Big Run is a tributary of

East Branch Fishing Creek East Branch Fishing Creek is a tributary of Fishing Creek in Columbia County and Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is long. The stream and its tributaries are acidic and contain aluminum. The area in the vicinity was firs ...

Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Sullivan County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,840, making it the second-least populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Laporte ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Davidson Township. Its watershed has an area of . The stream has a low pH and poor water quality, although that could potentially be remedied. The main rock formations in the area are 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 ...

, the

Huntley Mountain Formation The Huntley Mountain Formation is a late Devonian and early Mississippian mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, in the United States. Description The formation is composed of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone. It is lo ...

, and the

Burgoon Sandstone Burgoon is a village in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 172 at the 2010 census. Geography Burgoon is located at (41.266832, -83.250024). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , ...

. The main soil associations in the vicinity of the stream are the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga association, the Oquaga association, and the Norwich association.

Course

Big Run begins in eastern Davidson Township. It flows east for a short distance, nearly reaching the border between Sullivan County and

Luzerne County 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 then turns north, entering a valley. Once inside the valley, the stream turns west and then southwest, as the valley gets deeper. After less than a mile, the stream turns northwest and leaves the valley. It then merges with

Sullivan Branch Sullivan Branch (also known as Sullivan Run or the Sullivan Branch of East Branch Fishing Creek) is a tributary of East Branch Fishing Creek in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through David ...

to form East Branch Fishing Creek.

Tributaries

Big Run has two unnamed tributaries. These are known as Unt 28011 and Unt 28012. Both are considered by 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. ...

to be impaired by atmospheric deposition.

Hydrology

The average

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

of Big Run is 1404 gallons per minute. The average concentration of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

in the stream is 0.167 milligrams per liter. The pH of Big Run during average flow conditions is 5.61. Its pH ranges from less than 3 to nearly 7. The stream experiences episodic acidification. Big Run is considered to have "good"

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 ...

during average flow conditions, but "severe" water quality during high flow conditions. The stream does not require any additional

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of ...

to be restored to the satisfaction of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. Proposed methods of restoring the water quality of Big Run include in-stream

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

sand dosing and road liming.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Big 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 of the stream's source is between and . The area near the mouth of Big Run is on the rock of the

. Most of the rest of the stream is on rock of the

, but its headwaters are on

. Most of Big Run is on the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

of the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga soil association. However, the headwaters of the stream are on soil of the Oquaga and Norwich associations. Rock

outcropping An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

s are also present near the stream. Most of the soils in the watershed are strongly acidic.

Watershed

The watershed of Big Run has an area of . There are of streams in the watershed. Part of Big Run is on private lands. Big Run and its two unnamed tributaries are designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for use by

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two ...

History

The restoration of Big Run is part of the fifth phase of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. This phase of the plan is estimated to cost $200,000. Big Run was listed as by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as impaired in 2002. As of December 2011, a

total maximum daily load A total maximum daily load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quali ...

is scheduled for the stream in 2015.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Fishing Creek (North Branch Susquehanna River) Rivers of Pennsylvania