Lick Branch

Lick Branch

Lick Branch looking downstream
Basin
Progression Huntington Creek → Fishing Creek → Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay
Main source steep valley in the foothills of North Mountain in Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Source elevation between 1,300 and 1,320 feet (400 and 400 m)
River mouth Huntington Creek in Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
41°16′27″N 76°12′49″W / 41.2741°N 76.2137°W / 41.2741; -76.2137Coordinates: 41°16′27″N 76°12′49″W / 41.2741°N 76.2137°W / 41.2741; -76.2137
Mouth elevation 899 ft (274 m)
Basin area 2.34 sq mi (6.1 km2)
Length 2.6 mi (4.2 km)

Lick Branch is a tributary of Huntington Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 2.6 miles (4.2 km) long and flows through Ross Township and Fairmount Township.[1] The watershed of the stream has an area of 2.34 square miles (6.1 km2) and has no tributaries. The stream is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for brook trout throughout its entire length. Glacial till, alluvium, and wetlands can be found in its vicinity.

Course

Lick Branch looking upstream

Lick Branch begins in a steep valley in the foothills of North Mountain, just south of Pennsylvania Route 118 in western Ross Township. The stream flows southwest and enters Fairmount Township. In Fairmount Township, it turns south and then south-southeast, reentering Ross Township and its valley deepens. In Ross Township, the stream continues flowing south-southwest for more than a mile, while its valley deepens. It then turns southeast and then south, leaving the valley and reaching its confluence with Huntington Creek.[1]

Lick Branch joins Huntington Creek 19.64 miles (31.61 km) upstream of its mouth.[2]

Tributaries

Lick Branch has no tributaries, named or unnamed.[1]

Hydrology, geography, and geology

The concentration of alkalinity in the waters of Lick Branch is 9 milligrams per liter.[3]

The elevation near the mouth of Lick Branch is 899 feet (274 m) above sea level.[4] The elevation of the creek's source is between 1,300 and 1,320 feet (400 and 400 m) above sea level.[1]

Most of the length of Lick Branch is on Wisconsinan Till. Most of the till in the vicinity of the stream is expected to be more than 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. Near the stream's mouth and also a few areas in its middle reaches, there are areas of alluvium. In the valley of the stream, the alluvium is approximately 6 feet (1.8 m). Nearer to the valley of Huntington Creek, the alluvium is 10 feet (3.0 m) thick or more. Additionally, there is a wetland in the stream's upper reaches.[5]

Phillips Creek attempted to flow down the valley of Lick Branch prior to the glaciation of the area. However, a mass of till under Pennsylvania Route 118 diverted it to its present course.[5]

Watershed

The watershed of Lick Branch has an area of 2.34 square miles (6.1 km2).[2] Both the mouth and the source of the stream are in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Sweet Valley.[6] A total of 3 percent of the stream's length is on public land. The remaining 97 percent is in private land that is closed to the public.[3]

History

Lick Branch has had its name since at least 1958, when it was on a map created by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission.[7] The stream was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1179276.[6] The stream was designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in 1999.[8]

Biology

Lick Branch is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for brook trout between its headwaters and its mouth.[3] The stream is one of six direct tributaries of Huntington Creek to be designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters.[3][9] The others are Mitchler Run, Shingle Run, Arnold Creek, Phillips Creek, and part of Kitchen Creek.[3][9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer, retrieved December 18, 2014
  2. 1 2 Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, retrieved December 18, 2014
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (December 16, 2013), Class A Wild Trout Waters (PDF), p. 24, retrieved December 18, 2014
  4. ↑ Topographic Map Stream Features in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, archived from the original on July 14, 2014, retrieved December 18, 2014
  5. 1 2 Duane D. Braun (2007), Surficial Geology of the Sweet Valley 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (PDF), pp. 10, 17, archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2007, retrieved December 18, 2014
  6. 1 2 Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Lick Branch, retrieved December 18, 2014
  7. ↑ Pennsylvania Fish Commission (1958), Luzerne County Map From the atlas Luzerne County 1958 – Waters – Highway published by Pennsylvania Fish Commission in 1958, retrieved December 18, 2014
  8. ↑ "NOTICES Designation of 1999 Class A Wild Trout Waters [29 Pa.B. 4624]", Pennsylvania Bulletin, 1999, retrieved December 18, 2014
  9. 1 2 Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (May 2014), Pennsylvania Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) – May 2014 (PDF), pp. 48–50, retrieved December 20, 2014
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