Bear Brook (Roaring Brook)

Bear Brook
Other name(s) Bear Brook Creek
Basin
Progression Roaring Brook → Lackawanna River → Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay
Main source hill in Madison Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
between 1,800 and 1,820 feet (550 and 550 m)
River mouth Roaring Brook in Moscow, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
1,473 ft (449 m)
41°20′19″N 75°30′50″W / 41.33869°N 75.51397°W / 41.33869; -75.51397Coordinates: 41°20′19″N 75°30′50″W / 41.33869°N 75.51397°W / 41.33869; -75.51397
Watershed area 2.26 sq mi (5.9 km2)
Physiognomy
Length 3.0 mi (4.8 km)

Bear Brook (also known as Bear Brook Creek[1]) is a tributary of Roaring Brook in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 3.0 miles (4.8 km) long and flows through Madison Township and Moscow.[2] The watershed of the stream has an area of 2.26 square miles (5.9 km2). Wild trout naturally reproduce within it. The surficial geology in the vicinity of the stream's lower reaches consists of Wisconsinan Till, Wisconsinan Ice-Contact Stratified Drift, bedrock, and alluvium. A bridge carrying Pennsylvania Route 690 crosses the stream.

Course

Bear Brook begins on a hill in Madison Township. It flows northwest for several tenths of a mile, flowing down the hill and entering a lake. From the western end of the lake, the stream flows west-southwest for more than a mile in a valley alongside Pennsylvania Route 690. It eventually passes a few ponds or lakes and turns west for several tenths of a mile, entering Moscow. The stream then turns south for a few hundred feet before turning west for a short distance, crossing Pennsylvania Route 690 and reaching its confluence with Roaring Brook.[2]

Bear Brook joins Roaring Brook 14.48 miles (23.30 km) upstream of its mouth.[3]

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Bear Brook is 1,473 feet (449 m) above sea level.[4] The elevation of the stream's source is between 1,800 and 1,820 feet (550 and 550 m) above sea level.[2]

The surficial geology in the vicinity of Bear Brook in its lower reaches mainly consists of Wisconsinan Ice-Contact Stratified Drift, Wisconsinan Till, and bedrock consisting of conglomeratic sandstone, sandstone, and shale. However, there are also a few patches of alluvium.[5]

Watershed

The watershed of Bear Brook has an area of 2.26 square miles (5.9 km2).[3] The mouth of the stream is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Moscow. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Sterling.[4]

History

Bear Brook was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1168851.[4]

In the early 1900s, the Lackawanna County Commissioners received permission to construct a bridge over the creek on Nork Road.[1] A concrete slab bridge carrying Pennsylvania Route 690 was constructed across Bear Brook in 1933. This bridge is 25.9 feet (7.9 m) long and is situated in Moscow.[6]

In the early 2000s, the Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan recommended that Madison Township include protection of Langan Creek in its zoning plans.[7]

Biology

Wild trout naturally reproduce in Bear Brook from its upper reaches downstream to its mouth.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Department Reports of Pennsylvania, Volume 5, Part 2, 1919, p. 1308, retrieved April 14, 2015
  2. 1 2 3 United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer, retrieved April 14, 2015
  3. 1 2 Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, retrieved April 14, 2015
  4. 1 2 3 Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Bear Brook, retrieved April 14, 2015
  5. ↑ Duane D. Braun (2007), Surficial geology of the Moscow 7.5-minute quadrangle, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, p. 14, retrieved April 14, 2015
  6. ↑ Lackawanna County, retrieved April 14, 2015
  7. ↑ Lackawanna River Corridor Association (2001), Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan (PDF), retrieved April 14, 2015
  8. ↑ Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (January 2015), Pennsylvania Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) - Jan 2015 (PDF), p. 45, retrieved April 14, 2015
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