Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek) - Course

Course

The source of Plunketts Creek is 1440 ft (439 m) above sea level, northwest of the unincorporated village of Hillsgrove and just south of the Loyalsock State Forest in Hillsgrove Township, Sullivan County. The source is a pond just north of Pennsylvania Route 4010 (the road between the villages of Proctor and Hillsgrove) and Plunketts Creek crosses the road twice, then receives two unnamed tributaries on the right bank as it flows generally southwest about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the Lycoming County line.

The creek continues southwest as it enters Plunketts Creek Township and receives Reibsan Run on the left bank, 4.70 miles (7.56 km²) upstream from the mouth. It next receives Mock Creek at the hamlet of Hoppestown (4.24 miles (6.82 km) from the mouth), then Wolf Run (2.72 miles (4.38 km) from the mouth), both on the right bank. At the village of Proctor, Plunketts Creek receives King Run (1.66 miles (2.67 km)) on the right bank, then turns south towards Loyalsock Creek. It flows through the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Northcentral Game Farm, then receives the unnamed tributary in Coal Mine Hollow on the right bank and Dry Run on the left bank (0.82 miles (1.32 km) and 0.17 miles (0.27 km), respectively). It finally enters the village of Barbours, where its mouth is on the right bank of Loyalsock Creek at 725 feet (221 m).

As the crow flies, Lycoming County is about 130 miles (209 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 165 miles (266 km) east-northeast of Pittsburgh. Although Plunketts Creek is 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long, the direct distance between the source and the mouth is only 4.1 miles (6.6 km). From the mouth of Plunketts Creek it is 19.50 miles (31.38 km²) along Loyalsock Creek to its confluence with the West Branch Susquehanna River at Montoursville. The elevation at the source is 1440 feet (439 m), while the mouth is at an elevation of 725 feet (221 m). The difference in elevation, 715 feet (218 m), divided by the length of the creek of 6.2 miles (10.0 km) gives the average drop in elevation per unit length of creek or relief ratio of 115.3 feet/mile (21.8 m/km). For comparison, the relief ratio of Wallis Run (the next watershed to the southwest) is 110.9 feet/mile (21.0 m/km), while Loyalsock Creek's is only 28.0 feet/mile (5.33 m/km).

Plunketts Creek can vary greatly in depth, depending on the season and recent precipitation. Its water level is typically highest (perhaps 3 feet (1 m) deep) in spring or for a few days after a heavy rain, and lowest in late summer, when it can shrink to a trickle. While there is no stream gauge on Plunketts Creek, a rough estimate of the creek's water level may be found from the stream gauge on the Loyalsock Creek bridge in Barbours, just downstream of the mouth. Lycoming County operates this gauge as part of the county-wide flood warning system. It only measures the water height (not discharge) and recorded a peak gauge height of 34 feet (10 m) on September 7, 2011 (http://www.lyco.org/Home/FloodReadyHome/CountyWatershedsStreamGaugeSites/LoyalsockCreek/BarboursStreamGauge/tabid/441/Default.aspx). This "500 year flood" was caused by Tropical Storm Lee and the remnants of two other hurricanes. Numerous homes in the area were destroyed and is the worst flood on record. The previous record height of the Loyalsock was 24.9 feet, set on January 19-20, 1996. This was a major flood caused by heavy rain, snow melt, and ice dams, which caused millions of dollars of damage throughout Lycoming County, and six deaths on Lycoming Creek in and near Williamsport. On Plunketts Creek, the flood heavily damaged and later caused the demolition of Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3, a mid-19th century stone arch bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The flood waters were 4 feet (1.2 m) deep in Barbours and it was called the village's "worst flood in history".