Roaring Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Columbia County and Montour County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is slightly more than long and flows through Roaring Creek Township, Locust Township, Catawissa Township, Cleveland Township, and Franklin Township in Columbia County and Mayberry Township in Montour County. The watershed of the creek has an area of . It has three named tributaries: South Branch Roaring Creek, Lick Run, and Mill Creek. The creek is not considered to be impaired and is not affected by coal mining. However, its watershed has been impacted by human land use. Claystones, conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, and shales all occur within the watershed. The creek flows through a gorge in its lower reaches, along the border between Columbia County and Montour County.
Most of the watershed of Roaring Creek is in Columbia County, but small areas are in Montour County, Northumberland County, and Schuylkill County. More than 40 percent of the watershed is forested and nearly 40 percent is agricultural land. State game lands and state forests are also in the watershed. A total of approximately 3,500 people inhabit the watershed, as of 2000. The creek's drainage basin is a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery upstream of Lick Run. Downstream of Lick Run, the main stem is a Trout Stocked Fishery and Migratory Fishery. A reach of the creek above Lick Run is designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters. 31 species of fish were observed at 20 sites in the watershed in 2003 and 2004.
Roaring Creek was historically known as Popemetang, but it was known as Roaring Creek by the late 1700s. Settlers such as Quakers first arrived in the area in the 1770s. In the 19th century, various mills and furnaces were constructed on the creek and several bridges were constructed. Agriculture was also a major industry in the watershed in the early 20th century. More bridges were constructed across the creek in the 20th century. The Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association formed in February 2006. Part of the creek is navigable by canoe.
Course
Roaring Creek begins on Catawissa Mountain in Roaring Creek Township, Columbia County. It flows west-southwest for a short distance before turning south for a few tenths of a mile. It then turns west for a few miles and flows off Catawissa Mountain before eventually crossing State Route 2003, passing Mill Grove, and entering Locust Township. The creek turns north-northwest for a few tenths of a mile and reenters Roaring Creek Township before turning west and reentering Locust Township. It then flows west-northwest for more than a mile and receives Mill Creek, its first named tributary, from the right, as well as receiving the tributary Lick Run from the left. The creek then turns northwest for more than a mile and enters Slabtown before turning west for several tenths of a mile and crossing Pennsylvania Route 42. After this, it turns northwest for several tenths of a mile before meandering west-southwest for a few miles, passing Queen City, Parrs Mill, and a lake known as Lake Glory. In this stretch, the creek leaves Locust Township and crosses the border between Catawissa Township and Cleveland Township three or four times before entering Franklin Township. Near Pennsyl's Mill, The creek then meanders northwest for a few miles, crossing Pennsylvania Route 487 and receiving South Branch Roaring Creek, its least named tributary, from the left. Upon reaching the Montour County line, the creek turns north for a few miles, flowing along the border between Franklin Township, Columbia County and Mayberry Township, Montour County. In this reach, it passes through a gorge with Sharp Ridge on the west. After a few miles, the creek leaves the gorge and crosses State Route 3012. A few tenths of a mile further downstream, it reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River.
Roaring Creek joins the Susquehanna River upriver of its mouth.
Tributaries Roaring Creek has three named tributaries: South Branch Roaring Creek, Lick Run, and Mill Creek. South Branch Roaring Creek joins Roaring Creek upstream of its mouth. Its watershed has an area of . Lick Run joins Roaring Creek upstream of its mouth. Its watershed has an area of . Mill Creek joins Roaring Creek upstream of its mouth. Its watershed has an area of .
Hydrology The concentration of alkalinity in Roaring Creek upstream of Lick Run is 9 milligrams per liter. Many nearby watersheds have been rendered nearly devoid of aquatic life due to acid mine drainage caused by coal mining. However, Roaring Creek has not been affected by this, although it has been still impacted by human land use. Sedimentation, siltation, and agricultural impacts occur in the watershed. The only impaired stream in the watershed is a small unnamed tributary that is impaired by siltation. From a chemical standpoint, Roaring Creek is infertile.
The specific conductance of Roraing Creek ranges from 11 micro-siemens per centimeter at site 2 to 127 micro-siemens per centimeter at site 4. In 2003 and 2004, the pH of the creek ranged from 7.0 to 7.2. In a later survey, it was found to be acidic at sites 1 and 2 (6.50 and 6.89, respectively), but alkaline at sites 3 and 4 (7.34 and 8.27, respectively). The concentration of alkalinity in the creek ranges from 5.1 milligrams per liter at site 1 to 32 milligrams per liter at site 2. The concentration of water hardness ranges from 28 milligrams per liter at river mile 4.04 to 44 milligrams per liter at river mile 8.54. The discharge of the creek is 12.2 liters per second at site 1, 243.5 liters per second at site 2, 216.7 liters per second at site 3, and 271.6 liters per second at site 4.
The concentration of nitrogen in Roaring Creek ranges from 956.5 micrograms per liter at site 1 to 2343.1 micrograms per liter at site 2. The phosphorus concentration ranges from 12.6 micrograms per liter at site 1 to 28.6 micrograms per liter at site 2.
Geography, geology, and climate
The elevation near the mouth of Roaring Creek is above sea level. The elevation of the creek's source is between above sea level. From above sea level, the gradient of the creek is 57.1 feet per mile. From above sea level to its mouth, the gradient is 25.7 feet per mile.
The topography at the headwaters of Roaring Creek is mountainous. However, much of the watershed is rough and hilly and the creek flows through a valley surrounded by broken hills. It flows through a narrow gorge for its last . The creek's channel is sinuous. There are cobbly and rocky rapids on some reaches of the creek. In the gorge, the creek flows past cliffs and over ledges and waterfalls. A set of wet limestone ledges known as the Roaring Creek Bluffs are located along the creek in Franklin Township and Montour County. Power lines also cross the creek in this reach. Some strainers occur on the creek upstream of State Route 3012. A ridge known as Sharp Ridge is located near the creek.
Roaring Creek is located in the ridge and valley physiographic province. A dividing ridge separates the creek from the Susquehanna River. One reach of the creek is a mid-sized coldwater stream. Another reach is a large freestone stream. Roaring Creek flows through rock formations consisting of sandstone and shale. Rocks in the watershed include claystones, conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, and shales from the Devonian and Mississippian. Outcroppings of calcareous beds, limestones, and marine fossils occur in the watershed as well. Some mineable coal is present in the watershed of South Branch Roaring Creek. The Genesee beds appear along the creek and are the lowest beds that are visible above the water line. To the east, they are covered by Chemung beds. A soil known as the Albrights Series is found along the creek. It is a reddish-brown soil that is slightly poorly or moderately well drained and is made from glaciated red shale and sandstone.
Roaring Creek has a 100 year floodplain. The average annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of Roaring Creek ranges from . In July 2003 and June 2004, the water temperature of the creek was found to range from at river mile 10.98 to at river mile 6.02. The air temperature near the creek ranged from at river mile 8.54 to at river mile 6.02.
Watershed
The watershed of Roaring Creek has an area of . The watershed occupies parts of Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland County, and Schuylkill County. Most of the watershed is in Columbia County and smaller areas are in Montour County and Northumberland County. Only a very small area in its upper reaches is in Schuylkill County. The watershed is in the Lower North Branch Susquehanna drainage basin. The creek's mouth is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Danville. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Shumans. The creek also passes through the quadrangle of Catawissa. Other quadrangles that the watershed is in include Shamokin, Ashland, and Mount Carmel. The creek flows in a generally northwesterly direction and serves as the border between Montour County and Columbia County in its last . Roaring Creek is one of three major streams draining the southern part of Columbia County.
More than 40 percent of the watershed of Roaring Creek is on forested land, including evergreen and deciduous forests, as well as mixed forests. A significant portion of the forested land in the watershed is a tract of land along South Branch Roaring Creek. This tract was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 2003. A large tract of forested land on a ridge running from Moosic to the Susquehanna River passes through the watershed of Roaring Creek. State forest land occurs along the southern edge of the watershed and Pennsylvania State Game Lands (Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58) occur along the eastern edge. Nearly 40 percent of the watershed is on agricultural land. This land use occurs in the creek's valley, as does open space.
Upstream of Lick Run, 13 percent of Roaring Creek is on public land that is open to access. The remaining 87 percent is on private land that is closed to access. The remaining reaches of the creek are entirely on private land, but open to access. As of 2000, approximately 3,500 people live in the watershed. In section 01, the population density of the watershed is 18 people per square kilometer as of 2000. In section 02, the population density is 22 people per square kilometer and in section 03, the population density is 16 people per square kilometer. In section 01 of the creek, 50 percent of its length is within 100 meters of a road, 89 percent is within 300 meters, and 91 percent is within 500 meters. In section 02, 28 percent is within 100 meters, 87 percent is within 300 meters, and 100 percent is within 500 meters. In section 03, 96 percent of its length is within 100 meters of a road, 98 percent is within 300 meters of one, and 100 percent is within 500 meters of one. The creek flows through a remote-seeming farm valley for a substantial part of its length. Major roads in or near the watershed include Pennsylvania Route 487, Pennsylvania Route 54, and Pennsylvania Route 42.
Visual assessment of Roaring Creek was carried out by Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association volunteers at four locations in October and November 2007. The scores ranged from 15.5 out of 28 (55 percent; the lowest value in the entire watershed) to 23 out of 28 (82 percent).
History and etymology Roaring Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1185166.