Black Run (also known as Black's 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 drainage ...

of Spruce Run in

Union County, Pennsylvania Union County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,681. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County. Its name is an allusio ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through West Buffalo Township and Buffalo Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream has two unnamed tributaries and is not designated as an impaired waterbody. Its watershed is mostly forested, but there is some agricultural land. A few

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 across the stream.

Course

Black Run begins on Buffalo Mountain in West Buffalo Township. It flows southeast for several tenths of a mile, reaching the base of the mountain and entering a valley. Here, it turns east for a few miles, entering Buffalo Township and receiving two unnamed tributaries 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 ...

. The stream eventually turns south-southeast for more than a mile before reaching its confluence with Spruce Run. Black Run joins Spruce Run upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology, 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 Black 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 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. Black Run is not designated as an impaired waterbody.

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 Black 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 Lewisburg. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Williamsport SE. The stream also passes through the quadrangle of Mifflinburg. A total of 71 percent of the watershed of Black Run is on

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed land. Another 22 percent is on

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

land and 3 percent is on impervious surfaces, though this may increase to 31 percent in the future. The watershed of Black Run makes up approximately 3 percent of the Buffalo Creek watershed.

History

Black 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 1169736. The stream is also known as Black's Run. A tract of land near Black Run was surveyed by James Wilson in 1771. William Black settled on the stream in 1774. A wagonmaker and farmer named Phillip Stahl settled at the mouth of the stream near Mazeppa in 1793, having moved from

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

. A steel girder and floorbeam system bridge carrying T-389 was built over Black Run north of Mazeppa in 1936 and was repaired in 2003. The bridge is County Bridge #7 and is long. 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 State Route 1002 was built over the stream in 1948. It is long and is located in Mazeppa.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Union County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Buffalo Creek (West Branch Susquehanna River) Rivers of Pennsylvania

Course

Hydrology, geography and geology

Watershed

History

See also

References