Rattling Run is a tributary of

Catawissa Creek Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat) 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 east-central Pennsylvania in th ...

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 East Union Township. 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 ...

. Three species of fish inhabit the stream. The main rock formations in the stream's watershed are the Mauch Chunk Formation and the Pottsville Formation and the main soils are the Leck Kill soil and the Hezleton soil. The stream has two unnamed tributaries.

Course

Rattling Run begins on the southern border of Brandonville in East Union Township. It flows north and slightly west, reaching the central part of Brandonville after several tenths of a mile. It then turns west and slightly south and enters a valley. After more than a mile, the stream turns north-northwest and then north-northeast, crossing

Pennsylvania Route 339 Pennsylvania Route 339 (PA 339) is a , north–south state highway located in Schuylkill, Columbia, and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 54 in Mahanoy City. The northern terminus is at PA 93 in Nescopeck. ...

. After crossing Pennsylvania Route 339, it turns west-northwest and reaches its confluence with Catawissa Creek after several tenths of a mile. Rattling Run joins Catawissa Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Rattling Run has no named tributaries. However, it does have two unnamed tributaries, known as "Trib 27594 To Rattling Run" and "Trib 27595 To Rattling Run".

Hydrology

Rattling Run is infertile and acidic. It has the potential to be affected by

acid precipitation Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but aci ...

. The concentration of

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 ...

in Rattling Run is 5 milligrams per liter. The pH of the stream is 6.6. Its total 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 ...

is 22 milligrams per liter. At 11:31 A.M. on June 19, 1997, the air temperature in the vicinity of Rattling Run upstream of its mouth was . The water temperature of the stream at that time and place was . 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 waters of the stream is 81 umhos.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Rattling Run 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 stream's source is between and above sea level. Rattling Run flows over 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 ...

for its entire length. This

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

consists of

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, grayish-red

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

, and

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

. 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 ...

is also found in the southern part of the watershed. The lower reaches of the watershed of the stream are 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 upper reaches are on Hazleton soil. Rattling Run is a small stream, with a width of . It has a high gradient of 33.0 meters per kilometer. There are few areas in the vicinity of Rattling Run that are prone to

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing during a

100 year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...

. The valley of the stream is narrow and mostly

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed.

Watershed

The watershed of Rattling Run has an area of . Most of the watershed is in North Union Township, with a portion of it being in East Union Township. Smaller portions of the watershed are in Mahanoy Township and West Mahanoy Township. Some

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

land is located in the watershed of Rattling Run. There is a

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

at the stream's headwaters. 25 percent of the stream's length is within of a road and 42 percent is within of one. 56 percent of the stream is within of a road. Rattling Run 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.

Biology

Rattling Run 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 has not always had this designation but instead was considered to be a Coldwater Fishery in the past. Additionally, it is 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. Three 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 Rattling Run. They are

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 ...

eastern blacknose dace Eastern blacknose dace (''Rhinichthys atratulus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Rhinichthys''. Its name originates from the Old French word "dars" which is the nominative form of the word "dart" in reference to their swimming pat ...

, and

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand a ...

s. The

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

of wild brook trout in Rattling Run is 56.64 kilograms per hectare. This includes 35.30 kilograms per hectare of brook trout that are less than 175 millimeters long and 21.34 kilograms per hectare of brook trout that are more than 175 millimeters long. The brook trout in the stream range from 25 to 224 millimeters in length. There are 819 brook trout per kilometer that are less than 175 millimeters long and 94 per kilometer that are more than 175 millimeters long. There are 2729 brook trout per hectare that are less than 175 millimeters long and 314 per hectare that are more than 175 millimeters long. A 1997 report stated that Rattling Run was an excellent site for angling.

References

External links

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