Turtle Creek is a tributary of the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exte ...

Union County, Pennsylvania Union County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,681. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County. Its name is an allusio ...

, in the United States. It is long and flows through Limestone Township, Buffalo Township, and East Buffalo Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek is designated as an impaired waterbody, with the cause of the impairment being siltation and the source being agriculture. It has a daily

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 of . The main surficial rock types in the creek's watershed include shale, carbonate, and sandstone. The creek is in the ridge and valley physiographic province. The main land uses in the watershed of Turtle Creek are forested land and agriculture. However, low-intensity development, wetlands, and grass/turf also occur within the watershed. The area in the creek's vicinity was settled as early as the late 1760s and various

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name *Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Unit ...

were built along it in the late 18th century. A number of bridges have been constructed across it. The drainage basin of the creek is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. Its riparian buffer is absent in some reaches.

Course

Turtle Creek begins in a shallow valley in Limestone Township. It flows east for several tenths of a mile, almost immediately entering Buffalo Township. The creek then turns north for several tenths of a mile and enters a much broader valley and receiving an unnamed tributary from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

. At this point, it turns east-northeast for several miles, entering East Buffalo Township and receiving three unnamed tributaries 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 ...

. The creek then turns east-southeast and its valley becomes narrower. Over the next few miles, it receives one unnamed tributary from the left and three more from the right. It eventually crosses

US 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 Car ...

and turns northeast. A short distance further downstream, it reaches its confluence with the West Branch Susquehanna River. Turtle Creek joins the West Branch Susquehanna River upriver of its mouth.

Hydrology and climate

Various stream reaches in the watershed of Turtle Creek are designated as impaired. The cause of the impairment is

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 ...

and the source of the impairment is agriculture. A total of of streams in the watershed are impaired. Most of these are in the middle reaches of the watershed. The daily load of

in Turtle Creek is . This equates to an annual sediment load of . The

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 creek requires a 37.2 percent reduction in the sediment load. A total of of sediment per year comes from croplands and another per year comes from streambanks. A total of per year comes from forested land, comes from hay and pastures, comes from transitional land, and comes from low-intensity development. No sediment comes from The average annual rate of rainfall in the watershed of Turtle Creek over a 23-year period was found to be . The average annual rate of runoff was . The runoff curve number in the watershed of Turtle Creek is 87 for transitional lands and wetlands, 83 for low-intensity development, 82 for croplands, 75 for hay and pastures, 73 for forests, and 71 for grassy land.

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 Turtle 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 Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

is between above sea level. The elevations in the watershed range from approximately above sea level. The watershed of Turtle Creek is 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 creek's valley is in the lowlands of Union County.

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 along certain

streambank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

s in the creek's watershed. A total of 55 percent of the surface geology in the watershed of Turtle Creek is

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 ...

. A total of 30 percent is

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

and the remaining 15 percent is

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) ...

. The most prevalent hydrologic soil groups are C (80 percent) and B (20 percent). The K factor, a measure of the

erodability Erodability (or erodibility) is the inherent yielding or nonresistance of soils and rocks to erosion. A high erodability implies that the same amount of work exerted by the erosion processes leads to a larger removal of material. Because the mechani ...

of soil, is 0.249 in the forested land of the creek's watershed, 0.272 in the watershed's wetlands, 0.275 in hay or pastures and land classified by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as "low-intensity development", 0.277 in transitional land, 0.28 in grassy areas, and 0.292 in agricultural lands.

Groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

from a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

known as

Shamokin Mountain Shamokin may refer to the following: Geographical locations * Shamokin, Pennsylvania, a city in Northumberland County * Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, a borough in Snyder County * Shamokin Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania * Shamokin (vill ...

contributes to Turtle Creek.

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

was observed on the creek by the 1800s. This ore was pinkish and has been described as "compact, coarse, siliceous". It resembled ores from near Danville. A

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 ...

known as the Crestmore

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

occurs in small areas near the creek.

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 Turtle 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 Northumberland. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Lewisburg. There are of streams in the watershed

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is the most common

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 watershed of Turtle Creek, making up 47.1 percent of its area.

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 is a close second, making up 45.6 percent of the watershed's area. Less common land uses include low-intensity development (6.9 percent),

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 ...

s (0.3 percent), and turf/grass (0.1 percent). The watershed of Turtle Creek is longer along the east-west axis than the north-south axis. It is entirely within Union County, though it occupies a fairly small portion of the county. Adjacent major watersheds include those of Buffalo Creek,

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 ...

, Limestone Run, and the West Branch Susquehanna River.

History

Turtle 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 1189973. The creek received its name some time before 1769. Samuel Maclay carried out a survey in the vicinity of Turtle Creek in early March 1769. Several more surveys were done near the creek in that year. John Wilson had settled near the mouth of the creek by the fall of that year. In 1770, William Speddy settled approximately of its mouth. Some kind of

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

on the creek was owned by a member of the Wilson family as early as 1771. In 1772, John Aurand settled at the mouth of the creek and constructed a

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

and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

there in the same year. The mill eventually came to be known as Jenkins Mill. Christopher Weiser's

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

was constructed on Turtle Creek in 1792. It later came to be owned by Peter Wolfe. In 1795, Anna M. Smith left 30 pounds in her will to the construction of a school for poor children at the mouth of the creek. In 1842,

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

was discovered downstream of its mouth. In 1853, several people from Lewisburg purchased of land to the south of the mouth of Turtle Creek and set up the Union Furnace. Thomas Follmer, Henry Follmer, and William Gundy drowned at the mouth of the creek in 1846. 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 carrying US Route 15 was constructed over Turtle Creek in 1930 and repaired in 1962. It is long and is situated north of Winfield. A prestressed box beam or girders bridge carrying T-432/Stein Lane over the creek was built in 1932 and repaired in 1984. It is south of Linntown and is long. A bridge of a similar type was constructed over the creek for US Route 15 in 1962 and repaired in 2005. This bridge is long and is situated north of Winfield. In 1983, a concrete culvert bridge was constructed over the creek east of

Mifflinburg Mifflinburg is a borough in Union County, located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley. Mifflinburg was first settled in 1792 by Elias and Catharina Jungman (Youngman) and their two children. They divided the land into 60’ by 1 ...

. It is long and carries State Route 2004. A prestressed box beam or girders bridge known as County Bridge #10 was built across the creek south-southeast of Linntown in 1989. with a length of . A bridge of the same type was constructed over the creek southwest of Linntown in 2000, with a length of . Turtle Creek was described as a " treamof major concern" in the ''Union County Open Space and Recreation Plan'' in 1973. In late 20th century, the ''Union County: A Plan for Development'' recommended the creation of a greenway along the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of Turtle Creek, running westward from the West Branch Susquehanna River.

Biology

The drainage basin of Turtle Creek is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. In the 1930s, the creek was noted in the ''

Pennsylvania Angler 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, Ma ...

'' to be a viable spot for

sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

fishing. The

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 ...

s of Turtle Creek are diminished or completely absent in the areas where the creek flows through agricultural land.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

are also allowed access to the creek in some places. A park known as the Turtle Creek Park is located in the vicinity of Turtle Creek. It is a popular destination for local walkers. Numerous successional habitats occur within the park.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Union County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania