Shenandoah 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 ...

Mahanoy Creek Mahanoy Creek 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 Northumberland and Schuylkill counties, Pennsylvania. There are ...

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 at least long and flows through Shenandoah, West Mahanoy Township, Butler Township, and

Girardville Girardville may refer to: * Girardville, Pennsylvania, United States * Girardville, Quebec Girardville is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the regional county municipality of Maria-Chapdelaine. The municipality ...

Course

Shenandoah Creek begins in West Mahanoy Township, at or near the confluence of the tributary

Kehly Run Kehly Run (also known as Kahly Run) is a tributary of Shenandoah Creek in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is less than long and flows through West Mahanoy Township and possibly Shenandoah. The watershed of the stream h ...

. Upon entering Shenandoah, the creek flows south and then in a southwesterly direction, crossing

Pennsylvania Route 924 Pennsylvania Route 924 (PA 924) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from PA 61 in Frackville, Schuylkill County, northeast to PA 309 in Hazleton, Luzerne County. PA 924 runs through rural areas in the Coal R ...

. It then turns west for several tenths of a mile, entering West Mahanoy Township and crossing

Pennsylvania Route 54 Pennsylvania Route 54 (PA 54) is a state highway which runs for in eastern Pennsylvania. It runs from U.S. Route 15 (US 15), which is three miles (5 km) west of Montgomery, Lycoming County, in the west, to US 209 in Nesquehoning, ...

. Here, the creek flows west-southwest in a valley alongside Pennsylvania Route 54 for a few miles, receiving the tributary Lost Creek and crossing Pennsylvania Route 54 once, before entering a pond and flowing into Butler Township. Here, it exits the pond and flows west for a few tenths of a mile before turning southwest. After a few tenths of a mile, it passes through a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, enters Girardville, and reaches its confluence with Mahanoy Creek. Shenandoah Creek joins Mahanoy Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Shenandoah Creek has two named tributaries: Kehly Run and Lost Creek. Kehly Run joins Shenandoah Creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of . Lost Creek joins Shenandoah Creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of .

Hydrology

Shenandoah Creek is impaired by

abandoned mine drainage Abandoned mine drainage (also known as AMD) is a form of water pollution involving water that has been polluted by contact with mines, typically coal mines. Although it is sometimes called "acid mine drainage", not all abandoned mine drainage i ...

throughout its length, and also by municipal

point source pollution A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries (such as nonpoint source or area source) ...

in one reach. Shenandoah Creek's contribution to the waters of Mahanoy Creek causes the latter creek's flow to nearly double.

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 Shenandoah 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 ...

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 Shenandoah Creek has an area of . The mouth of the 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 Ashland. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Shenandoah. Shenandoah Creek is one of the major tributaries of Mahanoy Creek. There are several lakes/ponds in the creek's watershed, and a wetland occurs in its lower reaches.

History

A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying State Route 4031 over Shenandoah Creek was built in 1937 near Pennsylvania Route 54 and is long.

Biology

The drainage basin of Shenandoah Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Tributaries of Mahanoy Creek Rivers of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania