A watershed is all of the land and streams that drain into a designated body of a natural water. The Spruce Creek Watershed, therefore, is all of the land that surrounds and drains into Spruce Creek and its tributaries. The Spruce Creek Watershed encompasses 107 square miles (277 square km) of farmland, upland woods, fields, and small towns in the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains of southcentral Pennsylvania. The economy of the watershed centers around agriculture, outdoors sports and other tourism, and--recently--providing scenic, affordable housing for commuters to State College, PA, one of the fastest growing portions of the State.

Warriors Mark Run is a tributary of Spruce Creek, and Warriors Mark Run's watershed is a portion of the Spruce Creek Watershed. (See the map of sub-watersheds.) Likewise, the Spruce Creek Watershed, is part of a larger watershed (the Little Juniata River Watershed). It is also a part of a still larger watershed, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

A preliminary assessment of the Spruce Creek Watershed, completed in 2004 by The Center for Watershed Stewardship, Pennsylvania State University, gives an excellent overview of the history, economy, and challenges of this watershed.

 Also links and brief descriptions of bedrock geology and land use are listed below.

Bedrock Geology The watershed is primarily underlain by 440- to 500 million year old (Ordovician and Cambrian) limestone and dolostone. The perimeter of the watershed also includes slightly younger shale and sandstone bedrock. The limestone and dolostone bedrock host numerous springs and help maintain alkaline groundwater. (The linked map is modified from a published Pennsylvania Geologic Survey map.)

Land Use With mineral-rich soil developing over the limestone and dolostone bedrock, the watershed includes prime agricultural land for crops and livestock, as well as lush forests. (The linked map is modified from a 1999 Pennsylvania GAP Land-Use/Land-Cover analysis.)