Sinking Creek is a tributary of
Penns Creek
Penns 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 central Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keyst ...
in
Centre County, Pennsylvania
Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The lands ...
, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Harris Township, Potter Township, and Gregg Township.
The watershed of the creek has an area of .
Course
Sinking Creek begins in the
Bear Meadows Natural Area
Bear Meadows Natural Area is located in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, four miles south of Boalsburg, within Rothrock State Forest in the Appalachian Mountains. The area is a National Natural Landmark. The area can be accessed via a l ...
in a valley in
Harris Township. It flows northeast for a few miles and its valley narrows. The creek eventually enters
Potter Township, where it turns northwest before turning northeast again. A short distance later, it passes through
Colyer Lake
Colyer is a small unincorporated community south of the borough of Centre Hall in central Potter Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state sp ...
and picks up the tributary Boal Gap Run a short distance afterwards. The creek then begins
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
ing and crosses
U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was concurrent with ...
. Some distance later, it crosses
Pennsylvania Route 144
Pennsylvania Route 144 (PA 144) is a state highway located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering a distance of about . The southern terminus is located near an interchange with U.S. Route 322 (US 322) at State Route 2015 (SR ...
and receives the tributary Potter Run. The course of the creek becomes slightly straighter as it continues northeast on the northern side of a mountain. It eventually enters
Gregg Township. A few miles further downstream, it passes north of
Egg Hill, and then reaches its confluence with Penns Creek at the community of
Spring Mills,
upstream of the mouth of Penns Creek.
Geography
The elevation near the mouth of Sinking 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 source is approximately above sea level.
Sinking Creek is a relatively small and overgrown stream upstream of Potter Run. There are also
fence
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.
...
s and fallen
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s along the creek.
Watershed
The watershed of Sinking Creek has an area of .
Recreation
It is possible to
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
on at least of Sinking Creek during
snowmelt
In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many part ...
or within one week of heavy
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
. The creek's difficulty rating is 1. Edward Gertler describes the scenery along the creek as "good" in his book ''Keystone Canoeing''.
See also
*
List of rivers of Pennsylvania
This is a list of streams and rivers in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name.
Delaware Bay
Chesapeake Bay
*''E ...
References
{{Coord, 40, 51, 18, N, 77, 34, 20, W, region:US-PA_source:GNIS_type:river, display=title
Rivers of Pennsylvania
Tributaries of the Susquehanna River
Rivers of Centre County, Pennsylvania