Martins Creek (Delaware River)

Double rainbow over Minsi Lake.
Minsi Lake in Northampton County

Martins Creek is a 10.4-mile-long (16.7 km)[1] tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania in the United States.[2]

Martins Creek joins the Delaware River at the town of Martins Creek.[2]

The source of the name was James Martin, early settler to the town Martins Creek, who later was a colonel during the Revolutionary War.

East Fork

The East Fork rises to the south of Kittatinny Mountain in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County. It is impounded to form Minsi Lake, the center of a county park. The largest white perch caught in the state was caught here in 1991. Below the lake, it flows through a swamp and meets the West Fork just below North Bangor.

West Fork

The West Fork rises in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, where Blue Mountain and Kittatinny Mountain ridges are joined. Flowing northeast, and then swinging east around the end of Blue Mountain, it joins the East Fork just below North Bangor.

Main stream

From the junction of the two forks, the main stream flows south through Roseto and Bangor, an area heavily marked with slate quarries. A former DL&W rail line, now Norfolk Southern, follows it south from Bangor. It passes through Flicksville and meets Greenwalk Creek just below Martins Creek Jct., where an abandoned DL&W line once diverged and ran northwest to Pen Argyl. The creek valley now becomes wide but steep, and increasingly narrow and twisty as it flows further south and meets Little Martins Creek. At the town of Martins Creek, the DL&W line connects to the former PRR Martins Creek Branch (now also Norfolk Southern), and PA Route 611 crosses the creek and runs along it before continuing south along the Delaware River. The creek passes the former Alpha Portland Cement plant, the major industry in the town, and empties into the Delaware River.

Tributaries

See also

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
  2. 1 2 Gertler, Edward. Keystone Canoeing, Seneca Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9749692-0-6

Coordinates: 40°46′32″N 75°10′29″W / 40.77552°N 75.17478°W / 40.77552; -75.17478

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