Threemile Run (Three Mile 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

Tohickon Creek Tohickon Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River. Located entirely in Bucks County, in southeastern Pennsylvania, it r ...

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and is part of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

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 ...

History

Threemile Run was named so long before it was so noted in John Scully's map of the Province of Pennsylvania in 1770. It flows in the first valley north of the

East Branch Perkiomen Creek East Branch Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Perkiomen Creek in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edwar ...

and powered several

grist mills A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

in its early days.MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P1.

Statistics

Threemile Run's GNIS identification number is 1189555, its Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources identification number is 03168. The stream drains and reaches its confluence at the Tohickon Creek's 17.60

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle road ...

within the banks of

Lake Nockamixon Lake Nockamixon is a reservoir in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States, and the largest lake in Bucks County. It is formed by a dam on Tohickon Creek and is the centerpiece of Nockamixon State Park. Swimming is not allowed in the lake, but bo ...

Course

Threemile Run rises in West Rockhill Township,

, from an unnamed pond at an elevation of next to Catch Basin Road and flows southeast, south, then southeast and meets a tributary from the right bank, then turns right to flow northeast. Threemile drained into the

before the Tohickon was dammed in 1972 to form

. After the lake was formed, it drains into the lake about ¾ mile from the Tohickon at an elevation of , resulting in an average slope of 19.03 feet per mile (3.35 meters per kilometer).

Geology

* Appalachian Highlands Division ** Piedmont Province *** Gettysburg-Newark Lowland Section ****Brunswick Formation ****

Diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

The Brunswick Formation is a

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...

layer of rock consisting of

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

, and beds of green, brown, and red-brown

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. Mineralogy consists of

argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts ...

and

hornfels Hornfels is the group name for a set of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable. These pro ...

. About 200 million years ago,

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

intruded into the Brunswick and cooled quickly forming a fine grained diabase consisting of primarily

labradorite Labradorite (( Ca, Na)( Al, Si)4 O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect ( schiller). Labradorite is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It ...

and

augite Augite is a common rock-forming pyroxene mineral with formula . The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees. Characteristics Augite is a solid solution in the pyroxene group. ...

Haycock Mountain Haycock Mountain or known as Ghost Mountain is a locally prominent hill with the highest summit in Bucks County. It rises above Nockamixon State Park, in the Delaware River drainage of southeastern Pennsylvania. Early settlers named it simply for ...

(on the right bank of the creek) and several other features in the area are remnants of the intrusion after the Brunswick has eroded away over time. The first mile or so of Threemile Run's course is located in a region of

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

rock which intruded into the local sedimentary layers of the Brunswick Formation during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

and the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

, then the remaining course flows over the Brunswick Formation.

Crossings and Bridges

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Crossing !! NBI Number !! Length !! Lanes !! Spans !! Material/Design !! Built !! Reconstructed !!Latitude, , Longitude , - ,

Pennsylvania Route 313 Pennsylvania Route 313 (PA 313) is a mostly 2-lane, state highway entirely within Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The western end of PA 313 is at an intersection with PA 309 and PA 663 in Quakertown. The eastern end is at an intersection with PA ...

(Doylestown Pike, Dublin Pike), , 6993, , , , 2, , , , Concrete Arch-Deck, , 1930, , , , 40°24'56, , 75°16'14"W , - , West Rock Road, , 7516, , , , 2, , 1, , Prestressed concrete box beam or girders-multiple, , 1979, , , , 40°24'7.1"N, , 75°17'1.06"W , - , North Rockhill Road, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , Stone Edge Road, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , Hill Road, , 7519, , {{convert, 12, m, ft, , 2, , 1, , Concrete Tee Beam, , 1930, , , , 40°23'8"N, , 75°18'27"W , - , South Old Bethlehem Pike (Park Avenue), , 7502, , {{convert, 9, m, ft, , 2, , 1, , Prestressed concrete box beam or girders - Multiple, , 1955, , , , 40°22'57.3"N, , 75°18'45"W , - , South Bethlehem Pike (South West End Boulevard), , 7385, , {{convert, 6.7, m, ft, , , , , , Concrete Tee Beam, concrete cast-in-place deck, bituminous surface, , 1936, , , , 40°22'50"N, , 75°19'W , - , Old Mill Road (Township Road T360), , 7513, , {{convert, 9, m, ft, , 1, , 1, , Continuous concrete stringer/multi-beam or girder, , 1930, , , , 40°22'46.9"N, , 75°19'10.2"W , - , Forrest Road, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , -

References

{{Reflist {{authority control Rivers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Pennsylvania Tributaries of Tohickon Creek