The watershed of the creek is in the Appalachian Mountain Section of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province.
The watershed of Powderly Creek is mainly forested, but open fields, abandoned mine land, and residential development occur as well.
It flows south-southeast for several hundred feet before turning south-southwest for a few tenths of a mile and entering a lake.
[1] Powderly Creek joins the Lackawanna River 26.42 miles (42.52 km) upriver of its mouth.
However, the concentration of manganese in the creek's upper reaches is 0.43 milligrams per liter and the daily load is 3.7 pounds (1.7 kg).
[5] During high flow events, it carries large loads of anthracite silt and clay fines.
Downstream of its headwaters, it initially flows through a litter-affected ditch and eventually meanders through some culm piles and strip pits.
It is the largest silt basin discovered by the Lackawanna River Corridor Association in their stream walks.
[5] Downstream of the Bushwick silt basin, Powderly Creek passes over some sandstone ledges.
At a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream of its mouth, it enters a trapezoidal riprap channel for the remainder of its length.
[5] A major underground coal-seam fire is burning on a ridge to the west of Powderly Creek.
[6] A historic site known as the D&H Light Track is in the watershed of Powderly Creek in Carbondale Township.
Additionally, the Langcliff Colliery, which was owned by the Hudson Coal Company was historically on the banks of the creek.
A trail/greenway project known as the Powderly Creek Greenway was proposed in the Lackawanna River Watershed Conservation Plan.
[5] A 1968 project by the borough of Mayfield involved relocating a reach of the creek and constructing an earth levee with a length of 700 feet (210 m) on its bank.
[7] In 1991, a channelization project was carried out on 1 mile (1.6 km) of Powderly Creek in Carbondale Township by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation.
[8] In the early 1970s, a flooded strip pit in the vicinity of Powderly Creek gained national media attention due to allegations that a UFO had crashed into it.
Scuba divers searched the pit and found the cause of this event: a sealed beam railroad switchman's lantern.
The creek is on the Watershed Restoration Priority Lists of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation.
The Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation also had plans to carry out stream channel restoration and the United States Army Corps of Engineers was conducting feasibility studies.
A notice on the creation of a draft total maximum daily load was posted to the Pennsylvania Bulletin on January 8, 2005.
A public meeting discussing the total maximum daily load was held on January 25, 2005 in Dickson City.
[3] In 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was scheduled to receive more than $1,000,000 to eliminate the mine fire in the creek's vicinity.