Sugarloaf Creek is a tributary of

Tomhicken Creek Tomhicken Creek (also known as Tomhickon Creek) is a stream in Luzerne County and Schuylkill County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and is the largest tributary of Catawissa Creek. Named tributaries of the creek ...

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

and Schuylkill County, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Hazle Township and Black Creek Township in Luzerne County and North Union Township in Schuylkill County. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery. The main rock formation in the stream's watershed are the Mauch Chunk Formation and the main soil is the Hazleton soil. The creek has been impaired by acid mine drainage from the Oneida Number One Tunnel.

Course

Sugarloaf Creek begins in a broad valley in Hazle Township, Luzerne County, with Little Sugarloaf Mountain to the north. It flows west for a few tenths of a mile before receiving an unnamed tributary. It then continues west and a short distance later exits Hazle Township and enters Black Creek Township, Luzerne County. The creek continues west, soon receiving another unnamed tributary and then entering Lake Susquehanna. The creek exits the lake on its southwestern corner, leaving Black Creek Township and Luzerne County. It enters North Union Township, Schuylkill County and then turns north for a few hundred feet, reentering Black Creek Township, Luzerne County. The creek then turns west and enters Lake Choctaw, where it reenters North Union Township, Schuylkill County. On the western side of the lake, the creek continues west-southwest for nearly a mile. It then turns northwest and reaches its confluence with Tomhicken Creek after a few tenths of a mile. Sugarloaf Creek joins Tomhicken Creek upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

Sugarloaf Creek is considered to be impaired for

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 ...

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering ...

/ pH in its upper reaches. All of the acid mine drainage comes from the Oneida Number One Tunnel. The creek is one of the sources of acid mine drainage that flows into Tomhicken Creek. Sugarloaf Creek is highly acidic due to its impairment by acid mine drainage. It has a pH of 5.0 and 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 the creek is 0 milligrams per liter. The 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 ...

in the creek is greater than 150 milligrams per liter. Sugarloaf Creek experiences

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

. At 11:35 A.M. on July 11, 1997, the air temperature in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Creek was measured to be . The water temperature of the creek at that time was . The

specific conductance Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allow ...

of the creek's waters is 117 umhos.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Sugarloaf 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 at the source of the creek is above sea level. Sugarloaf Creek flows entirely 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 ...

. The entirety of the watershed of the creek is on Hazleton

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 ...

. Sugarloaf Creek is a small creek, with a width of . It has a moderate gradient of 24.2 meters per kilometer. Some areas near Sugarloaf Creek 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. There are three

impoundment Impoundment may refer to: Water control * The result of a dam, creating a body of water ** A reservoir, formed by a dam ** Coal slurry impoundment, a specialized form of such a reservoir used for coal mining and processing * Impounded dock, an enc ...

s on the creek.

Watershed and history

The watershed of Sugarloaf Creek has an area of . The majority of the watershed is in Hazle Township, Luzerne County and Black Creek Township, Luzerne County. However, a substantial portion of it is in North Union Township, Schuylkill County and East Union Township, Schuylkill County. Sugarloaf 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, ...

quadrangles of Nuremberg and Conyngham. There are two major lakes on Sugarloaf Creek. They are known as Lake Susquehanna and Lake Choctaw. The Oneida Number 1 Tunnel discharges into Sugarloaf Creek as it flows between Lake Susquehanna and Lake Choctaw. 84 percent of the length of Sugarloaf Creek is within of a road. The entirety of the creek is within of a road. In 1990, the

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of the creek's watershed was 164 people per square kilometer. A resort known as Eagle Rock is situated on Sugarloaf Creek. Substantial development occurred in this area in the 1990s. The headwaters of the creek are in a residential area. The mouth of the creek is near Millers Corner. The Catawissa Creek Restoration Association applied

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

sand to Sugarloaf Creek in 1997. The creek was later neutralized. A 1999 newspaper article estimated the restoration of Sugarloaf Creek to cost $205,000.

Biology

Sugarloaf Creek 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 Coldwater Fishery. However, no fish life has been observed in it. A 1997 report stated that the creek was a poor site for angling.

References

External links

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