Trout Brook 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 Toby Creek in

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Dallas Township. Its watershed has an area of . It is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The stream is affected by sediment deposits and debris such as fallen trees. Wisconsinan Till, alluvium, wetlands, and bedrock consisting of shale and sandstone occur in the stream's vicinity.

Course

Trout Brook begins in a

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 ...

near Lower Demunds Road in Dallas Township. It flows south-southeast alongside the road for nearly a mile before turning south. Over the next mile or so, it continues flowing alongside Lower Deumunds Road, crossing it several times. The stream then turns south-southwest and enters a valley as it continues to flow alongside the road. After several tenths of a mile, it turns south and passes through Maplewood Heights before turning south-southwest. Several tenths of a mile further downstream, it reaches its confluence with Toby Creek just north of Shavertown. Trout Brook joins Toby Creek upstream of its mouth.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Trout Brook 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 stream'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source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person,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 just over above sea level. Logs and other types of debris commonly wash into Trout Brook. The stream has also been affected by

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 ...

accumulating in it. This has lowered the depth of the streambed to a few feet in locations where it was considerably deeper at times during the 20th century. Chief Gathering, LLC has an erosion and sediment control permit involving the stream. The surficial geology in the vast majority of areas near Trout Brook features a glacial or resedimented

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

known as Wisconsinan Till and

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

consisting of

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) ...

and

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 ...

. However, there is also an area of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

near its mouth.

Watershed

The watershed of Trout Brook has an area of . The creek is entirely within 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 Kingston. The watershed of Trout Brook is relatively undeveloped compared to the land near the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

of Toby Creek. However, the watershed is beginning to urbanize. This could potentially lead to an increase in high stream flows. Runoff from a development in the vicinity of Trout Brook occasionally overflows its

detention pond A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of tim ...

and flows into the stream. As of 2005, another proposed development may also send water into the stream. Due to its shallow streambed, this poses a

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 risk. A patch of

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 ...

is located along the lower reaches of the stream.

History

Trout Brook 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 October 1, 1992. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1214669. Trout Brook was affected by Tropical Storm Lee and

Tropical Storm Irene The name Irene was used for thirteen cyclones worldwide: 12 tropical and one extratropical. Of the tropical cyclones named Irene, seven were in the Atlantic, two were in the South Pacific, and the Western Pacific, South-West Indian Ocean and Austral ...

. These tropical storms caused the stream to be clogged with large amounts of debris. State and federal funds were used to clear away the debris.

Biology

Trout Brook is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

References