Briar Creek (Susquehanna River tributary)
Briar Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is 7.77 miles (12.50 km) in length. The stream has a watershed area of 33.0 square miles. It flows through Briar Creek Township and the borough of Briar Creek. The area near the creek was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape and the Shawanese. European settlers arrived in the 1770s.
| Briar Creek | |
|---|---|
Briar Creek in Briar Creek Township | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| County | Columbia County, Pennsylvania |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Knob Mountain in Briar Creek Township |
| Mouth | |
• location | Susquehanna River in Briar Creek |
| Length | 7.77 mi (12.50 km) |
| Basin size | 33.0 sq mi (85 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 18.5 cubic feet per second (0.52 m3/s) (median, near the mouth) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | East Branch Briar Creek |
| • right | West Branch Briar Creek |
Briar Creek has two named tributaries: West Branch Briar Creek and East Branch Briar Creek. The discharge of Briar Creek ranges from 0.06 to 50 cubic feet per second. The water temperature of the creek ranges from 32 °F (0 °C) to 80.96 °F (27.20 °C). The rock in the watershed mostly consists of sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, limestone, and shale.
There are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in the watershed, as well as a lake known as the Briar Creek Reservoir. In the lake, the most common species of fish is yellow perch.