Pine Creek Gorge
| Pine Creek Gorge | |
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Pine Creek Gorge in autumn.
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 Map of Pennsylvania
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| Location | Tioga and Lycoming counties, Pennsylvania |
| Nearest city | Waterville |
| Coordinates | 41°16′18″N 77°19′37″W / 41.27167°N 77.32694°WCoordinates: 41°16′18″N 77°19′37″W / 41.27167°N 77.32694°W |
| Designated | 1968 |
Pine Creek Gorge, sometimes called The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is a 47-mile (76 km) gorge carved into the Allegheny Plateau by Pine Creek in north-central Pennsylvania.
It sits in about 160,000 acres (650 km2) of the Tioga State Forest. The canyon begins south of Ansonia, near Wellsboro, along U.S. Route 6 and continues south. Its deepest point is 1,450 feet (440 m) at Waterville, near the southern end. At Leonard Harrison and Colton Point State Parks, it is more than 800 feet (240 m) deep and the distance rim-to-rim is about 4,000 feet (1,200 m).
Pine Creek had flowed northeasterly until about 20,000 years ago, when the receding Laurentide Continental Glacier dammed it with rocks, soil, and other debris. Glacial meltwater formed a lake near the present town of Ansonia, and when it overflowed the debris dam, the creek flooded to the south. Ultimately, it carved a deep channel on its way south to the West Branch Susquehanna River.
The Pine Creek Gorge National Natural Landmark includes Colton Point and Leonard Harrison State Parks and parts of the Tioga State Forest along 12 miles (19 km) of Pine Creek between Ansonia and Blackwell. This federal program does not provide any extra protection beyond that offered by the land owner. The National Park Service's designation of the gorge as a National Natural Landmark notes that it "contains superlative scenery, geological and ecological value, and is one of the finest examples of a deep gorge in the eastern United States."
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