Browns Creek (Huntsville Creek)

Browns Creek (also known as Brown's Creek^[1]) is a tributary of Huntsville Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 3.6 miles (5.8 km) long and flows through Lehman Township and Jackson Township.^[2] The watershed of the creek has an area of 3.86 square miles (10.0 km²). The watershed is less developed than that of Toby Creek, but is beginning to urbanize. Wisconsinan Till, Wisconsinan Ice-Contact Stratified Drift, alluvium, sandstone and shale pits, and bedrock consisting of sandstone and shale all occur in the watershed.

Course

Browns Creek begins in a valley in Lehman Township, to the southwest of the Huntsville Reservoir. It flows south-southeast for more than a mile, entering Jackson Township, and its valley becomes slightly deeper. At the border of Chase, the creek turns east-northeast and begins flowing along the border. After several tenths of a mile, it receives an unnamed tributary from the left. A short distance further downstream, the creek turns east-southeast. It then turns east-northeast. After several tenths of a mile, it reaches its confluence with Huntsville Creek.^[2]

Browns Creek joins Huntsville Creek 1.20 miles (1.93 km) upstream of its mouth.^[3]

Hydrology

Browns Creek is not considered to be impaired.^[4]

The peak annual discharge of Browns Creek has a 10 percent chance of reaching 500 cubic feet per second. It has a 2 percent chance of reaching 850 cubic feet per second and a 1 percent chance of reaching 1030 cubic feet per second. The peak annual discharge has a 0.2 percent chance of reaching 1520 cubic feet per second.^[5]

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Browns Creek is 919 feet (280 m) above sea level.^[6] The elevation of the creek's source is between 1,120 and 1,140 feet (340 and 350 m) above sea level.^[2]

The surficial geology in the vicinity of Browns Creek mostly features a glacial or resedimented till known as the Wisconsinan Till and bedrock consisting of sandstone and shale. However, a large patch of Wisconsinan Ice-Contact Stratified Drift is situated near the creek's middle reaches. A few other small patches of it are located near the creek. Alluvium occurs along the creek in some places and there is a patch of sandstone and shale pits.^[7]

A feature identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an obstruction occurs on Browns Creek in Jackson Township, near a private road.^[8]

Watershed

The watershed of Browns Creek has an area of 3.86 square miles (10.0 km²).^[3] The creek is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Kingston.^[6]

The watershed of Browns Creek is less developed than the areas in the vicinity of the main stem of Toby Creek. However, the Browns Creek watershed is beginning to urbanize.^[1] There are several wetlands along the creek. A pond known as Beckers Pond is also in the watershed.^[7]

History

Browns Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1170385.^[6]

In 2000, as many as 5500 gallons of gasoline escaped from a ruptured pipeline in the vicinity of the watershed of Browns Creek. A total of three streams were affected by the gasoline leak: Browns Creek, a tributary of Browns Creek, and Huntsville Creek. Of these, Browns Creek was the second-most impacted stream. The most affected stream was the tributary of Browns Creek, where dead fish and aquatic wildlife were observed after the spill.^[9]

See also

• List of rivers of Pennsylvania

References