Bow Creek (Big Wapwallopen Creek tributary)
Bow Creek is a tributary of Big Wapwallopen Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and flows through Fairview Township and Wright Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of 4.69 square miles (12.1 km2). The creek has no named tributaries, but several unnamed ones, such as Bow Creek Tributary A. Bow Creek has been historically nearly devoid of life, but is now considered to be Class A Wild Trout Waters. There is a bridge carrying Pennsylvania Route 309 across the creek. Wisconsinan Till, alluvium, and bedrock consisting of sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal occur in the watershed. Several volatile organic compounds have been detected in small amounts in surface water in the watershed. The creek occasionally floods, but such flooding typically causes little damage.
| Bow Creek | |
|---|---|
Bow Creek looking downstream in its lower reaches | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Arbutus Peak in Fairview Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
| • elevation | between 1,920 and 1,940 feet (590 and 590 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Big Wapwallopen Creek in Fairview Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
• coordinates | 41°08′28″N 75°54′49″W |
• elevation | 1,227 ft (374 m) |
| Length | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) |
| Basin size | 4.69 sq mi (12.1 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 550 cu ft/s (16 m3/s) peak annual discharge at mouth (10% probability) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Big Wapwallopen Creek → Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | two unnamed tributaries |
| • right | one unnamed tributary |