Catawissa Mountain is a mountain in

Columbia County, Pennsylvania Columbia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,727. Its county seat is Bloomsburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from p ...

, in the United States. Its peak height 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 standardis ...

, making it the fifth-highest mountain in Columbia County. Streams that flow near the mountain include Roaring Creek,

Catawissa Creek Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat) 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 east-central Pennsylvania in th ...

, and some of its tributaries. The mountain is near

Nescopeck Mountain Nescopeck Mountain (also known as Nescopec Mountain) is a ridge in Columbia County and Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of wh ...

and Little Mountain. Sandstones and rock formations such as the

Pocono Formation The Mississippian Pocono Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, in the United States. It is also known as the Pocono Group in Maryland and West Virginia, and the upper part of the Pocono Formation is somet ...

occur on Catawissa Mountain. The community of Catawissa is near Catawissa Mountain. There have also been several roads on or near the mountain in the past. In more recent times,

all terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...

trails were established there, as was Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58. There are

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s on the mountain, which are used as breeding grounds for amphibians. The mountain is part of a much larger tract of forest. Catawissa Mountain is located in southeastern Catawissa Township, southwestern Main Township, eastern Roaring Creek Township, among other places.

Geography

Catawissa Mountain's southeastern edge is at the border between

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

and Columbia County. From here, it runs northwest through Beaver Township and Roaring Creek Township to the community of Catawissa. A spur of the mountain can be said to cross the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

and turn west into

Montour County Montour County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,136. Its county seat is Danville. The county is named for Andrew Montour, a prominent M� ...

, where it ceases to be a mountain. The peak height of Catawissa Mountain is above sea level. However, numerous places on the mountain rise to over above sea level. The mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in Columbia County, behind

Red Rock Mountain Red Rock Mountain is a mountain located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. This summit is actually on the North Mountain escarpment. The escarpment in which Red Rock Mountain is located is a part of the Allegheny Plateau. This summit features a fi ...

Central Mountain Central Mountain is a mountain in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, Columbia County, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, Sullivan County, and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, in Pennsylvania, United States. Its elevation is above sea level. ...

, Chimneystack Rock, and Buck Mountain. The community of Catawissa is close to Catawissa Mountain. Main Township and Locust Township are also located near the mountain.

Geology

Catawissa Mountain is relatively short and rounded, especially compared to nearby mountains such as Huntington Mountain, which are straight and narrow ridges. Catawissa Mountain has some rocky outcroppings. There are two zigzagging outcroppings of the

on Catawissa Mountain. These outcroppings pass through the mountain and south into Schuylkill County. They also have spurs and knobs at each point where they zigzag. The Northumberland

Syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...

passes through a spur of the mountain. The mountain also has an elbow which is part of a double synclinal that heads eastward to Nescopeck Mountain. A coarse and hard

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 silicat ...

can be found on Catawissa Mountain. Sandstone of the Pocono Formation occurs on the summit of the mountain. Catawissa Mountain is part of a chain of mountains running from beyond Dauphin to Carbondale. The mountain is located near both Nescopeck Mountain and Little Mountain. The meeting point of Catawissa Mountain and Nescopeck Mountain is on the edge of a canoe valley.

Hydrology

Several tributaries of the lower reaches of

originate on Catawissa Mountain. A number of these tributaries are affected by

acid deposition Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

. Roaring Creek is also close to the western side of the mountain. Catawissa Creek cuts a gap between Catawissa Mountain and

at the community of Mainville. The creek also flows parallel to Catawissa Mountain downstream of this gap. There are

s on Catawissa Mountain in Beaver Township and Roaring Creek Township.

History and etymology

The word ''Catawissa'' comes from the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

word ''Gatawissi'', meaning "growing fat". There was at least one Native American village in Catawissa, near Catawissa Mountain, and possibly several villages during different time periods. Historically, a road known as the Mine Gap Road climbed up Catawissa Mountain. In the past, a road led from the valley of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

to Catawissa via the southern part of the mountain. The Reading Road also passed from Catawissa to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

via the mountain. J.H. Beers stated in his 1915 book ''Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania'' that the height of Catawissa Mountain was estimated to be . The same author described the mountain as "majestic" and "towering" in his book. Since at least 2001, the Columbia-Montour Amateur Radio Club has had a receiver on Catawissa Mountain.

Biology

Catawissa Mountain is one of several places in Columbia County that has unbroken tracts of forest. It is part of a forested corridor between the Susquehanna River and Moosic Mountain.

Amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

s use the vernal pools on Catawissa Mountain as breeding grounds, including

American toad The American toad (''Anaxyrus americanus'') is a common species of toad found throughout Canada and the eastern United States. It is divided into three subspecies: the eastern American toad (''A. a. americanus''), the dwarf American toad (''A. a ...

wood frog ''Lithobates sylvaticus'' or ''Rana sylvatica'', commonly known as the wood frog, is a frog species that has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the boreal forest of the north to the southern Appalachians, with several nota ...

s, and

spotted salamander The spotted salamander or yellow-spotted salamander (''Ambystoma maculatum'') is a mole salamander common in eastern United States and Canada. The spotted salamander is the state amphibian of Ohio and South Carolina. This salamander ranges from N ...

s. In Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58, the forests on Catawissa Mountain are

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 ...

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

forests. Trees in these forests include

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...

chestnut oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...

scarlet oak ''Quercus coccinea'', the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section ''Lobatae'' of the genus ''Quercus'', in the family Fagaceae. It is primarily distributed in the central and eastern United States. It occurs on dry, sandy, usual ...

, mountain laurel,

black huckleberry Black huckleberry is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Gaylussacia baccata'', native to eastern North America *''Vaccinium membranaceum ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred t ...

, and

lowbush blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus '' Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries ...

. Numerous plant species inhabit the mountain's vernal pools. These include

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, cinnamon fern, royal fern, tussock sedge,

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

, and numerous others.

Recreation

The Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58 are located on Catawissa Mountain. Use of

s on the mountain is increasing, as of 2004. The Columbia County Natural Heritage Inventory of 2004 suggested blocking all terrain vehicle trails near the mountain's vernal pools.

References

External links

Topographical map of the peak of Catawissa Mountain
{{coord, 40.9199, -76.3168, type:mountain_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Landforms of Columbia County, Pennsylvania Mountains of Pennsylvania