Cooks Creek (Delaware River tributary)

Cooks Creek (also known as Cook Creek, Durham Creek, Schooks Creek, Scookes Creek, Scooks Creek, Squooks Creek) is a tributary of the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, rising in Springfield Township and passing through Durham Township before emptying into the Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division) and the Delaware.

Cooks Creek
Cook Creek, Durham Creek, Schooks Creek, Scookes Creek, Scooks Creek, Squooks Creek
Image of Knecht's Covered Bridge taken September 2012
Knecht's Covered Bridge, September 2012
Map showing location of Cooks Creek
Map showing location of Cooks Creek
Cooks Creek
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyBucks
TownshipSpringfield
TownshipDurham
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates40°31′25″N 75°20′17″W / 40.52361°N 75.33806°W / 40.52361; -75.33806
 • elevation750 feet (230 m)
Mouth 
 • coordinates
40°34′48″N 75°11′48″W / 40.58000°N 75.19667°W / 40.58000; -75.19667
 • elevation
141 feet (43 m)
Length13 miles (21 km)
Basin size29.50 square miles (76.4 km2)
Basin features
ProgressionCooks Creek → Delaware River
River systemDelaware River
Tributaries 
 • rightHollow Run
BridgesPasser Road
State Road
Richlandtown Pike
Funks Mill Road
Pennsylvania Route 212 (Durham Road)
Molasses Way
Bridge Street
Old Bethlehem Road
Shale Road
Township Road
Knecht Bridge Road
Slifer Valley Road
Pennsylvania Route 412 (Durham Road)
Durham Road
Stouts Valley Road
Pennsylvania Route 611 (Easton Road)
Slope46.85 feet per mile (8.873 m/km)

History

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Cooks Creek was thought by historian Edward Mathews to have been named after Arthur Cooke, a landowner in the area (though not a resident) in this part of the county before 1700, but, there is doubt about this. In a deed executed on 10 February 1727 between Samuel Powell, Jeremiah Langhorne, and others of Philadelphia for tracts of land in Durham Township, the stream was referred to as Scooks Creek and the modern name may have been derived from that. The Creek was a major source of power for the Durham Mill and Furnace and a water supply to the Canal. In the 1940s, the creek was the only creek in Bucks County in which brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) was native.[1] Knecht's Mill Covered Bridge was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on 1 December 1980 as reference number 80003432.[2]

Statistics

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Cooks Creek was entered into the Geographic Names Information System of the U.S. Geological Survey on 2 August 1979 as identification number 1172390. In the Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams, its identification number is 03295. It rises in Springfield Township about halfway between Coopersburg and Pleasant Valley at an elevation of 750 feet (230 m) and empties into the Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division) and into the Delaware River about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) downstream of Reigelsville at an elevation of 141 feet (43 m) after having flowed 13 miles (21 km). This results in an average slope of 46.85 feet per mile (8.873 m/km).[3][4]

Course

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Cooks Creek rises in Springfield Township just west of Richlandtown Pike about halfway between Coopersburg and Pleasant Valley flowing to the southeast until it passes under Pennsylvania Route 212 where it turns to the northeast until it reaches the western slope of Cressman Hill where it turns north until it runs by the eastern end of Springtown, then turns northeast. As it approaches the north slope of Mine Hill, it receives Hollow Run from the right bank. Then lastly, it skirts around the north slope of Rattlesnake Hill then empties into the Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, then finally into the Delaware River. Besides Hollow Run, it receives five tributaries from the left and three from the right.[5]

Geology

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Cooks Creek starts out on Flint Hill in the Quartz Fanglomerate laid down during the Jurassic and Triassic, consisting of Quartz conglomerate with round cobbles and boulders of quartzite, sandstone, quartz, and metarhyolite in red sand.

Then it passes through a region of Brunswick Formation, also formed during the Jurassic and Triassic, consisting of mudstone, siltstone, and shale. Mineralogy includes argillite and hornfel.

Later, it flows through a region of the Leithsville Formation, from the Cambrian, consisting of dolomite, calcareous shale, and chert.

In two places, it briefly touches beds of the Hardyston Quartzite formation, from the Canbrian, containing quartzite, feldspathic sandstone and has quartz-pebble conglomerate.

Finally, it lies upon a region of the Allentown Formation, from the Cambrian, which contains dolomite, limestone, chert, siltstone, and some oolites, stromatolites, and sharpstone conglomerate.[6]

Crossings and Bridges

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[7]

Crossing NBI Number Length Lanes Spans Material/Design Built Reconstructed Latitude Longitude
Passer Road - - - - - - - -
State Road - - - - - - - - -
Richlandtown Pike - - - - - - - - -
Funks Mill Road - - - - - - - - -
Pennsylvania Route 212 (Quakertown Road) 6938 7 metres (23 ft) 2 1 Concrete Tee Beam 1924 - 40°29'48"N 75°18'36"W
Molasses Way - - - - - - - - -
Bridge Street 7583 17 metres (56 ft) 1 1 Steel Truss - Thru - 1950 40°30'58"N 75°17'33"W
Old Bethlehem Road 7472 17 metres (56 ft) 2 3 Masonry Arch-deck 1902 - 40°31'2"N 75°17'29.61"W
Shale Road - - - - - - - - -
Township road 7585 26 metres (85 ft) 2 1 Prestressed concrete Box Beam or Girders - Single or Spread 1961 2014 40°31'29.9"N 75°16'32.4"W
Kecht Bridge Road (Knecht's Mill Covered Bridge) 7554 34 metres (112 ft) 1 1 Wood or Timber Truss -Thru (covered bridge) - 1983 40°32'17.6"N 75°16'40.8"W
Slifer Valley Road 7444 16 metres (52 ft) 2 1 Steel Stringer/Multi-beam or Girder 1953 - 40°32'33.7"N 75°16'27.72"W
Pennsylvania Route 412 (Durham Road, Hellertown Road) 48227 8 metres (26 ft) 2 1 Concrete Culvert 2013 - 40°32'48"N 75°18'12"W
Durham Road 7454 15 metres (49 ft) 2 2 Concrete Tee Beam 1925 - 40°34'36.5"N 75°13'28.75"W
Stouts Valley Road 7565 29 metres (95 ft) 2 2 Concrete Tee Beam 1931 - 40°35'11.5"N 75°12'39.8"W
Pennsylvania Route 611 (Easton Road, River Road) 7088 22 metres (72 ft) 2 1 Prestressed concrete Box Beam or Girders - Multiple 1959 - 40°34'47.9"N 75°11'49.8"W

See also

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References

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  1. ^ MacReynolds, George, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P82.
  2. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2018-02-02. Note: This includes Susan M. Zacher (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Knecht's Mill Covered Bridge" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cooks Creek
  4. ^ paGazetteerOfStreams, lycomingedu, p48, I.D. 03295 (PDF)
  5. ^ "GNIS Feature Search". TNM download. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Pennsylvania Geological Survey". PaGEODE. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  7. ^ www.nationalbridges.com https://web.archive.org/web/20131031210639/http://nationalbridges.com/. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2018. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[title missing]