Rock Bottom Creek Explained

Rock Bottom Creek
Source1 Location:lake in Jefferson Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Mouth Location:Roaring Brook in Roaring Brook Township, Pennsylvania
Mouth Coordinates:41.3898°N -75.554°W
Progression:Roaring Brook → Lackawanna RiverSusquehanna RiverChesapeake Bay
Length:3.2miles
Source1 Elevation:between 1720feetand1740feetft (andft)
Mouth Elevation:1306feet
Basin Size:3.06sqmi

Rock Bottom Creek is a tributary of Roaring Brook in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 3.2miles long and flows through Jefferson Township and Roaring Brook Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of 3.06sqmi. Wild trout naturally reproduce within it. The surficial geology in the creek's vicinity consists of Wisconsinan Till, alluvium, bedrock, fill, peat bogs, lakes, and wetlands.

Course

Rock Bottom Creek begins in a lake in Jefferson Township. It flows south-southwest for several tenths of a mile before turning northwest and then southwest. After several tenths of a mile, it turns west-northwest, entering Roaring Brook Township and reaching Interstate 84 and flowing southwest in its median strip for several tenths of a mile. The creek then turns west and leaves behind the median strip. A short distance further downstream, it crosses Pennsylvania Route 435 and reaches its confluence with Roaring Brook.

Rock Bottom Creek joins Roaring Brook 9.84miles upstream of its mouth.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Rock Bottom Creek is 1306feet above sea level. The elevation of the creek's source is between 1720feetand1740feetft (andft) above sea level.

Rock Bottom Glen is in the watershed of Rock Bottom Creek, in Roaring Brook Township. The Muni Bogs are in the watershed in Jefferson Township.

The surficial geology in the vicinity of Rock Bottom Creek mainly consists of a glacial or resedimented till known as Wisconsinan Till. However, there are also large patches of bedrock consisting of conglomeratic sandstone, sandstone, and shale. There are smaller patches of wetlands, peat bogs, lakes and fill. There is also an area of alluvium at the mouth of the creek.

Watershed and hydrology

The watershed of Rock Bottom Creek has an area of 3.06sqmi. The creek is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Olyphant.

The Jefferson Township Sewer Authority once applied for a permit to discharge into an unnamed tributary of Rock Bottom Creek.

History

Rock Bottom Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1199396.

In the early 2000s, the Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan recommended that Roaring Brook Township and Jefferson Township include protection of Keyser Creek in their zoning plans.

Biology

Wild trout naturally reproduce in Rock Bottom Creek from its headwaters downstream to its mouth. An unnamed tributary of the creek is considered to be a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery. Rock Bottom Creek was stocked with trout in the early 1900s.

See also