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Kettle Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River running through Tioga, Potter, and Clinton counties, in Pennsylvania. It is slightly less than long. Although many streams in the Kettle Creek watershed are considered "Class A Wild Trout streams" by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the lower reaches of the stream experience acid mine drainage.〔 The upper reaches of the creek are considered to be very high-quality.〔 Kettle Creek flows through Elk Township in Tioga County, then Abbott Township and Stewardson Township in Potter County, then Leidy Township and Noyes Township in Clinton County. Its mouth is at the community of Westport. Major tributaries include Cross Fork, Hammersley Fork, Little Kettle Creek, and others. The Kettle Creek Lake is located on Kettle Creek. Numerous metals and other substances contaminate the creek. These include iron, aluminum, manganese, and sulfates. The creek's discharge at Westport ranges from 4 to 6280 cubic feet per second and the pH ranges from 5.5 to 8.6. It also experiences abnormally high water temperatures. Kettle Creek is a freestone stream. The rock in the watershed is mostly sandstone and interbedded sedimentary rock. Rock formations in the watershed include the Burgoon Sandstone, the Huntley Mountain Formation, the Pottsville Group, and the Allegheny Group. The Lower Kittanning and Upper Kittanning coal beds are also found in the watershed. The Kettle Creek watershed has an area of in Tioga, Potter, Clinton, and Cameron Counties. The vast majority (approximately 93%) of the land in it is forested land and approximately 92% is publicly owned land, such as state forests. The watershed has a sparse permanent population, although it is home to numerous seasonal camps. The Iroquois and Delaware Indians were the first inhabitants of the Kettle Creek watershed. The first European settler arrived in 1794 and with more settlers arriving in the following decades. The coal mining industry began in the watershed in 1874 and lasted until the 1970s. The lumbering industry lasted from the mid-1800s to around 1910. Natural gas was also extracted in the watershed in the 20th century. ==Course== Kettle Creek begins in a valley in the northwestern part of Elk Township, Tioga County. It heads southeast for a short distance before turning west and exiting Elk Township. Upon exiting Elk Township, Kettle Creek enters Abbott Township, Potter County. It heads southwest, passing Bear Run Ridge, Rawson Ridge, Big Ridge, and several hollows, also picking up several small tributaries along the way. After a few miles, it enters Stewardson Township. Its course takes on a west-southwest direction and it passes by the community of Oleona, where it picks up the tributary Little Kettle Creek. It also begins paralleling Pennsylvania Route 144 at this point. Kettle Creek then makes a sharp turn to the south-southwest. The course soon resumes its southwestern direction, passing through Ole Bull State Park. The creek passes Keeney Mountain and several more hollows before turning west-northwest briefly to pick up the tributary Cross Fork in the southwestern reaches of Stewardson Township. The creek then turns southwest again and leaves the township. When Kettle Creek leaves Stewardson Township, it enters Leidy Township, in Clinton County. Immediately after entering Clinton County, the creek passes a gauging station. It continues in a roughly southwesterly course, passing Dykes Peak and Turtle Point. It then receives the tributary Hammersley Fork as it passes through Susquehannock State Forest. A few miles after the mouth of Hammersley Fork, Kettle Creek makes two meanders and turns south, passing through Sproul State Forest and then Kettle Creek State Park.〔 In Kettle Creek State Park, the creek goes through a lake and passes the Alvin R. Bush Dam, upstream of the mouth.〔 At the southern edge of Leidy Township, Kettle Creek makes several meanders, crossing the border between Leidy Township and Noyes Township three times. The creek then meanders several miles through Noyes Township, passing strip mines and another gauging station. The creek's mouth is at the community of Westport, near Pennsylvania Route 120.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kettle Creek (Pennsylvania)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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