Philadelphia area drainage systems and erosional landforms when viewed on detailed topographic maps can be considered to be pieces of a giant puzzle, which if properly assembled tells how the regional landscape was formed. The topographic maps which can be obtained from the United States Geological Survey National Map and TopoView websites provide a big […]
Category archives for Schuylkill-Wissahickon drainage divide
The Schuylkill River Gorge, as defined here, extends in a southeast direction for about eight miles from Spring Mill (east of Consohocken) to the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge Elbow of Capture in the City of Philadelphia. While longer than the seven-mile long Wissahickon Creek Gorge the Schuylkill River Gorge is much wider and unlike the Wissahickon […]
The Schuylkill River flows in a south direction from Norristown to West Conshohocken where it turns to flow in an east-northeast direction to Spring Mill and then turns abruptly to flow in a southeast direction through the eight-mile long Schuylkill Gorge carved in erosion resistant metamorphic and igneous rocks. The gorge southeast end is in the […]
Without question the deepest, longest, and most magnificent Wissahickon Creek water gap is the seven-mile long Wiisahickon Gorge eroded across a 420-foot high ridge of tightly folded metamorphic and igneous rocks and which is located entirely within the Philadelphia city limits. The erosion resistant ridge extends in an east-northeast direction across southeast Pennsylvania and is […]
The Andorra Wind Gap links an east-northeast oriented tributary to the Wissahickon Gorge north entrance with a west-southwest oriented Schuylkill River tributary and has an elevation of 266 feet. To the south Schuylkill River-Wissahickon Creek drainage divide elevations rise to 420 feet before decreasing until Wissahickon Creek joins the Schuylkill River. To the north a […]
Wissahickon Creek after flowing for approximately six miles in a south-southeast direction through the Wissahickon Gorge turns to flow in an east direction where it is joined by southwest oriented Monoshone Creek. But, instead of continuing in a south-southeast or east direction Wissahickon Creek makes an abrupt turn to flow in a southwest direction along […]
