Bargers Run (also known as Bergers Run or Wildcat Creek) is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Perry County, Pennsylvania Perry County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,842. The county seat is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Greenwood Township, Liverpool Township, and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream has two named tributaries: Spruce Run and Barger Run. A number of bridges have been built across Bargers Run. Its watershed is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Bargers Run begins in a valley near the southern side of Wildcat Ridge, in Greenwood Township. It flows east-northeast for a short distance and enters Liverpool Township before turning east-southeast. A short distance further downstream, the stream turns southeast, heading away from Wildcat Ridge. Over the next several tenths of a mile, it receives four unnamed tributaries from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

and two from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

. It then turns east-northeast for a few miles. From the right, the stream receives two unnamed tributaries, then the tributary Spruce Run, then one more unnamed tributary from the right. From the left, it receives three unnamed tributaries. Bargers Run then turns northeast for several tenths of a mile, receiving the tributary Barger Run and an unnamed tributary from the left. It then turns south-southeast for a few tenths of a mile before turning northeast and then east, entering Liverpool. Here, the steam flows east for a few tenths of a mile before crossing

US Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

US Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Car ...

and reaching its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Bargers Run joins the Susquehanna River upriver of its mouth.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Bargers Run is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The elevation near the stream's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

is above sea level. Red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

of the

Catskill Formation The Devonian Catskill Formation or the Catskill Clastic wedge is a unit of mostly terrestrial sedimentary rock found in Pennsylvania and New York. Minor marine layers exist in this thick rock unit (up to ). It is equivalent to the Hampshire For ...

occurs in the vicinity of the valley of Bargers Run.

Watershed

The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Bargers Run has an area of . The mouth of the stream is in the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

quadrangle of Millersburg. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Reward. Its mouth is located at

. The watershed of Bargers Run is situated in the northwestern portion of Perry County. The stream's watershed is bordered by the watersheds of several other streams, of which two drain into the

Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is ...

. However, Bargers Run is also one of several small streams in Perry County that drain into the

. It is one of the major steams in Liverpool Township and also drains a small area in eastern Greenwood Township.

History and name

Bargers Run was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information is 1168707. The stream is also known as Bergers Run or Wildcat Creek on

maps. However, in 1959, it was found that every person who was asked knew the stream as "Bargers Run" and none recognized the name "Wildcat Creek". The name "Bargers Run" has been in use since the early 1800s. A covered bridge known as Red Covered Bridge crosses Bargers Run. The bridge was built on the outskirts of Liverpool in 1886. At in length, it is the shortest covered bridge in Perry County. A concrete

tee beam A T-beam (or tee beam), used in construction, is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with a -shaped cross section. The top of the -shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member in resisting compressiv ...

bridge carrying Front Street over Bargers Run in Liverpool was constructed in 1922 and is long. A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying T-544 was constructed over the stream in 1940 and is long. In 1950, a concrete slab bridge carrying State Route 1010 was constructed over the stream, with a length of . A concrete culvert bridge carrying Red Bridge Road across the stream was built in 1961 west of Liverpool and is long. A prestressed box beam or girders bridge carrying

and

across the stream was built in Liverpool in 2000 and is long.

Biology

The drainage basin of Bargers Run is designated as a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. In August 1984, runoff from a hog manure lot caused approximately 4400 fish to die in a reach of Bargers Run. In 2016, the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

passed regulations affecting Independence Run from its mouth to a point upstream. This regulation forbade any attempt to target or catch

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

between May 1 and June 17, with immediate

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

being in effect for bass the rest of the year.

References