Beaver Run 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 drai ...

of Chillisquaque Creek in Montour County and Northumberland County, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Liberty Township in Montour County and East Chillisquaque Township in Northumberland County. The watershed of the stream has an area of . Reaches of the stream are designated as impaired due to

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...

caused by agriculture. Numerous bridges have been constructed across it and it lacks a

riparian buffer A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a " buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...

in some reaches.

Course

Beaver Run begins in a pond in a valley on Montour Ridge in Liberty Township, Montour County. It flows west-southwest for about a mile before turning northwest, leaving behind Montour Ridge and entering a much larger valley. The stream eventually turns north and then northeast for a few tenths of a mile before turning northwest again. Some distance after crossing

Pennsylvania Route 45 Pennsylvania Route 45 (PA 45) is an state highway located in central Pennsylvania, United States. PA 45 is called the Purple Heart Highway. The western terminus of the route is at PA 453 in Morris Township near the community of Water Street. ...

, it begins meandering west-southwest for several tenths of a mile before turning northwest. After several tenths of a mile, the stream turns west-southwest. Several tenths of a mile further downstream, it leaves Montour County and enters East Chillisquaque Township, Northumberland County. It almost immediately reaches its confluence with Chillisquaque Creek. Beaver Run joins Chillisquaque Creek upstream of its mouth.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Beaver 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 standardise ...

. The elevation of 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. The channel of Beaver Run (along with those of Chillisquaque Creek, Mauses Creek, and Kase Run) is partially created by Limestone Ridge and a range of hills running in an east-west direction through the central part of Montour County. To the south, the drainage basin of the stream is marked by Montour Ridge.

Hydrology, watershed, and biology

The watershed of Beaver 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 Northumberland. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Riverside. There are a total of of streams in the watershed of Beaver Run. Of these, , or 49.4 percent, are designated as impaired. The cause of the impairment is

due to

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. At least one person has received a permit to discharge stormwater into an unnamed tributary of the stream.

History

Beaver 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 System is 1169037. Numerous

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s have been constructed over Beaver Run. A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying State Route 3003 was built over the stream in 1909 and repaired in 1973. It is long and is northwest of Mooresburg. A steel truss bridge carrying T-308 was built over the stream in 1912 and repaired in 1997. It is long and is east of Potts Grove. A concrete bridge was constructed over the stream in 1924 northwest of Mooresburg. This bridge is long and carries T-318. A concrete slab bridge was constructed over the stream in 1941 and repaired in 2007, northwest of Mooresburg. This bridge is long and carries State Route 3003. A steel stringer/multi-beam or girder bridge carrying T-306 was constructed across the stream in 1991. It is long and is southeast of Potts Grove. A concrete culvert bridge carrying T-843 was built across the stream in the same year, is long, and is southeast of Potts Grove. In 1999, a bridge of the same type was constructed over the stream west of Mooresburg. It is long and carries State Route 3004.

Biology

There are some areas along Beaver Run where the stream lacks a

. According to the Montour County Natural Areas Inventory, planting

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

trees along the stream in these reaches would reduce nonpoint source pollution and raise

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

. An unnamed tributary of Beaver Run is designated as a Warmwater Fishery.

References