White Deer Creek 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
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 ...
in
Centre County
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 ...
and
Union 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
Miles Township in Centre County and
Hartley Township,
Lewis Township,
West Buffalo Township, and
White Deer Township in Union County.
The watershed of the creek has an area of . Parts of the creek are designated as impaired. The creek's
discharge near
White Deer can be as low as or as high as .
White Deer Creek is a
freestone stream In fly fishing, a freestone stream flows seasonally, based on the water supply. In the summer and fall, freestone streams grow warm and have reduced flow because water from snow melt is less readily available. In contrast to limestone streams, which ...
in mountainous terrain. It is relatively small and flows through a valley that is narrow, but can be up to wide. The creek flows alongside
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
for much of its length. A significant part of the land in the creek's watershed is forested, with large areas being owned by the
Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. state, U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 List of Pennsylvania sta ...
. The watershed of the creek is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It has both
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
and is stocked with trout.
White Deer Creek's name comes from the word ''Woap'-achtu-hanne'', meaning "white-deer stream". The creek appeared on maps as early as 1759. A number of
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 constructed on it in the 18th and 19th centuries. Major historic industries in the watershed included lumbering and agriculture. A number of bridges have been constructed across the creek. Much of the length of White Deer Creek is in
Bald Eagle State Forest
Bald Eagle State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #7. The main office is located in Laurelton in Union County, Pennsylvania. The forest is found in Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Snyder, and Union ...
; the creek also passes through
McCalls Dam State Park
McCalls Dam State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Miles Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is in the easternmost tip of Centre County, south of Clinton County and north of Union County. McCalls Dam Stat ...
. Other recreational opportunities include angling and canoeing.
Course
![White Deer Creek looking upstream above Sand Spring Run](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/White_Deer_Creek_looking_upstream_above_Sand_Spring_Run.jpg)
White Deer Creek begins in a valley to the north of Hall Mountain in Miles Township, Centre County, near the Centre County/
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to:
*Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States:
**Clinton County, New York
**Clinton County, Ohio
*Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...
line. It flows east through its relatively deep, narrow valley for more than a mile before receiving its first named tributary,
Tunis Run
Tunis Run is a tributary of White Deer Creek in Centre County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Miles Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is situated near Hough Gap and a ...
, 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 meanders east-northeast through its valley for several miles, passing near several mountains, such as McCall Mountain, along the way. It eventually exits Miles Township and Centre County.
Upon exiting Centre County, White Deer Creek enters Hartley Township, Union County. It continues meandering east-northeast for several tenths of a mile before entering Lewis Township. In this township, the creek continues meandering east-northeast for a few miles, passing more mountains before entering West Buffalo Township. In this township, it flows east-northeast for more than a mile before turning northeast for several tenths of a mile and receiving the tributary
Cowbell Hollow
Cowbell Hollow (also known as Cowbell Hollow Run) is a tributary of White Deer Creek in Union County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through West Buffalo Township. The watershed of the stream has an area o ...
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 ...
. Shortly afterwards, the creek turns northwest for a few tenths of a mile before turning north-northeast and receiving its longest tributary,
Sand Spring Run
Sand Spring Run is a tributary of White Deer Creek in Union County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Lewis Township and West Buffalo Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream ...
, from the left and passing Pine Flat. The creek then begins flowing east-northeast again, now fairly close to
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
, and receives the tributary
Mile Run
The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...
from the left and passing Little Mountain. Several tenths of a mile further downstream, it enters White Deer Township. The creek heads east for several tenths of a mile before receiving
Lick Run, its last named tributary, from the left.
![White Deer Creek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/White_Deer_Creek.JPG)
White Deer Creek then turns northeast for several tenths of a mile before turning east. For the next several miles, the creek heads in a generally easterly direction between South White Deer Ridge and Catharines Crown/Nittany Mountain, still alongside Interstate 80. The creek's valley broadens and in leaves behind Catharines Crown; by this point there are no more mountains on its southern side. It turns northeast and then east-southeast before turning east-northeast and crossing Interstate 80. The creek then flows east for a few miles, still following South White Deer Ridge. It then 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 a few tenths of a mile later, reaches its confluence with the West Branch Susquehanna River.
White Deer Creek joins the West Branch Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.
Tributaries
White Deer Creek has five named tributaries: Lick Run, Mile Run, Sand Spring Run, Cowbell Hollow, and Tunis Run.
Lick Run joins White Deer Creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of . Mile Run joins White Deer Creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of . Sand Spring Run joins the creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of . Cowbell Hollow joins the creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of , making it the smallest named tributary by that measure. Tunis Run joins White Deer Creek upstream of its mouth and drains an area of .
Hydrology
Some reaches of White Deer Creek are not designated as impaired waterbodies. However, several miles in the creek's watershed are impaired. In one reach, the creek is impaired by habitat alterations due to hydromodification; in the other impaired reach, it is impaired by
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
in the
water column
A water column is a conceptual column of water from the surface of a sea, river or lake to the bottom sediment.Munson, B.H., Axler, R., Hagley C., Host G., Merrick G., Richards C. (2004).Glossary. ''Water on the Web''. University of Minnesota-D ...
from an unknown source.
In several dozen measurements in the 1970s and 2010s, the
discharge of White Deer Creek ranged from .
Between
water year
A water year (also called ''hydrological year'', ''discharge year'' or ''flow year'') is a term commonly used in hydrology to describe a time period of 12 months for which precipitation totals are measured. Its beginning differs from the calendar ...
s 1969 and 1973, the average annual discharge ranged from in water year 1969 to in water year 1972, with an average of .
In 1975 and 1976, the
turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
of White Deer Creek near White Deer ranged from 1 to 2
Jackson Turbidity Units.
The creek carries high levels of
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 ...
. In the 1970s and 2010s, the creek's
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 ...
ranged from 32 to 400
micro-siemens per centimeter at . The
pH of the creek ranged from 6.7 to 8.7 and the
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 ...
concentration ranged from less than to . The
dissolved oxygen
Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...
concentration ranged from .
In the 1970s and 2010s, the
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
concentration of White Deer Creek near White Deer ranged from . The organic carbon concentration ranged between . The
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
concentration ranged from less than to . The
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
concentration ranged from less than to . The
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...
concentration ranged from in the creek's filtered water, while the concentration of
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride salts ...
ranged from . In the 2010s, the
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
concentration was less than all times it was measured, while the
boron
Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...
concentration was less than and the
selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...
concentration was less than . The
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
concentration ranged from less than to .
In the 2010s, the concentrations of recoverable
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
in White Deer Creek near White Deer ranged from , while the
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
concentration was less than all times it was measured. The
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
and
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
concentrations ranged from and . The concentration of recoverable
strontium
Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is ex ...
ranged from and measurable
barium
Barium is a chemical element with the symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in group 2 and is a soft, silvery alkaline earth metal. Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element.
Th ...
concentrations were observed. The concentration of recoverable
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
ranged from less than to all the times the concentration was quantified, while the recoverable
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
concentration ranged from less than to . The concentrations of recoverable
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
,
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, and
cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
were less than most or all of the times they were measured. The concentration of recoverable
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
ranged from less than to , not counting several times when its presence was observed, but not quantified. The concentration of recoverable
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
ranged from less than to , not counting several times when its presence was observed, but not quantified.
Geography, geology, and climate
![McCall Dam State Park18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/McCall_Dam_State_Park18.jpg)
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 White Deer 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 above sea level.
White Deer Creek is relatively small, with a width of about .
The gradient of the creek upstream of the water supply dam on it ranges from , with an average of .
The valleys in the watershed of White Deer Creek are generally narrow. At some points, the valley walls rise steeply almost immediately from the creek's streambanks, which made the construction of roads through those areas difficult. However, in other areas, the valley is approximately wide.
White Deer Creek is a
freestone stream In fly fishing, a freestone stream flows seasonally, based on the water supply. In the summer and fall, freestone streams grow warm and have reduced flow because water from snow melt is less readily available. In contrast to limestone streams, which ...
.
There are numerous strainers on White Deer Creek, to the point where the creek was described as "one of the most tree-infested and strainer-struck streams in the state".
The creek's
channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
is also
braided
Braided is a musical group consisting of Casey LeBlanc, Ashley Leitão, and Amber Fleury, who all competed on the third season of '' Canadian Idol'' in 2005. They are the third music group to come from an Idol show in the world, after Young Div ...
in some reaches.
The creek flows through a very narrow valley and, in its upper reaches, is small for a canoeing stream.
The community of
White Deer experiences significant
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 problems because it is on the creek's
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 ...
, and because of the creek's narrow valley.
The topography of the watershed is mountainous, with the creek's narrow valley being surrounded by steep
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 ...
s.
The watershed was described as rugged, with sharp topographical features, in a 1938 report. The watershed is not affected by glaciation, as it is approximately south of the glacial moraine.
Although there are several camps along White Deer Creek, the area in its vicinity is not heavily developed until the creek's final few miles. There are a number of long, rocky rapids on the creek near Nittany Mountain, and the
whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
on the creek only ends in its lowermost reaches. A
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
for
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
is located on White Deer Creek a few miles upstream of Interstate 80.
The creek experiences
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 ...
and instability at its mouth.
The channel of White Deer Creek is
sinuous
Sinuosity, sinuosity index, or sinuosity coefficient of a continuously differentiable curve having at least one inflection point is the ratio of the curvilinear length (along the curve) and the Euclidean distance (straight line) between the ...
and flows through
rock formation
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...
s 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) ...
. The creek has a rocky
streambed
A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood st ...
and high
banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
.
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 the creek is one of the more prominent floodplains in Union County. There are numerous
riffle
A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics.
Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...
s on the creek where it flows past boulders.
In the lowlands of the White Deer Creek watershed, coarse-grained soils are predominant;
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
,
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 ...
,
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
, and
boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
s are common.
Clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
occurs in a few areas near old dams. The sides of the valley are covered by
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
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...
s, and dolomite boulders, while the ridgetops are composed of weather-resistant sandstone.
The average annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of White Deer Creek is .
In several dozen measurements in the 1970s and 2010s, the water temperature of the creek near White Deer ranged from .
The creek maintains cool temperatures even when other freestone streams become to warm or shallow to fish in. However, it does tend to become relatively shallow in the springtime. The creek remains clear except after major storms.
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 White Deer 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 Milton. However, its source is in the
quadrangle of Loganton. The creek also passes through the quadrangles of Williamsport SE and Carroll.
It generally flows in an easterly direction.
Its mouth is located within of
White Deer.
The watershed is mostly situated in eastern Centre County and northern Union County.
The creek is one of the major streams in Union County.
The area of the watershed upstream of the water supply dam has an area of .
White Deer Creek flows alongside
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
in northern Union County for a substantial portion of its length, although the highway can rarely be seen or heard from the creek in most reaches.
At the United States Geological Survey
stream gage
A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...
on White Deer Creek near White Deer, the creek drains an area of .
The White Deer District of the
Pennsylvania-American Water Company
The Pennsylvania-American Water Company is a utility company in the state of Pennsylvania which provides water and sewage services to more than 2 million people within the state. There are 370 areas served, including the cities of Pittsburgh, Scra ...
, which serves 41,000 people in 15 municipalities in
Northumberland County and Union County, uses a small dam on White Deer Creek as one of its main
water supplies
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
. Upstream of this dam, more than 99 percent of the watershed of the creek is
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. The
Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. state, U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 List of Pennsylvania sta ...
owns the vast majority of the land in the creek's watershed upstream of the dam. However, the
Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
There are 124 state parks in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is the governing body for all these parks, and directly ...
owns two small tracts and the Pennsylvania-American Water Company owns the area around the dam. The remainder of the land in this part of the watershed is owned by the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...
.
However, there is land devoted to
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 ...
in the area between White Deer Creek, Interstate 80, and
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 ...
.
An overhead
power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
, a compressed
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
pipeline, on-lot wastewater systems, and
unpaved roads are present in the watershed of White Deer Creek. These are considered by the Pennsylvania-American Water Company to be potential sources of contamination to its water supply on the creek.
As of 1993, there is a 100-foot (30-meter)
selective logging zone on both sides of the creek in state forest lands.
History
White Deer 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 1191267. The creek is also known as Whitedeer Creek or South Branch White Deer Creek.
These variant names appear in David B. Stevenson's 1969 master's thesis ''Place Names of Centre County Pennsylvania: A Geographical Analysis''.
White Deer Creek's name comes from the
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
word ''Woap'-achtu-hanne'', meaning "white-deer
stream". White Deer Creek appears on Scull's map in 1759 as Opaghtanoten and White Flint Creek.
The widow Catharine Smith began building a sawmill and a gristmill on White Deer Creek in 1774 and completed the construction in 1775. Smith established a boring mill at the mouth of White Deer Creek in the summer of 1776.
The mill was used to make gun barrels for the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
An early settlement near the creek was destroyed by the British in 1777.
A state road running between
Bellefonte and the mouth of White Deer Creek was constructed in 1824.
Numerous
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 ...
had been constructed on the creek by the 1830s. These included Daniel Caldwell's stone
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
carding machine
Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving surfaces covered wit ...
, and
distillery
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...
. In 1845, G.W. Green, Joseph Green, and David Howard established a
pig iron
Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...
furnace whose blast was powered by a race on the creek. John McCall, a native of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, established a camp in the upper reaches of the watershed by 1860 and used
splash dam
A splash dam was a temporary wooden dam used to raise the water level in streams to float logs downstream to sawmills. By impounding water and allowing it to be released on the log drive's schedule, these dams allowed many more logs to be brought ...
s to float the logs downstream to his mill.
Ario Pardee
Ariovistus Pardee (November 19, 1810 – March 26, 1892) was an American engineer, coal baron, philanthropist, and director of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. In the 1840s he began purchasing land in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, suspecting it to contain ...
later established a system to float them all the way to the mouth of White Deer Creek, where they were ferried to
Watsontown for milling.
Near the turn of the 20th century, the Kulp Lumber Mill processed millions of
board feet
The board foot or board-foot is a unit of measurement for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It equals the volume of a length of a board, one foot wide and thick.
Board foot can be abbreviated as FBM (for "foot, board measure" ...
of timber taken from White Deer Creek and
Spruce Run via a
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
system.
In the early 1900s, the main industry in the watershed of White Deer Creek was
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 ...
. Major communities in the watershed during this time period included Whitedeer, which had a population of 136. The
White Deer and Loganton Railroad also followed the creek throughout its length.
It was incorporated by the White Deer Lumber Company on April 26, 1906 and ran as far as
Loganton, a distance of . The tracks were removed in 1916. The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad also had spurs reaching into the upper reaches of the creek's watershed.
White Deer Creek was used as a
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
by the White Deer Mountain Water Company during this time period, as well.
A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying T-514 over White Deer Creek was built north of White Deer in 1915 and repaired in 1992. This bridge is long and it is possible for it to be listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. A two-span prestressed
box beam or girders bridge carrying
State Route 1003 over the creek was built in 1958 and repaired in 2011. This bridge is long and is west of White Deer. A three-span prestressed stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying
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 ...
over the creek was built in 1963 in White Deer and repaired in 2010; this bridge is long. A prestresed box beam or girders bridge carrying State Route 1011 over the creek in White Deer was built in 1963 and is long. Two bridges carrying
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
over the creek were built west of White Deer in 1970; both were three-span prestressed stringer/multi-beam or girder bridges with lengths of . One was repaired in 1994 and the other in 1999. A two-span steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge was built across the creek northeast of White Deer in 1974 and is long.
The White Deer Creek Restoration Committee, which was established to study instability problems for White Deer Creek and potential solutions, received a $5275
Growing Greener
Growing may refer to:
* Growth (disambiguation)
* Growing (band), a noise band based in Brooklyn, New York
* Growing (Sleeping People album), ''Growing'' (Sleeping People album), 2007
*Growing (Rina Chinen album)
* Growing, a children's song sung ...
grant in 2000.
Biology
The drainage basin of White Deer Creek is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. Wild
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
naturally reproduce in the creek from its headwaters downstream to the White Deer Dam, a distance of . A total of of the creek (from the Union County line to Cooper Mill Road) have also been
stocked with
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
.
Stocking of the stream was done as early as the 1930s.
Both native
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
inhabit the creek.
At least one rare species has been observed in the vicinity of White Deer Creek.
In the early 1900s, the land phase of the
red-spotted newt was sometimes observed at the White Deer Dam.
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
s have historically inhabited the creek's watershed in large numbers, causing pollution problems. Other mammal species that have existed in the watershed include
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
,
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
s,
wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
s, and
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
s, while birds included
whippoorwill
The eastern whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus vociferus'') is a medium-sized (22–27 cm; 8.7-10.6 ins.) bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less o ...
s and wild
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
s.
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small anim ...
s and
copperheads were also observed in the watershed in the 1930s.
Forests and dense areas of
mountain laurel occupy most of the valley of White Deer Creek in some reaches.
The stream's forested valley consists mainly of
hemlock trees and mixed
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
forest. The Union County Natural Areas Inventory recommended maintaining a forested
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 ...
around the creek.
The original
virgin timber
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
in the watershed of White Deer Creek was cut down in the 1890s. By the late 1930s,
second-growth
A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
trees including
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s, hemlocks,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
s, and
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
s, grew in the watershed, some of them up to in diameter. However, occasional old-growth pines or oaks remained. As a 1938 report noted,
rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
s and mountain laurel thickets also grew extremely densely in the watershed, through the vegetation became less dense at higher elevations, with only
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to:
*the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species.
In California
*California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
forests on the ridgetops.
Recreation
![White Deer Creek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/White_Deer_Creek.JPG)
The watershed of White Deer Creek has been a significant recreational area since at least the 1930s, by which time improved roads granted access to the watershed. This allowed wealthier residents of
Lewisburg,
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
,
Sunbury, Watsontown, and
Williamsport to construct weekend/vacation cabins in the watershed. Hunting and fishing clubs were also active in the area by this time period.
At least of White Deer Creek is navigable by canoe during rapid spring
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 five days of heavy rain. The difficulty of the creek ranges from 1 to 3- and the scenery is described as "good" in Edward Gertler's book ''Keystone Canoeing''.
Much of the length of White Deer Creek is in state forest lands.
McCalls Dam State Park
McCalls Dam State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Miles Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is in the easternmost tip of Centre County, south of Clinton County and north of Union County. McCalls Dam Stat ...
, which has an area of , is also in the vicinity of the creek.
The state park is surrounded by
Bald Eagle State Forest
Bald Eagle State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #7. The main office is located in Laurelton in Union County, Pennsylvania. The forest is found in Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Snyder, and Union ...
, which the creek flows through from its headwaters downstream to its lower reaches.
The scenery in the vicinity of White Deer Creek has been described as "thick and beautiful".
The creek is a viable destination for angling, although angling is difficult.
However, it is not nationally known, possibly due to its small size and the fact that the Delayed Harvest Fly-Fishing Only reach is in remote a location.
It is classified as Approved Trout Waters by the
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...
from Cooper Mill Road downstream to the creek's mouth. As of 2004, there is a long section that is Delayed Harvest Fly-Fishing Only.
The creek has been described as "an excellent
dry fly Dry fly fishing is an angling technique in which the lure is an artificial fly which floats on the surface of the water and does not sink below it. Developed originally for trout fly fishing.
The fish and the dry fly
Fly fishing for trout can be ...
stream".
Mid Penn Trailblazers'
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
Dam Full crosses the headwaters of White Deer Creek at between . The
Mid State Trail also crosses the creek.
See also
*
Warrior Run (West Branch Susquehanna River), next tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River going downstream
*
Spring Run (West Branch Susquehanna River)
Spring Run (also known as The Gut) is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Delaware Township and Watsontown. The watershed of th ...
, next tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River going upstream
*
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, 41.0801, -76.8658, type:river_region:US-PA, format=dms, display=title
Rivers of Pennsylvania
Tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River
Rivers of Centre County, Pennsylvania
Rivers of Union County, Pennsylvania