Furnace Run (Catawissa Creek)

Furnace Run

Catawissa Creek at the mouth of Furnace Run. The mouth is near the center of the picture.
Origin Catawissa Mountain in eastern Catawissa Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Mouth Catawissa Creek in Main Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania
40°57′49″N 76°22′24″W / 40.96358°N 76.37335°W / 40.96358; -76.37335Coordinates: 40°57′49″N 76°22′24″W / 40.96358°N 76.37335°W / 40.96358; -76.37335
Progression Catawissa Creek → Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay
Etymology named after a nearby furnace
Length 2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Source elevation 1,440 to 1,460 feet (440 to 450 m)
Mouth elevation 551 ft (168 m)
Basin area 2.82 sq mi (7.3 km2)
Right tributaries Trib 27545 to Furnace Run

Furnace Run is a tributary of Catawissa Creek in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long and flows through Catawissa Township and Main Township. The stream is the last named tributary to enter Catawissa Creek before its mouth.[1] The stream's watershed has an area of 2.82 square miles (7.3 km2). The main rock formations are the Pottsville Group and the Mauch Chunk Formation. The stream itself is considered to be a high quality coldwater fishery and Class A Wild Trout Waters.

Course

Furnace Run begins on Catawissa Mountain in eastern Catawissa Township. It flows northeast in a valley and enters Main Township after approximately a thousand feet. After continuing northeast for a few tenths of a mile, it turns east-southeast. A short distance downstream, it receives an unnamed tributary and turns east-northeast and crosses a road. More than a mile further downstream, the stream reaches its confluence with Catawissa Creek.[1]

Furnace Run joins Catawissa Creek 7.37 miles (11.86 km) upstream of its mouth.[2]

Tributaries

Furnace Run has one unnamed tributary. It is known as "Trib 27545 to Furnace Run".[3]

Geography, geology, and hydrology

The elevation near the mouth of Furnace Run is 551 feet (168 m) above sea level.[4] The elevation of the stream at its source is between 1,440 feet (440 m) and 1,460 feet (450 m) above sea level.[1]

The main rock formation in the watershed of Furnace Run is the Pocono Formation. However, the Mauch Chunk Formation is found in the watershed's lower reaches. The main soils in the watershed are the Hazleton soil and the Leck Kill soil.[3]

The total concentration of alkalinity in the watershed of Furnace Run is 2 milligrams per liter.[5]

Watershed

The watershed of Furnace Run has an area of 2.82 square miles (7.3 km2).[2] The upper reaches of the watershed are in the Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58. The watershed of the stream is mostly in southwestern Main Township, but a portion of it is in southeastern Catawissa Township.[3]

History

A furnace known as the Catawissa Furnace was constructed on Furnace Run near Mainville in 1815 by John Hauck.[6][7]

Furnace Run was named in the middle of the 1800s after an iron furnace that was located in its vicinity. A nineteenth-century school district or geographical district known as the Furnace District was located in Cleveland Township. It was named after Furnace Run.[8]

Biology

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection classifies Furnace Run as a high-quality coldwater fishery.[3] The stream is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be Class A Wild Trout Waters from its headwaters to its mouth.[3][5]

Brook trout inhabit Furnace Run and reproduce naturally there.[5][9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer, retrieved September 11, 2014
  2. 1 2 Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, retrieved September 11, 2014
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Pennsylvania Environmental Council (December 9, 2010), CATAWISSA CREEK WATERSHED RIVERS CONSERVATION PLAN (PDF), retrieved September 11, 2014
  4. ↑ Topographic Map Stream Features in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, retrieved September 11, 2014
  5. 1 2 3 Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (December 16, 2013), Class A Wild Trout Waters (PDF), p. 17, retrieved September 12, 2014
  6. ↑ James Moore Swank (1878), Introduction to a History of Ironmaking and Coal Mining in Pennsylvania, retrieved September 12, 2014
  7. ↑ J.H. Beers (1915), Historical and biographical annals of Columbia and Montour counties, Pennsylvania, p. 23, retrieved September 12, 2014
  8. ↑ Walter M. Brasch (1982), Columbia County place names, p. 92, retrieved September 12, 2014
  9. ↑ Pennsylvania Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) - July 2013 Columbia County (PDF), July 2013, retrieved September 12, 2014

External links

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