Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
to the north from 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 ...
valley and the several near parallel ridgelines of the
Ridge-and-valley Appalachians
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 ...
barrier range all local members of which run generally WSW-ENE in the greater overall area.
Nestled above a creek sculpted ravine across from the even less negotiable sides of Broad Mountain the flanks above
Nesquehoning Creek
Nesquehoning Creek is an east flowing tributary of the Lehigh River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004.
Nesquehoning Creek joins the Lehigh River 2 miles (3.2 ...
reach a sharp bend cut by the water gap of the
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...
Nesquehoning Creek
Nesquehoning Creek is an east flowing tributary of the Lehigh River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004.
Nesquehoning Creek joins the Lehigh River 2 miles (3.2 ...
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 drai ...
of the
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...
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, ...
.
Watersheds divided
Nesquehoning Creek originates both in a forested area on the slopes of Broad Mountain at an elevation somewhat in excess of 1360 ft on USGS topological maps, as well as above Tamaqua Gap cut by the
Little Schuylkill River
The Little Schuylkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
It rises south of McAdoo He ...
and Tamaqua in a saddle pass connecting with Broad Mountain. It flows south for about then turns to the northeast and flows into Greenwood Lake. Approximately downstream from the spillway, it discharges into Lake Hauto. It then continues to the northeast in a relatively narrow valley flowing past the ravine now traversed by
US 209
U.S. Route 209 (US 209) is a long U.S. Highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of US 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, coming within five miles of the route and making the short ...
climbing up Room Run to the upper foot of Mount Pisgah above the divide from Panther Creek. The stream then travels down a narrow undeveloped section to its confluence with the Lehigh River.
History and surrounds
The heavily forested, relatively steep slopes of Broad and Nesquehoning Mountains characterize the land within the watershed. While
US 209
U.S. Route 209 (US 209) is a long U.S. Highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of US 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, coming within five miles of the route and making the short ...
and
PA 93
Pennsylvania Route 93 (PA 93) is a state route located in Carbon, Luzerne, and Columbia counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Nesquehoning, about half-way from PA just north of the 1800s ...
both climb watercourse ravines on opposite sides of the valley, the Nesquehoning route is very steep and was not anything more than a mule road before the systematic attempt to create a U.S. highway was put through alongside the creek.
The Nesquehoning Creek valley consists of some residential and industrial development. Urban development is concentrated in the Borough of Nesquehoning and
Hometown
Hometown, HomeTown, or Home Town may refer to:
*A hometown, the town where someone lives or the town that they come from, typically their place of birth.
*In developing nations particularly: native place, village of origin in newly urbanized soc ...
along the climb to Barnesville, where the transportation corridor can drop down into the
Mahanoy Creek
Mahanoy 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 Northumberland and Schuylkill counties, Pennsylvania. There are ...
Valley. In 1830
Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company
The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was a mining and transportation company headquartered in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, now known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The company operated from 1818 until its dissolution in 1964 and played an early and i ...
operating manager
Josiah White
Josiah White (1781–1850) was a Pennsylvania industrialist and key figure in the American Industrial Revolution.
Career
White began early factory-centered mill production in 1808 in water powered ironworks near Philadelphia, along with his par ...
opened mining digs at overt anthracite outcroppings in Room Run ravine (Also spelled Rhume Run), and built a self-acting plane (
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...
) railroad two miles downstream to the company's Lehigh Canal.
Large areas in the valley have been disturbed by coal mining related activities, including a majority of terrains down-crest inside the
Panther Creek Valley
In Eastern Pennsylvania, the valley of the Panther Creek tributary of the Little Schuylkill River, a very small and relatively short mountain creek, was historically important due to its stranglehold on energy production, a key region central to ...
. While the ridge has been extensively mined, most of the digging is on the higher and less steep side of the mountain within the Panther Creek Valley. Much of the runoff from strip mines is retained in abandoned pits, and shaft mines from the Nesquehoning Creek side have been rare, the sole exception being the mine converted into the
Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad
The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad is a defunct railroad that operated in eastern Pennsylvania during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The company was a subsidiary of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N), but for much of its lifetim ...
's
Hauto Tunnel
The Hauto Tunnel, dug in 1871–72, was a single-track railway tunnel crossing under the barrier ridge of Nesquehoning Mountain between Lansford, Pennsylvania, in the Panther Creek Valley and the Central Railroad of New Jersey trackage near the ...
in 1872, and therefore lesser amounts of
surface runoff
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when t ...
is discharged into Nesquehoning Creek.
Notes
Image:Nesq_Creek 1.jpg, Nesquehoning Creek at the bridge on Industrial Road,Green Acres Industrial Park
Image:Creek flood 1.JPG, Nesquehoning Creek during the flood of June 27, 2006
See also
*
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
*'' ...
*
Broad Run Reservoir
Broad Run Reservoir, or Fourth Hollow Reservoir, is a reservoir located in the Broad Mountain within the Borough of Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1970-1971.
The reservoir can hold approximately of water and is approximately 35 ...
