Buffalo Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Union County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Hartley Township, Lewis Township, West Buffalo Township, Mifflinburg, Buffalo Township, Kelly Township, and Lewisburg. Its watershed has an area of . It is in the ridge-and-valley province of the Appalachian Mountains. Some streams and parts of streams in the creek's watershed are high-quality cold-water fisheries. There are ten types of rock formations and eight types of soil series in the watershed. The forests in the Buffalo Creek watershed are mostly deciduous hardwood, hemlock, and pine.
The waters of Buffalo Creek are slightly acidic, with a pH ranging between 5.0 and 6.7. Metals such as magnesium have been observed in the waters. Nonmetals in the water include dissolved oxygen, calcium carbonate, suspended solids, and phosphorus.
The etymology of Buffalo Creek is unknown. No buffalo have ever been definitively observed on the creek, although there are rumors about old buffalo wallows. Buffalo Township, Buffalo Valley, and Buffalo Mountain are all named after the creek. Historical industries in the watershed included mills and timbering, but livestock raising and agriculture are more common in the 21st century.
Course
Buffalo Creek begins in Hartley Township, in Union County, near the Union County/Centre County border. It flows east and slightly north between Buffalo Mountain and Branch Mountain before falling steeply through two geographical features known as the Gooseneck and Buffalo Gap. The creek then turns southeast and flows out of Hartley Township. Upon leaving Hartley Township, the creek enters Lewis Township and meanders eastward, south of Jones Mountain. It passes through the Mifflinburg Reservoir. The creek then flows into southern West Buffalo Township and northern Mifflinburg. Shortly before exiting West Buffalo Township, Buffalo Creek picks up its tributary North Branch Buffalo Creek and briefly turns northwards before turning eastward again and leaving the township.
Upon leaving West Buffalo Township, Buffalo Creek flows into Buffalo Township. It then turns northeast and passes by the community of Cowan and under Pennsylvania Route 192. The creek then picks up its tributary Stony Run before passing the community of Cameron and picking up Spruce Run. At this point, Buffalo Creek flows along the border between Buffalo Township and Kelly Township. Buffalo Creek then meanders in an eastward direction, passing near a quarry, the community of Kelly Point, and the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. After leaving Buffalo Township, the creek flows briefly along the border between Kelly Township and Lewisburg before discharging into the West Branch Susquehanna River.
Buffalo Creek joins the West Branch Susquehanna River upriver of its mouth.
Tributaries Buffalo Creek has six named tributaries: Little Buffalo Creek, Spruce Run, Beaver Run, Stony Run, Rapid Run, and North Branch Buffalo Creek. Little Buffalo Creek joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of , while Spruce Run joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of . Beaver Run joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of , while Stony Run joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of . Rapid Run joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of , while North Branch Buffalo Creek joins Buffalo Creek upstream of its mouth and its watershed has an area of .
Hydrology The pH of the waters of Buffalo Creek at three sites ranges from 5.0 to 6.7. Out of six times that the pH of the waters of the creek was measured in the springs and summers of 2010 and 2012, the lowest pH, 5.0, occurred at the location BC-6 on July 27, 2012. The highest pH, 6.7, occurred at the location known as BC-5 on June 15, 2010. The average pH during that time was approximately 5.6467. On the same six times that the creek's pH was measured, its water temperature was also measured. The lowest temperature was and it occurred on May 12, 2012 at the location known as BC-7. The highest temperature was and it occurred on June 15, 2010 at BC-5. The water temperature of Buffalo Creek has been measured to steadily increase from to nearly between the creek's source and its mouth. The pH of the waters of the creek ranges from slightly over 4 to 8. The lowest pH occurs near the headwaters. Within a few miles, the pH rises to nearly 6. It fluctuates between 7 and 8 for the final two thirds of the creek.
The concentration of dissolved oxygen in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges between approximately 8.5 milligrams per liter and close to 11 milligrams per liter. The lowest concentration occurs near the headwaters of the creek. The concentration rises for the first few miles before declining to under 10 milligrams per liter in the lower reaches of the creek.
The concentration of magnesium in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges from nearly 0 to almost 15 milligrams per liter. The concentration is close to 0 for the first third of the creek's course, but then rises to two or three milligrams per liter. The magnesium concentration reaches its peak around halfway between the source and the mouth, then steadily declines to slightly under ten milligrams per liter at the mouth. However, one of Buffalo Creek's tributaries has a magnesium concentration of nearly 35 milligrams per liter.
The concentration of calcium carbonate in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges from less than 10 milligrams per liter to 100 milligrams per liter. In the upper half of the creek, the concentration is less than 50 milligrams per liter. Around Mifflinburg, it rises to its peak of 100 milligrams per liter. The concentration declines to 70 milligrams per liter at the confluence with Spruce Run, but rises to about 80 milligrams per liter at the mouth of Buffalo Creek. One tributary of the creek has a concentration of 250 milligrams per liter. The calcium concentration in the creek ranges from virtually 0 milligrams per liter to over 40 milligrams per liter. The concentration is under 10 milligrams per liter until the point where Hoover Road goes over Buffalo Creek, at which point it rises to about 15 milligrams per liter. At Mifflinburg, the concentration rises to its peak before dropping to around 30 milligrams per liter between Mifflinburg and the Susquehanna River.
The concentration of phosphorus in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges from about 0 milligrams per liter to over 0.2 milligrams per liter. In most of the upper part of the creek, the concentration is very low, under 0.05 milligrams per liter. However, it is over 0.2 milligrams per liter where Buffalo Flat Road passes over the creek. The concentration in Mifflinburg is 0.06 or 0.07 milligrams per liter. It steadily declines to about 0.03 milligrams per liter near the mouth.
The total amount of suspended solids in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges from approximately 2 milligrams per liter to about 17 milligrams per liter. For the first few miles of the creek, it increases steadily before jumping to about 7 milligrams per liter where Aikey Road passes over the creek. For the rest of the way downstream, the concentration fluctuates largely. The highest concentrations are at Mifflinburg, where the concentration is 17 milligrams per liter, and at Lewisburg, near the mouth, where the concentration is almost 15 milligrams per liter. The sediment of sediment flowing through Buffalo Creek and all its tributaries in 2000 and 2008 was approximately per year.
The concentration of ammonium in the waters of Buffalo Creek ranges from 0.01 milligrams per liter to almost 0.12 milligrams per liter. Not far from the headwaters, the concentration is at its lowest, but it rises to its peak at Buffalo Flat Road. The concentration then falls to 0.02 milligrams per liter at Aikey Road, before rising to 0.05 milligrams per liter at Johnson Mill Road, near the confluence of Spruce Run and Buffalo Creek. The concentration then fluctuates slightly between there and the mouth of Buffalo Creek. The amount of nitrogen flowing through Buffalo Creek and all its tributaries in 2000 and 2008 was approximately per year.
The pH and calcium carbonate concentration have both increased in the upper reaches of Buffalo Creek since September 2009, as has the water temperature. The phosphorus concentration at the point where Buffalo Flat Road passes over Buffalo Creek has increased by at least tenfold since September 2009.
Parts of Coal Run, Rapid Run, Beaver Run, and Muddy Run are impaired or possibly impaired by agriculture.
Geography, geology, and climate
The elevation of the mouth of Buffalo Creek is between above sea level. The elevation of the creek's source is between above sea level. Between upstream of its mouth and it mouth, a distance of the creek's gradient is . Between Mifflinburg and Lewisburg, the gradient is .
The topography of the creek's watershed is mountainous in its upper reaches. However, in its lower reaches, the creek flows through a wide valley bordered by steep ridges. The creek's channel is sinuous and flows through rock formations consisting of sandstone and limestone, with some iron ore. All of the creek's watershed is located in the ridge and valley physiographic province. It contains fractured, faulted, and folded sedimentary rocks. While there is some young bedrock in the watershed, parts of it have eroded away to reveal older bedrock, which is more resistant to weathering than the younger bedrock. Old bedrock formations in the watershed include the Tuscarora Formation, the Juniata Formation, and the Bald Eagle Formation. The visible portions of these formations are sandstones and conglomerates. The floor of the Buffalo Creek valley is home to younger carbonates belonging to the Keyser Formation and the Tonoloway Formation.
Undivided Keyser and Tonoloway Formations occur in the southern and southeastern parts of the Buffalo Creek watershed. The Hamilton Group occurs in a small portion of the southeastern part of the watershed. Undivided Onondaga and Old Port Formations also occur here, but take up a bigger area in the watershed. The Bald Eagle Formation occurs in small parts of the western and northwestern areas of the watershed. The Juniata Formation occurs in the same areas as the Bald Eagle Formation, as well as part of the northern part of the watershed. However, it takes up more area than the Bald Eagle Formation. The Reedsville Formation also occurs in the western and northwestern parts of the watershed. The undivided Bloomsburg and Mifflintown Formations occur in a zigzagging band that goes from the northeastern to the southwestern part of the watershed. The Clinton Group occurs in a zigzagging band immediately north of the Bloomsburg and Mifflinville Formations. It also occurs in a few scattered areas in the northeastern and western parts of the watershed. The Tuscarora Formation occurs in a zigzagging band immediately north of the Clinton Group. The Wills Creek Formation occurs in parts of the southern and northeastern areas.
There are a number of soil associations that occur in significant amounts in the Buffalo Creek watershed. These include the Allenwood-Alvira-Shelmadine, the Dekalb-Ungers-Hazelton, the Edom, the Hagerstown-Elliber-Washington, the Holly-Basher-Monongahela, the Klinesville-Calvin-Meckesville, the Laidig-Buchanan-Meckesville, and the Weikert-Berks-Hartleton soil associations.