East Branch Rausch Creek begins in a valley on a mountain in Porter Township. It flows north for a few tenths of a mile before turning westreceiving an unnamed tributary from the and then northwest, soon crossing a road and entering Hegins Township. Here, the creek begins flowing in a roughly westerly or west-northwesterly direction through a larger valley for several tenths of a mile before heading in a southwesterly direction. After a short distance, it crosses a road and turns west for a short distance before turning west-northwest. Several tenths of a mile further downstream, the creek joins West Branch Rausch Creek to form Rausch Creek.
Hydrology
Reaches of East Branch Rausch Creek are designated as impaired waterbodies. The causes of impairment in these reaches include siltation, metals, and pH, while the sources include abandoned mine drainage and resource extraction. The average discharge of East Branch Rausch Creek near its mouth was measured to be per day. The pH of the creek near its mouth ranged from 4.5 to 6.8, with an average of 5.75. The concentration of alkalinity ranged from, with an average of. The iron concentration in East Branch Rausch Creek near its mouth was found to range from, with an average of. The manganese concentration ranged from. The concentration of aluminum ranged between, and averaged. The aluminum load requires a 95 percent reduction to meet the creek's total maximum daily load requirements, while the iron load requires a 94 percent reduction and the manganese load requires a 78 percent reduction. The acidity load requires an 84 percent reduction to meet its total maximum daily load requirements. The annual load of sediment in East Branch Rausch Creek is. By far the largest contributor is disturbed land, which accounts for per year. Other contributors include deciduous forest, cropland, high-intensity urban land, mixed forest, coniferous forest, and hay/pastures.
Geography and geology
The elevation near the mouth of East Branch Rausch Creek is above sea level. The elevation near the creek's source is above sea level. The watershed of East Branch Rausch Creek is situated between Good Springs Mountain and Big Lick Mountain. The headwaters of the creek are in a large abandoned strip mine. There are two mine pools in the watershed of East Branch Rausch Creek: the Good Spring No. 1 Pool and the Good Spring No. 3 Pool. The former discharges into the creek via the Orchard Airway at an elevation of above sea level and has discharges ranging from per day, with an average of per day. The latter mine pool does not discharge into the watershed of East Branch Rausch Creek, but instead discharges via the Tracy Airway into the watershed of Good Spring Creek, a tributary of Swatara Creek.
Watershed and biology
The watershed of East Branch Rausch Creek has an area of. East Branch Rausch Creek is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Tower City. There are approximately of streams in the watershed. The headwaters of the creek are about two miles from the village of Good Spring, via State Route 4011. The dominant land use in the watershed of East Branch Rausch Creek is forested land. Of the of land in the creek's watershed, is occupied by deciduous forest. Disturbed land is the second-largest land use, accounting for. Cropland occupies, mixed forest occupies, and deciduous forest occupies. A total of in the watershed is high-intensity urban development, and are hay/pastures. The drainage basin of East Branch Rausch Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery.
