Falls Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River wholly contained in Bridgeton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek boasts the highest falls in Bucks County.[1]
| Falls Creek | |
|---|---|
  Falls Creek | |
| Location | |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Bucks County |
| Township | Bridgeton Township |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 40°34′19″N 75°8′9″W / 40.57194°N 75.13583°W |
| • elevation | 535 feet (163 m) |
| Mouth | |
• coordinates | 40°33′17″N 75°8′32″W / 40.55472°N 75.14222°W |
• elevation | 140 feet (43 m) |
| Length | 1.40 miles (2.25 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Falls Creek → Delaware River |
| River system | Delaware River |
| Bridges | Woodland Drive, Ringing Rocks Road, Pennsylvania Route 32 (River Road) |
Statistics
editFalls Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on 1 February 1990 as identification number 1202458. Its length is approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 km), the elevation at the source is 535 feet (163 m) and at the mouth is 140 feet (43 m). The average slope is about 282 feet per mile, or 52 meters per kilometer. However, the stretch through the falls is about 2,040 feet (620 m) (0.386 miles (0.621 km)) in length with a drop of about 300 feet (91 m), so the slope in that region is about 750 feet per mile or 146 meters per kilometer.[2]
Course
editFalls Creek rises with Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 56 to the west and Ringing Rocks County Park to the northeast. The creek flows for a very short distance to the east then turns north where it receives a tributary from the right, then continues north until it drains into the Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division). Just a short distance from the canal, it passes over High Falls, the highest falls in Bucks County.[3]
Geology
edit- Appalachian Highlands Division
- Piedmont Province
- Gettysburg-Newark Lowland Section
- Brunswick Formation
- Diabase
- Gettysburg-Newark Lowland Section
- Piedmont Province
- Atlantic Plain
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Province
- Lowland and Intermediate Upland Section
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Province
Most of the path of Falls Creek lies in a bed of igneous rock of diabase formed as an intrusion into the surrounding Brunswick Formation. The diabase consists of dark gray to black rock, mineralogy consists of labradorite and augite. As it flows down the High Falls, it transitions into the Brunswick, laid down during the Jurassic and Triassic and consists of mudstone, siltstone, and shale. Mineralogy includes argillite and hornfels. Lastly, it enters the river lowland known as Trenton Gravel, a bed laid down during the Quaternary, consisting of sand and clay.[4]
Crossings and Bridges
edit| Crossing | NBI Number | Length | Lanes | Spans | Material/Design | Built | Reconstructed | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Drive | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ringing Rocks Road | 7581 | 27.9 feet (8.5 m) | 2 | 1 | Concrete cast-in-place stringer/multi-beam or girder, bituminous wearing surface | 1927 | - | 40°33'31"N | 75°7'31"W |
| Pennsylvania Route 32 (River Road) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ MacReynolds, George, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P1.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Falls Creek
- ^ "GNIS Feature Search". TNM download. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Geological Survey". PaGEODE. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2018.