Bowman Creek (also known as Bowmans Creek or Bowman's Creek) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County and Wyoming County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township and Lake Township in Luzerne County and Noxen Township, Monroe Township, and Eaton Township in Wyoming County. The watershed of the creek has an area of . The creek is not designated as an impaired waterbody and its pH is close to neutral, although it has experienced some problems with acid rain. It has low concentrations of dissolved solids like calcium. The creek is relatively small in its upper reaches, but by Noxen, its width is . It is also relatively shallow in many reaches. Rock formations in the watershed include the Catskill Formation, the Huntley Mountain Formation, Burgoon Sandstone, the Mauch Chunk Formation, the Pottsville Group, and the Pocono Formation. Soil associations in the creek's watershed include the Wellsboro-Morris-Oquaga association, the Oquaga-Lackawanna-Arnot association, the Mardin-Bath-Volusia association, and the Wyoming-Pope association.
The dominant land use in the watershed of Bowman Creek is forested land, which occupies nearly 90 percent of its area. Minor land uses in the watershed include meadows, agricultural land, and many others. Most of the development in the watershed is clustered along the highways that run through it. The creek has, on occasion, experienced major flooding. Bowman Creek was visible on maps by 1791, and there were a number of settlers in its vicinity by the early 1800s. Historically, industries in the creek's watershed included lumbering, agriculture, tanneries, gristmills, and ice harvesting. Numerous bridges have been constructed over Bowman Creek. The Bowmans Creek Watershed Association is active within the creek's watershed.
The main stem of Bowman Creek is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery, as are most of its tributaries. The creek is inhabited by brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout and reaches of it are stocked with trout. The creek is well known in the area for its significance as a trout stream. Reaches of it are also navigable by canoe. Parts of the creek are in Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 57 and Ricketts Glen State Park.
Course
Bowman Creek begins in Ross Township, Luzerne County at the mouths of North Branch Bowman Creek and South Branch Bowman Creek on North Mountain. It flows northeast for some distance, passing through a lake and receiving the tributary Bean Run. A short distance later, it turns roughly east for a couple of miles, receiving the tributary Wolf Run. The creek then turns northeast for a few miles, entering Lake township, Luzerne County. In this township, it receives the tributaries Beth Run and Butternut Run. It then turns north and on the northern edge of the township, the creek leaves Lake Township and Luzerne County.
Upon leaving Luzerne County, Bowman Creek enters Noxen Township, Wyoming County. It almost immediately receives the tributaries Sugar Run and Cider Run and then turns northeast. Continuing northeast, the creek picks up the tributaries Broud Hollow Run, Windfall Run, and Sober Run and also passes by Stone Mountain. It then turns north-northeast and picks up Stone Run, passing by the community of Stull. The creek then turns roughly east for a few miles and its valley widens as it passes through the community of Noxen. In Noxen, the creek receives the tributaries York Run, Hettesheiner Run, and Beaver Run. Upon exiting Noxen, the creek enters Monroe Township, Wyoming County. In this township, it picks up the tributary South Run and turns north, flowing parallel to Pennsylvania Route 29. As the creek passes between Schooley Mountain and Brier Mountain, it receives the tributary Leopard Creek. Some distance later, it turns northeast and enters Eaton Township, Wyoming County. In this township, the creek turns east and then north for a few miles. It then turns east for a few miles and reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River.
Bowman Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.
Hydrology Bowman Creek is not designated as an impaired waterbody. However, in the creek's middle or upper reaches, of streams are impaired by atmospheric deposition. The upper reaches of the creek experience seasonal acidity problems. During the summer months, the creek is shallow and clear. John Levitsky, a member of the Luzerne County Conservation Association, has sprinkled limestone on roads to raise the pH of the creek. Since the late 1990s, tons of limestone have been dumped into the creek by the Bowman Creek Watershed Association and a chapter of Trout Unlimited.
In a one-year period in 1918 and 1919, the maximum gauge height of Bowman Creek at Eatonville was . The minimum gauge height was .
Bowman Creek is classified as a freestone stream. It is typical for a freestone stream in that it contains few dissolved substances such as calcium and that its pH is close to neutral.
The average annual discharge of Bowman Creek in its middle reaches is . The maximum flow time from the creek's headwaters to a point in its middle reaches is 23 hours and 19 minutes. In the mid-1970s, the turbidity of the creek near Tunkhannock ranged from 2 to 30 Jackson Turbidity Units. The specific conductance of the creek ranged from 45 to 150 micro-siemens per centimeter at . The pH was close to neutral, ranging from 6.6 to 7.3.
In the mid-1970s, the concentration of dissolved oxygen in Bowman Creek near Tunkhannock ranged from . The carbon dioxide concentration ranged from . The concentration of organic carbon was and the phosphorus concentration ranged from . The ammonia concentration ranged from .
In the mid-1970s, the concentration of magnesium and calcium in Bowman Creek near Tunkhannock ranged from and , respectively. The iron concentration ranged from less than to . The sulfate and chloride concentrations ranged from and , respectively.
As of 2010, Cabot Oil & Gas withdraws from Bowman Creek per day for gas drilling operations. There were some complaints about the company withdrawing too much water, but the withdrawals were found to not impact the creek.
Geography, geology, and climate
The elevation near the mouth of Wyoming Creek is above sea level. The elevation of the creek's source is between . Between above sea level (river mile 25.5) and above sea level (river mile 3.5), the creek's elevation decreases at a rate of per mile. The highest elevation in the watershed is approximately above sea level, on North Mountain. The lowest elevation is approximately above sea level, near the Susquehanna River. Many of the highest elevations occur in the western and southwestern parts of the creek's watershed.
Bowman Creek is a relatively small creek, about the size of a brook, in its upper reaches. However, by the time it reaches Stull, it is wide and by the time it reaches Noxen, the creek has a width of . There are several deep holes along the creek, as well as oxygen-rich riffles.
Many reaches of Bowman Creek are shallow enough for wading. However, its currents can be swift at times. There is at least one area of the creek consistently has cool and deep waters.
A portion of Bowman Creek is on the plateau of North Mountain. The creek flows through a deep valley that somewhat resembles a gorge. The stream banks of the creek have riprap in some places. Houses line the creek in places as well. A waterfall known as Evans Falls is situated on Bowman Creek. It is high. Additionally, there are strainers on portions of the creek. At Eatonville, the creek has high streambanks and a streambed of gravel. The creek's valley is wide.
The topography of the watershed of Bowman Creek is described as "rough and hilly" in a 1921 book. There are steep hills in the upper reaches of the watershed, but gentle slopes on the valley floor. There are some small lakes such as Rymans Pond, which has a surface area of . A number of swamps are also present in the watershed. The area contains a narrow valley surrounded by hills that are between and in height. Glaciation has affected the watershed in the past.
The channel of Bowman Creek is sinuous, with alluvial floodplains in some areas. The creek flows through rock formations made of sandstone and shale. Glacial drift is also present in the watershed. Interbedded sedimentary rock and sandstone are prevalent in the creek's watershed. Copper ore has been discovered in the vicinity of the creek.
The most common rock formation in the watershed of Bowman Creek is the Catskill Formation, which occupies most of the eastern part of the watershed. Further to the west, there is a sizable band of the Huntley Mountain Formation, which also occurs in a few small patches further to the east. On the westernmost and southwesternmost fringe of the watershed, there is a band of Burgoon Sandstone. Other rock formations occupy far smaller areas. The Mauch Chunk Formation occurs in a few tiny patches along the western and southwestern edges of the watershed, and one tiny patch of the Pottsville Group occurs on the watershed's western edge as well. In the northern part of the creek's watershed, there are four small patches of the Pocono Formation.
There are four different soil associations in the watershed of Bowman Creek: the Wellsboro-Morris-Oquaga association, the Oquaga-Lackawanna-Arnot association, the Mardin-Bath-Volusia association, and the Wyoming-Pope association. The Wellsboro-Morris-Oquaga association is prevalent in the eastern part of the creek's watershed, while the Oquaga-Lackawanna-Arnot association occurs in the western part of the watershed. The Mardin-Bath-Volusia occurs on rolling uplands north of Harveys Lake, and the Wyoming-Pope Association occurs in terraces and floodplains along the creek. The first two soil associations are the most common in the creek's watershed.
Bowman Creek is at the eastern boundary of the North Mountain region of Pennsylvania. To the east of the creek, there are considerably lower mountains, such as Bowman's Mountain and Eaton Knob. There is also a high divide between Bowman Creek and Mehoopany Creek. A steep, east-facing slope known as the Bowman Creek Ledges is located along the creek in Eaton Township, Wyoming County. These ledges are made of sandstone and shale.
Major dams in the watershed of Bowman Creek include the Lake Catalpa Dam, the Beech Lake Dam, The Meadows Dam, Splash Dam, and Splash Dam No. 2. Some reaches of the creek have been channelized. Bowman Creek is somewhat narrower than the nearby Mehoopany Creek.
The annual rate of precipitation in the watershed of Bowman Creek ranges between and . In two measurements in the mid-1970s, the water temperature of the creek near Tunkhannock ranged from .
Watershed
The watershed of Bowman Creek has an area of . The watershed is in northwestern Luzerne County and southern Wyoming County. The drainage basin of the creek is part of the Upper North Branch Susquehanna River drainage basin. In the upper of the creek's watershed, there are of streams. In 2010, the population of this segment of the watershed was 2667.
The mouth of Bowman Creek is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Tunkhannock. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Sweet Valley. The creek also passes through the quadrangles of Center Moreland and Noxen. There are twelve municipalities in the watershed of the creek. Six of these (Fairmount Township, Ross Township, Lake Township, Harveys Lake, Dallas Township, and Franklin Township) are in Luzerne County, while the other six (Noxen Township, Monroe Township, Northmoreland Township, Forkston Township, Eaton Township, and Mehoopany Township) are in Wyoming County.