Catawissa Creek

Tributary of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania

Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat tributary of the Susquehanna River in east central Pennsylvania in the United States. Its watershed has an area of 153 square miles (396 km2). due to runoff from an abandoned mine in the creek's watershed. Catawissa Creek is smaller than the nearby Fishing Creek due to a lack of major tributaries. Catawissa Creek starts in Luzerne County, not far from Hazleton. It flows west and slightly south into Schuylkill County before flowing north into Columbia County and then west to the Susquehanna River, which it flows into at Catawissa. It parallels Catawissa Mountain for a significant portion of its course. The surface rock in Catawissa Creek largely consists of sedimentary rock, such as sandstone and shale. However, there is also coal in the watershed. Major soils in the creek's watershed include the Leck Kill soil and the Albrights series. Most of the steeper hills in the watershed are situated near the headwaters of the creek. Coal mining was once a major industry in the Catawissa Creek watershed, but this is no longer the case. Major tributaries of Catawissa Creek include Little Catawissa Creek and Tomhicken Creek. The president of the Catawissa Creek Watershed Restoration Association, Ed Wytovich, called Catawissa Creek "probably the most beautiful screwed up stream east of the Mississippi".

Where the Audenried Tunnel meets Catawissa Creek, the concentration of iron is 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The daily load of iron is , which is 1.24 times the total maximum daily load allowed under the U. S. Clean Water Act. There are 2.28 mg/L of magnesium in the creek. The daily load of it is per day, which is 3.73 times the total maximum daily load. Aluminium makes up 7.93 mg/L. The daily load is per day, which is 19.8 times the total maximum daily load. South of Mainville, the Catawissa Creek river valley is made of red shale. There is also conglomerate, greenish gray sandstone, olive colored shale, and anthracite coal near Catawissa Creek. The geological features near the headwaters of Catawissa Creek primarily include anthracite and ridges of sandstone. The valleys in this part of the watershed are narrow and steep. Elsewhere in the watershed, the topography consists mostly of less steep valleys and some hills.

Upon entering Schuylkill County in East Union Township, Catawissa Creek flows approximately west southwest into a valley. In the valley, it goes past the geographical features called Round Head and Blue Head, picking up a tributary near Blue Head. Beyond Blue Head, the creek flows past Sheppton and then Brandonville. It picks up a tributary called Rattling Run at the edge of the township, shortly before entering Union Township. As the creek enters Union Township, its valley briefly becomes very deep before becoming shallower again. It picks up Dark Run in the township. The creek flows along the East Union Township/Union Township border before entering North Union Township. Upon entering North Union Township, Catawissa Creek flows northwards until it reaches the community of Zion Grove, where it takes a sharp turn northwest. At Zion Grove, the walls of the creek's valley again become considerably higher and steeper. As it exits Zion Grove, it picks up Tomhicken Creek. Catawissa Creek takes a sharp turn to the west and flows under Red Ridge. At the western edge of Red Ridge, the creek takes a sharp turn northwards, followed shortly afterwards by a gentle turn westwards. It picks up Crooked Run at the edge of North Union Township, and then flows into Columbia County.

Catawissa Creek enters Columbia County in Beaver Township. It immediately passes by Bunker Hill and makes several meanders and passes by Beaver Valley. An old Conrail railroad starts paralleling Catawissa Creek at this point. In the southern part of Beaver Township, the creek is situated between Buck Mountain to the east and Catawissa Mountain to the west. The creek takes a sharp turn westwards as it passes by Shumans, where Pennsylvania Route 339 crosses the creek and Beaver Run flows into it. The creek closely follows Catawissa Mountain for a short distance before turning northwards and passing close to McCauley Mountain. It meanders past Dry Ridge and then Full Mill Hill, where Pennsylvania Route 339 crosses it again. The creek makes a hairpin turn northwards and picks up Gap Run before exiting Beaver Township. Leaving Beaver Township, the creek enters Main Township. It continues following Catawissa Mountain, and, for a shorter distance, Full Mill Hill. It picks up Gap Run and Fisher Run from the left, Scotch Run from the right, In Catawissa Township, the creek flows southwest to Catawissa. It follows the southern border of Catawissa until it reaches its edge and turns northwards, following the western border of Catawissa. Pennsylvania Route 487 crosses over the creek at this point. At the western edge of Catawissa, the creek empties into the Susquehanna River.

Catawissa, meaning "growing fat", was the name applied to the stream by the Native American tribes which originally occupied the area at the mouth of Catawissa Creek. Fur traders lived along the Catawissa as early as 1728. According to legend, Catawissa Creek got its name because an Indian killed a deer near there "in the season when the animal fattens".

In 1826, a forge was built on Catawissa Creek for making bar iron. The Catawissa Railroad, which was built in the 1830s, paralleled Catawissa Creek for part of its course. Another railroad that historically paralleled Catawissa Creek was the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes Barre Railroad, which was built in 1870. A paper mill was established on Catawissa Creek in Catawissa in 1811. In the late 19th century a dam was built on Catawissa Creek in Beaver Township.

Catawissa Creek's watershed ranges through four counties: Columbia County, Schuylkill County, Luzerne County, and Carbon County. The area of the watershed in Columbia and Schuylkill Counties are both large, with the area in Luzerne County being considerably smaller. The area in Carbon County consists of only a few square miles Tresckow. Pennsylvania Route 339 and Pennsylvania Route 924 are the main highways in the Catawissa Creek watershed. They both run along the creek for some distance. However, Interstate 81 passes by the creek's headwaters and there are many township roads throughout the watershed. The communities of McAdoo and Kelayres are on the extreme eastern edge of the watershed. Sheppton and Oneida are also in the watershed. The Hollingshead Covered Bridge No. 40 crosses Catawissa Creek. There are five drainage tunnels in the Catawissa Creek watershed: the Audenried, Oneida #1, Oneida #3, Catawissa, and Green Mountain. Audenried Tunnel drains the Jeansville Coal Basin on the eastern edge of the watershed. Oneida #1 empties into, Sugarloaf Creek, a tributary of Catawissa Creek. The Oneida #3 empties into Tomhicken Creek, another tributary of Catawissa Creek. The other two empty into Catawissa Creek itself, relatively close to each other. The Audenried Tunnel is responsible for 80% of the acid mine drainage flowing into Catawissa Creek. In 1966, some woodcocks were observed to live along Catawissa Creek. Rhododendrons and hemlocks typically grow close to Catawissa Creek, while hardwood trees grow higher up in Catawissa Creek's river valley. In the late 1800s, a large number of plants resembling fucoids were discovered along Catawissa Creek near the border of Main and Catawissa Townships. In the late 1950s, Catawissa Creek was found by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to have good temperatures for trout habitation, but there was no aquatic life in the creek due to acid mine drainage. This situation continued through the 1960s and 1970s. However, by 1997, large populations of wild trout were found on some tributaries of Catawissa Creek. As of 2003, Catawissa Creek is considered to be a cold water fishery between its headwaters and its confluence with Rattling Run. Several other tributaries, namely Dark Run, Davis Run, Little Catawissa Creek, and Messers Run are designated as high quality cold water fisheries.

Spies Run and Davis Run are two tributaries that flow into Catawissa Creek within a few miles of its headwaters. Spies Run is about one mile long and joins Catawissa Creek from the south. Davis Run is slightly longer, about 1.5 mile (2 km). It also joins Catawissa Creek from the south, near Brandonville. Rattling Run, a 2.3 mile (4 km) tributary, also flows into Catawissa Creek from the south near Brandonville. Tomhicken Creek is the next tributary of Catawissa Creek flowing downstream. It has a few tributaries, including Raccoon Creek and Sugarloaf Creek. Approximately two miles downstream of Tomhicken Creek, Crooked Run, Cranberry Run and Klingerman's Run join Catawissa Creek from the south about 2 to 3 miles apart. In addition to Klingerman's Run, Fisher Run, and Furnace Run flow down Catawissa Mountain to Catawissa Creek. Scotch Run flows into the creek from the east.

It is possible to paddle on much of Catawissa Creek for parts of the year. However, it is not usually possible to paddle on the creek during the summer. Upstream of Mainville, there are some riffles and small rapids. There is a larger rapid downstream of a low dam in the lower reaches of the creek.