Silver Creek (also known as Silver Run or Verdilla Run) 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

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Snyder County, Pennsylvania Snyder County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,736. The county seat is Middleburg. Snyder County was formed in 1855 from parts of Union County. Snyder County comprises the Selin ...

, in the

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. It is approximately long and flows through Washington Township and Union Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek has no named tributaries, but it does have several unnamed tributaries. Many of these, as well as Silver Creek itself, are impaired by

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

due to grazing-related agriculture. The watershed is partly or fully in the

Ridge and Valley The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...

physiographic province. The dominant land use in the upper reaches of the watershed of Silver Creek is agricultural land. However, forests and other land uses are also present, and some pockets of development occur in the creek's valley. The creek causes flooding in the southern part of Union Township. A number of bridges have been constructed across Silver Creek. Its drainage basin is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Silver Creek begins on a hill in Washington Township. It flows south for a few tenths of a mile, almost immediately entering Union Township and entering a valley. The creek then gradually turns east for several tenths of a mile before turning east-southeast. After several tenths of a mile, it turns east and then north-northeast before turning east-northeast for several tenths of a mile, receiving an unnamed tributary from the

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. The creek then flows east-southeast for several tenths of a mile, receiving another unnamed tributary from the left before eventually turning south-southeast. A short distance further downstream, the creek receives an unnamed tributary from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

and turns east-northeast for several tenths of a mile before turning east-southeast and receiving an unnamed tributary from the left. It then turns south-southeast for a few tenths of a mile before turning west-southwest and then south-southeast. The creek soon turns south-southwest for several tenths of a mile, passing through a small

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

before turning southwest and receiving another unnamed tributary from the right. It then turns south-southeast for several tenths of a mile, entering the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

of Port Trevorton, where it continues flowing in the same direction. After several tenths of a mile, it crosses

U.S. Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

, and a short distance after that, it reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Silver Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Silver Creek has no named tributaries. However, it does have five unnamed tributaries, two of which each have a single sub-tributary of their own. Five tributaries and subtributaries of the creekUnt 17535, Unt 17536, Unt 17537, Unt 17538, and Unt 17539 are designated as impaired waterbodies, for the same reason as Silver Creek itself. The lengths of these five streams range from .

Hydrology

Some reaches of Silver Creek are designated as impaired waterbodies. The cause of the impairment is

and the source of impairment is grazing-related agriculture. All stream segments in the upper reaches of the watershed are considered to be impaired, while none are impaired in the lower reaches. The annual

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

load in the upper creek is . The maximum load for sediment that that reach of the creek can have while still meeting water quality standards is per year.

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

is the largest source of sediment, accounting for per year. Streambanks and hay/pasture land are the next-largest contributors, accounting for per year, respectively. Transitional land accounts for per year, low-intensity development accounts for , and forested land accounts for per year. Ag Development once received a permit to discharge

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

into Silver Creek for construction purposes.

Geography, geology, and climate

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 Silver 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 of the creek's

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is above sea level. Silver Creek is partly or fully in the

physiographic province. The dominant

hydrologic soil group Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

in the upper part of the watershed is C. There are significant deposits of sediment along the stream, and streambank

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

occurs in the watershed. The surface geology consists of

interbedded In geology, interbedding occurs when beds (layers of rock) of a particular lithology lie between or alternate with beds of a different lithology. For example, sedimentary rocks may be interbedded if there were sea level variations in their sedimen ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

in 89 percent of the upper part of the watershed and

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) ...

in the remaining 11 percent. The average annual rate of precipitation in the upper part of the watershed of Silver Creek over a 23-year period was . The average annual rate of runoff in the watershed during a 23-year-period was .

Watershed and biology

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 Silver Creek has an area of . The mouth of the creek is located 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 Pillow. However, its source is located in the quadrangle of Dalmatia. The mouth of the creek is approximately southwest of Port Trevorton and northeast of Chapman. Its source is located near Verdilla. There are approximately of streams in the watershed of Silver Creek. The main

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

in the upper part of the watershed of Silver Creek is agricultural land, which accounts for 76 percent of the watershed's area. This includes of hay and pasture land and of cropland. Another 15 percent is

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 land, and the remaining 9 percent has other uses. A total of of land in this part of the watershed is transitional land. There are some areas of developed land along the creek.

Tillage Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoein ...

is done in the watershed's agricultural areas. The southern part of Union Township in impacted by flooding from Silver Creek. During

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in June 1972, flood levels reached to between the

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. ...

and the 500 year flood.

History and name

Silver Creek was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1187671. The creek is also known as Silver Run and Verdilla Run. Both of these variant names appear on a 1953 United States Geological Survey map. In the late 1960s,

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

Stanley K. Sampsell was unable to find any official records to determine the name of Silver Creek. The United States Geological Survey's 15' Millersburg map called the upper part of the creek (which flows in a roughly southeasterly direction) "Verdilla Run" and the lower part (which flows in a roughly southerly direction) "Silver Run". Sampsell checked with nearly all people living along the stream, and everyone referred to it as "Silver Creek" and had never heard of the names "Silver Run" or "Verdilla Run". For this reason, he formally proposed that the creek be officially renamed to "Silver Creek". In the late 1920s, the

Commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Snyder County had plans for the construction of a bridge over Silver Creek near Port Trevorton. A concrete slab bridge carrying Cawley Hill Road over Silver Creek was built in 1949 south of Verdilla and is long. A concrete

tee beam A T-beam (or tee beam), used in construction, is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with a -shaped cross section. The top of the -shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member in resisting compressiv ...

bridge over the creek in or near Port Trevorton was built in 1951 and is long. A concrete slab bridge carrying State Route 2012 over the creek was built northwest of Port Trevorton in 1953 and reconstructed in 2008; this bridge is long. A concrete tee beam bridge carrying Silver Creek Hollow Road over the creek was built south of Dundore in 1955 and is long. A concrete slab bridge carrying the same road over the creek was built north of Port Trevorton in 1965 and is long. A third bridge over this road, a concrete

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, was built northwest of Port Trevorton in 1985 and is long. A prestressed slab bridge carrying

over the creek was built in 1992 and is long. In 2011, 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. ...

solicited comments on its proposed

total maximum daily load A total maximum daily load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quali ...

for the Silver Creek watershed. However, no public comments were received.

Biology

The drainage basin of Silver Creek is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The designated use of Silver Creek is

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two ...

. Silver Creek has little or no

riparian buffer A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...

where it flows through agricultural land, and some reaches experience mowing up to 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 ...

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

also have access to the creek.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Snyder County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania