Gravel Run is a tributary of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury. The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancas ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Rush Township and Upper Augusta Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . A number of

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 cross the stream and a mill was also historically present along it. The stream is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It has a number of unnamed tributaries.

Course

Gravel Run begins on a hill in southern Rush Township. It flows west for a few hundred feet and then turns southwest for a similar distance before turning west again. The stream then turns roughly to the north for more than a mile, flowing parallel to Pine Swamp Road for most of the distance and receiving an unnamed tributary. Its valley deepens in this area. The stream then reaches Klines Grove, where it receives another unnamed tributary and turns northeast, flowing along the border between Rush Township and Upper Augusta Township. After a few hundred feet, it makes an abrupt turn west before turning north-northwest. The stream's valley continues to deepen and after approximately a mile, the stream turns west and slightly south before gradually turning northwest and reaching Wolverton. In Wolverton, the stream reaches its confluence with the Susquehanna River. Gravel Run joins the Susquehanna River upriver of its mouth.

Geography

Gravel Run enters the

on the river's

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

. The elevation near the mouth of Gravel 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 . Gravel Run forms a portion of the border between Rush Township and Upper Augusta Township.

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 Gravel Run has an area of . Both the mouth and the headwaters of the stream are 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 Riverside. The stream is one of the main streams in Northumberland County.

History

Gravel Run has been contained in Northumberland County since the county was formed in 1772, when Pennsylvania was still a colony. At the time, it was located in Augusta Township, but in 1785, Catawissa Township split off from Augusta, with Gravel Run part of the border between the two. Three years later, in 1788, Ralpho Township split from Catawissa, and included the land that bordered Augusta; Ralpho was renamed Shamokin a year later. In 1819, Rush Township was created by splitting Shamokin, with Rush on the Augusta border. A year later, the triennial assessment listed Henry Lacock as the owner of a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

on Gravel Run in Rush Township. The 1846 split of Augusta Township into Upper Augusta Township and Lower Augusta Township left Gravel Run as part of the border between Rush Township and Upper Augusta Township. Gravel 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 1176010. Two

s that are more than long have been built over Gravel Run. A concrete channel beam bridge was built over the stream in 1939 and repaired in 2003. It 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 that is long was built over the stream in 1960. Bassett

Campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

is located near Gravel Run, in the stream's left floodway.

Biology

As of August 31, 2011, the 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 ...

designation for Gravel Run is being considered. It has been proposed that the stream be designated as a stream with naturally reproducing trout. The stream's Chapter 93 Classification is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery throughout its drainage basin.

References