout range from 50 to 299 millimeters. None between 100 and 149 millimeters long have been observed, but a large number longer than 200 millimeters have. A 1997 survey observed 335 brook trout per kilometer that were less than 175 millimeters long and 120 brook trout per kilometer that were more than 175 millimeters long. There were 1434 brook trout per hectare that were less than 175 millimeters long and 515 brook trout per hectare that were more than 175 millimeters long. A 1997 report stated that Raccoon Creek was an excellent site for angling.

References

External links

Map of the Catawissa Creek watershed
{{authority control Rivers of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Catawissa Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania