Rattling Run is a tributary of

Little Mahanoy Creek Little Mahanoy Creek is a tributary of Mahanoy Creek in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It starts in the borough of Frackville and joins Mahanoy Creek in the borough of Gordon, Pennsylvania, Gordon. Its one named tributary is Rattling Run. The c ...

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 Butler Township and Gordon. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is not designated as an impaired waterbody and is several miles from the Western Middle Anthracite Field. The Gordon Reservoir is located within its watershed. The watershed of Rattling Run is a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Rattling_Run_looking_downstream_in_Gordon

Rattling Run begins on a mountain in Butler Township. It flows west-southwest for a few tenths of a mile before turning northwest and flowing through the Gordon Reservoir. The stream then turns west-southwest for several tenths of a mile, entering a valley and flowing alongside Highridge Park Road/Gordon Mountain Road. It then turns northwest for several tenths of a mile before turning north-northwest and entering Gordon. Here, it leaves its valley and continues flowing north-northwest. After a few tenths of a mile, it reaches its confluence with Little Mahanoy Creek. Rattling Run joins Little Mahanoy Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

Rattling Run is not designated as an impaired waterbody. In general, the mouth of Rattling Run was found to have a slightly lower pH and slightly lower

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

concentrations than Little Mahanoy Creek. The

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

of Rattling Run was measured to be in March 2001 and in August 2001. The concentrations of dissolved oxygen were , respectively. In March 2001, the pH of the stream was 5.7 and the net alkalinity concentration was , while in August 2001, the pH was 6.5. The concentration of dissolved aluminum in Rattling Run was in March 2001 and . The concentrations of dissolved manganese and iron in the stream were in March 2001 and in August 2001. The dissolved

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...

concentration in Rattling Run was in March 2001 and in August 2001. The dissolved phosphorus concentration was in March and less than in August. The dissolved sulfate concentration was in March and August 2001, respectively.

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 Rattling Run is above sea level. The elevation of the stream's source is above sea level. Rattling Run is a few miles to the south of the Western Middle Anthracite Field. The stream has experienced some erosion along the sides and bottom of its

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

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 Rattling Run has an area of . The mouth of the stream is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Ashland. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Minersville. A reservoir known as the Gordon Reservoir is on Rattling Run. In 1970, it was owned by the Butler Township Water Company. The designated use for Rattling Run is aquatic life. Rattling Run flooded during

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

in April 1972, causing $350,000 in damage and significant damage to nearby structures.

History

Rattling Run was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1184693. Rattling Run was stocked with 1000 adult and yearling

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

at least once in the early 1900s. Improvements were made to the stream in 1937. Flood control proposals for Rattling Run in Gordon were made in 1976. A steel

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

bridge carrying Gordon Mountain Road over Rattling Run was built in 1959 and is long. In June 1991, it was reported that raw sewage was being piped from homes directly into Rattling Run and Little Mahanoy Creek.

Biology

In 2001, neither fish nor

macroinvertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate s ...

s were observed in Rattling Run at Gordon. The stream is classified as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

References

External links

USGS 0155521486 Rattling Run at Gordon, PA
{{authority control Rivers of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Mahanoy Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania