Blackberry 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. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream is acidic and is considered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be impaired by atmospheric deposition. Rock formations in the watershed include the Catskill Formation and the Huntley Mountain Formation. Soils in the watershed include the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga, Wellsboro, and Norwich soil associations.

Course

Blackberry Run begins on a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

in Davidson Township. It flows south for a short distance before turning southeast into a deep valley. After some distance, it turns south-southeast, following the valley. It eventually leaves the valley and reaches its confluence with East Branch Fishing Creek near the border between Sullivan County and Columbia County. Blackberry Run joins East Branch Fishing Creek upstream of its mouth. It is the last named tributary to join East Branch Fishing Creek before it reaches its mouth.

Tributaries

Blackberry Run has no named tributaries. However, it does have at least one small unnamed tributary.

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 Blackberry Run is 2113 gallons per minute. The pH of the stream averages 4.70. During high flow conditions, it has a pH of 4.72 or 4.74. Blackberry Run experiences chronic acidification. However, it does not degrade the water quality of East Branch Fishing Creek as significantly as the creek's tributaries further upstream do. The

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 ...

of Blackberry Run is considered to be "severe" during high-flow conditions, a rating worse than "very poor", which the stream is rated as in normal flow conditions. Blackberry Run requires an additional of

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 ...

per day to be restored to satisfaction of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. One proposed method of increasing the alkalinity of the stream is the construction of vertical flow

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s at its headwaters. Other proposed methods include road liming and high flow buffer channels. Blackberry Run is designated 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. ...

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 ...

. However, the stream is considered to be impaired due to atmospheric deposition.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Blackberry 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 source of the stream is approximately above sea level. The lower half of Blackberry Run flows over rock 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 ...

. Further upstream, the stream flows over 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 ...

. The stream's upper reaches are on 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 lower portion of Blackberry Run flows through soil of the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga soil association and the upper reaches of the stream are on soil of the Wellsboro soil association. Soil associations such as the Norwich association occur near the stream as well. Its mouth is on a minor soil association. All of the soil near the stream is strongly acidic. 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 present in the vicinity of Blackberry Run. These outcroppings are made of

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

and

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) ...

Watershed

The watershed of Blackberry Run has an area of . There are of streams in the watershed. Most of Blackberry Run is surrounded by

Pennsylvania State Game Lands The Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGL) are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hu ...

. There is a forested trail near the stream.

History

Blackberry Run was used as a water supply for industrial and domestic uses, in particular, for the residents of Jamison City, in the early 1900s. Part of the stream was closed to

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

in 1920. A large

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

operated on the stream in the past. The restoration of Blackberry Run is the third phase of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. This restoration plan could potentially restore up to of Blackberry Run. The cost of restoring the stream is estimated to be $200,000. Blackberry Run was listed as impaired by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 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 2015.

Biology

Great-spurred violet plants have been observed near Blackberry Run. The stream is designated as a high-quality coldwater fishery.

References

External links

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