Maple Spring Brook Explained

Maple Spring Brook
Name Other:Maple Spring Branch, Maple Spring Run
Source1 Location:mountain in Fairmount Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Mouth Location:Kitchen Creek in Fairmount Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Mouth Coordinates:41.3095°N -76.2762°W
Progression:Kitchen Creek → Huntington CreekFishing CreekSusquehanna RiverChesapeake Bay
Length:0.6miles
Source1 Elevation:between 2100feetand2120feetft (andft)
Mouth Elevation:1325feet
Basin Size:0.4sqmi

Maple Spring Brook (also known as Maple Spring Branch or Maple Spring Run) is a tributary of Kitchen Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 0.6miles long and flows through Fairmount Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of 0.4sqmi. There is a waterfall in the stream's upper reaches and hemlock trees occur in the vicinity. The surficial geology in the area consists mainly of Wisconsinan Till, Wisconsinan Bouldery Till, wetlands, and bedrock consisting of shale and sandstone.

Course

Maple Spring Brook begins on a mountain in Fairmount Township, not far from Red Rock Mountain. It flows southeast for a short distance and enters a deep valley before turning south. The stream then turns east-southeast for a short distance before reaching its confluence with Kitchen Creek.

Maple Spring Brook joins Kitchen Creek 6.4miles upstream of its mouth.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Maple Spring Brook is 1325feet above sea level. The elevation near the source of the stream is between 2100feetand2120feetft (andft) above sea level.

The surficial geology in the vicinity of the lower reaches of Maple Spring Brook mainly features a glacial or resedimented till known as Wisconsinan Till. Further upstream, there is bedrock consisting of sandstone and shale. Near the headwaters, there is Wisconsinan Bouldery Till and a patch of wetland.

Watershed and biology

The watershed of Maple Spring Brook has an area of 0.4sqmi. The stream is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Red Rock.

There is a waterfall with a height of 15feet on Maple Spring Brook. It is in the stream's upper reaches and is situated several hundred feet downstream of the Ganoga View Trail.

A white ash tree with a height of 139.7feet was observed in the vicinity of Maple Spring Brook on September 15, 2004. Its height was measured via the laser-clinometer method. There are numerous hemlock trees in the vicinity of the stream's upper reaches.

History and recreation

Maple Spring Brook was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1180366.

Maple Spring Branch is in Ricketts Glen State Park. The Ganoga View Trail in Ricketts Glen State Park crosses the stream near its headwaters.

See also