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[1] The 420 km2 Mahantango Creek Watershed, within the Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys Province, is a subwatershed of the Susquehanna River, which flows to the Chesapeake Bay. Research on agricultural management and hydrologic processes controlling nonpoint source nutrient loss is conducted within a 7.3 km2 subwatershed designated WE-38. The physical watershed description and history of monitoring and research activities contained herein and the data discussed in three companion papers are intended to facilitate the use and interpretation of archived databases on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service's Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds—Agricultural Research Data System (STEWARDS) Web site. Sources for regional geospatial data not maintained on STEWARDS are also identified.

[1] A long-term water quality database has been developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit to support water quality research within WE-38, a 7.3 km2 experimental subwatershed of Mahantango Creek Watershed located in east central Pennsylvania and draining to the Susquehanna River. Water quality data were collected at the outflow of WE-38, with record lengths of 24 years (1983–2007) for nitrate-N and ammonium-N and 23 years (1984–2007) for orthophosphate-P. Data are available on USDA ARS Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds—Agricultural Research Data System (STEWARDS) Web site.