Red Brook (Stony Brook tributary)

Red Brook
Physical characteristics
Main source	Coalbed Swamp in Forkston Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania; 2,210 feet (670 m)
River mouth	Stony Brook in Forkston Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania near Kasson Brook; 1,568 feet (478 m); 41°28′35″N76°11′06″W / 41.4764°N 76.1851°W Coordinates: 41°28′35″N76°11′06″W / 41.4764°N 76.1851°W
Length	1.7 miles (2.7 km)
Basin features
Progression	Stony Brook → Mehoopany Creek → Susquehanna River → Chesapeake Bay
Basin size	1.86 square miles (4.8 km2)

Last updated May 04, 2019

Red Brook is a tributary of Stony Brook in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 1.7 miles (2.7 km) long and flows through Forkston Township.^[1] The watershed of the stream has an area of 1.86 square miles (4.8 km²). The stream has been named one of the best places for hiking in Wyoming County and features waterfalls, cascades, cliffs, and boulders. Its headwaters are in Coalbed Swamp, a combined boreal conifer swamp and shrub swamp.

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean.

Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,276. Its county seat is Tunkhannock. It was created in 1842 from part of Luzerne County.

Forkston Township is a township in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 397 at the 2010 census.

Course

Red Brook begins on Dutch Mountain in Coalbed Swamp, in Forkston Township. It flows northeast for a short distance before turning east-southeast and entering a valley. After several tenths of a mile, the stream turns east-northeast for several tenths of a mile. It then reaches its confluence with Stony Brook.^[1]

Red Brook joins Stony Brook 1.86 miles (2.99 km) upstream of its mouth.^[2]

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Red Brook is 1,568 feet (478 m) above sea level.^[3] The elevation near the stream's source is 2,210 feet (670 m) above sea level.^[1]

A river mouth is the part of a river where the river debouches into another river, a lake, a reservoir, a sea, or an ocean.

Mean sea level (MSL) is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earth's oceans from which heights such as elevation may be measured. MSL is a type of vertical datum – a standardised geodetic datum – that is used, for example, as a chart datum in cartography and marine navigation, or, in aviation, as the standard sea level at which atmospheric pressure is measured to calibrate altitude and, consequently, aircraft flight levels. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a mean low and mean high tide at a particular location.

The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the furthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river.

Geographical features along Red Brook include two large waterfalls, a number of smaller cascades, large boulders (some of which are covered with moss), and cliffs.^[4] The headwaters of the stream are located in Coalbed Swamp, which is part of a complex of wetlands at the summit of Dutch Mountain.^[1]^[5]

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.

Mosses are small flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height.

A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is inundated by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of functions, including water purification, water storage, processing of carbon and other nutrients, stabilization of shorelines, and support of plants and animals. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Whether any individual wetland performs these functions, and the degree to which it performs them, depends on characteristics of that wetland and the lands and waters near it. Methods for rapidly assessing these functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed in many regions and have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions and the ecosystem services some wetlands provide.

Hydrology and watershed

The watershed of Red Brook has an area of 1.94 square miles (5.0 km²).^[2] The stream is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Dutch Mountain.^[3] Its mouth is located near Kasson Brook.^[2] The designated use of the stream is for aquatic life.^[6]

A drainage basin is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. The drainage basin includes all the surface water from rain runoff, snowmelt, and nearby streams that run downslope towards the shared outlet, as well as the groundwater underneath the earth's surface. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at lower elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins, which in turn drain into another common outlet.

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.

In geology or geography, the word "quadrangle" usually refers to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangle map, which are usually named after a local physiographic feature. The shorthand "quad" is also used, especially with the name of the map; for example, "the Ranger Creek, Texas quad map". These maps are one-quarter of the older 15-minute series. On a quadrangle map, the north and south limits of the quadrangle are not straight lines, but are actually curved to match Earth's lines of latitude on the standard projection. The east and west limits are usually not parallel as they match Earth's lines of longitude. In the United States, a 7.5 minute quadrangle map covers an area of 49 to 70 square miles.

Red Brook is not designated as an impaired waterbody.^[6]

History and recreation

Red Brook was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1199361.^[3]

Historical features in the vicinity of Red Brook include an old railroad grade and the remains of an old camp. The stream has been named one of the top ten places for hiking in Wyoming County. It has been described by Jeff Mitchell as "A special place in Wyoming County."^[4] Logging was probably done in the Coalbed Swamp area of the stream's watershed in the 1890s, but it is currently in good condition.^[5]

Biology

Coalbed Swamp, which is in the watershed of Red Brook, is listed on the Wyoming County Natural Areas Inventory.^[1]^[5] This swamp is home to part of the largest population of yellow-bellied flycatchers in Pennsylvania.^[7] The swamp has an area of 140 acres (57 ha), about half of which is a boreal conifer swamp dominated by red spruce. The rest of the area consists of a shrub swamp dominated by blueberry bushes, leatherleaf, and sedges.^[5]

Related Research Articles

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References

1 2 3 4 5 United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer , retrieved July 21, 2017
1 2 3 Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, p. 118, retrieved July 21, 2017
1 2 3 Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Red Brook , retrieved July 21, 2017
1 2 Jeff Mitchell (February 2, 2011), "Top 10 places to hike in Wyoming County", Wyoming County Press Examiner, retrieved July 21, 2017
1 2 3 4 Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (1995), A Natural Areas Inventory of Wyoming County, Pennsylvania (PDF), retrieved July 21, 2017
1 2 United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2006 Waterbody Report for Red Brook , retrieved July 21, 2017
↑ Douglas A. Gross (May 20, 2002), The Status, Distribution, and Conservation of the Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher (PDF), p. 2, retrieved July 21, 2017

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[nationalmap-1] 1 2 3 4 5 United States Geological Survey, The National Map Viewer , retrieved July 21, 2017

[gaz-2] 1 2 3 Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams (PDF), November 2, 2001, p. 118, retrieved July 21, 2017

[gnis-3] 1 2 3 Geographic Names Information System, Feature Detail Report for: Red Brook , retrieved July 21, 2017

[wcexaminer-4] 1 2 Jeff Mitchell (February 2, 2011), "Top 10 places to hike in Wyoming County", Wyoming County Press Examiner, retrieved July 21, 2017

[inventory-5] 1 2 3 4 Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (1995), A Natural Areas Inventory of Wyoming County, Pennsylvania (PDF), retrieved July 21, 2017

[oaspub-6] 1 2 United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2006 Waterbody Report for Red Brook , retrieved July 21, 2017

[7] Douglas A. Gross (May 20, 2002), The Status, Distribution, and Conservation of the Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher (PDF), p. 2, retrieved July 21, 2017