Barnes Run (also known as Barnes Run 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 Black Creek in

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

. It is approximately long and flows through Black Creek Township. The stream has been used as a water supply for portions of

Hazleton Hazleton may refer to: Places * Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada * Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton Abbey, a me ...

and some surrounding areas. It is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and wild trout naturally reproduce within it.

Course

Barnes Run begins on the northern side of a mountain in Black Creek Township. It flows west for several tenths of a mile before turning north for nearly a mile. After several tenths of a mile, it leaves the mountain and crosses Rock Glen Road. The stream then turns west-northwest for several tenths of a mile, passing near the Sugarloaf Golf Course and flowing through a series of

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

s. A short distance downstream of the ponds, it reaches its confluence with Black Creek.

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 Barnes 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source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person,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 between above sea level. Barnes Run is in the

ridge and valley The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...

physiographic province. The Barnes Run collecting

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

has a capacity of .

Watershed

Barnes Run is entirely within 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 Nuremberg. The stream is not considered to be a major stream. The

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws. ...

opted not to recognize the watershed of Barnes Run as a "high quality watershed" with the potential to be affected by development. One proposed route for the Susquehanna-Roseland 500 kV Transmission Line crosses Barnes Run. Barnes Run is one of eleven officially named streams in the watershed of

Nescopeck Creek Nescopeck Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The creek is in the Coal Region of ...

that has not been assessed by 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 ...

History

Barnes 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 January 1, 1990. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1202218. The stream was added because of its appearance on the ''Atlas of the Anthracite Coalfields of Pennsylvania'', which was published in 1888. The Barnes Run Reservoir was constructed in 1912. It is dammed by an earth dam with a masonry core wall and a cut-stone

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

. In 1964, it was noted in the ''

Standard-Speaker Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

'' that the reservoir rarely ran dry. Barnes Run has been one of several streams used as a

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

. It and two other streams (

Wolffs Run Wolffs Run is a tributary of Stony Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately long and flows through Hazle Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . A reservoir known as the Humboldt Reservoir is located on it. The ...

and Stony Creek) supplied water to as many as 14,400 people in 1974. In the early 1900s, Barnes Run and Wolffs Run made up 25 percent of the water supply of Hazleton. In 1963, Barnes Run was one of ten suppliers of water to Hazleton. It also supplied water to West Hazleton and Humboldt.

Biology

Barnes Run is designated as a Coldwater Fishery. Wild

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

naturally reproduce in Barnes Run from its headwaters downstream to its mouth. The

considered adding the stream to its list of

Wild Trout Waters Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

in a meeting on April 11 and April 12, 2012.

Giardia ''Giardia'' ( or ) is a genus of anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasites of the phylum Metamonada that colonise and reproduce in the small intestines of several vertebrates, causing the disease giardiasis. Their life cycle alternates between ...

cysts were observed in the Barnes Run Reservoir in February 1986.

References