Crooked Creek (Pennsylvania)

Infobox River | river_name = Crooked Creek


caption =
origin = Chatham Township
mouth = Tioga River Tioga,
basin_countries = Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States
length = 24.6 mi (39.6 km)
elevation = 1979 ft (603 m)
discharge =
watershed = 123 mi² (342 km²)

Crooked Creek is a tributary of the Tioga River located entirely in Tioga County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Crooked Creek is 24.6 miles (39.6 kilometers) long.

Geography

The source is near the unincorporated village of Little Marsh in Chatham Township at an elevation of 1979 feet (603 meters). The creek first flows east for 15 mi (24.1 km), then northeast for 9 mi (14.5 km). The mouth is at the confluence with the Tioga River, just north of the borough of Tioga, at an elevation of 1018 ft (310 m).

The difference in elevation (961 ft or 293 m) divided by the length of the creek of gives the average drop in elevation per unit length of creek or relief ratio of 39.1 ft/mi (7.4 m/km ). The meander ratio is 1.07, so despite its name, the creek is fairly straight in its bed.cite book
last = Shaw
first = Lewis C.
others = Prepared in Cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey
title = Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams Part II (Water Resources Bulletin No. 16)
origdate = June, 1984
edition = 1st Edition
publisher = Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Resources (no ISBN)
location = Harrisburg, PA]

Watershed

The watershed area is 123 mi² (342 km²), with a population of 4,570 as of 2000. Of that area, 79 mi² (205 km²) are forested, 51 mi² (132 km²) are given to agricultural uses, and 1 mi² (2.6 km²) is open water. The watershed accounts for 12% of Tioga County by area. cite web
url = http://www.chesapeakebay.net/wspv31/(3fwefm55tzka3q45qloiyxbu)/WspAbout.aspx?basno=147&topic=5
title = Chesapeake Bay Program: Watershed Profiles: The Crooked Creek Watershed
publisher = Chesapeake Bay Program Office, 10 Severn Avenue, Suite 109, Annapolis, MD 21403
accessdate = 2006-06-02]

Hammond Reservoir

Crooked Creek has one major impoundment, the Hammond Reservoir, formed by a dam just before it enters the Tioga River. The lake has a surface area of 685 acres (2.8 km²) and is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who built the Hammond Dam from 1973 to 1979. Built together with the adjoining Tioga dam and Tioga lake (on the Tioga River), the total project cost $200 million.

The dam projects were initially authorized by the United States Congress in the Flood Control Act of 3 July, 1958 (Public Law 85-500). A channel connects the two lakes so that Hammond Lake (which has greater storage capacity) may be used to store excess (flood) water from Tioga Lake.

However, in addition to flood control on the Chemung and North Branch Susquehanna Rivers, the dams are also meant to help decrease the acidity of water in the Tioga River downstream of the dams by dilution with the more neutral waters of Crooked Creek. The Tioga River's acidity is caused by acid mine drainage.

The lakes also offer recreational opportunities, including camping, boating, fishing, swimming, and hiking on area trails.

ee also

*List of Pennsylvania rivers
*Tioga Lake, California

References

External links

* [http://waterdata.usgs.gov/pa/nwis/current/?type=flow U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations]
* [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/tioga_GHSN.PDF Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Map of Tioga County showing Crooked Creek]
* [http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/recreation/tioga.htm U.S. Army Corps of Engineers page on Tioga-Hammond Lakes]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/cemt/hammdam.htm History of the Hammond-Tioga Dam Project]