Halfway Run Natural Area is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Centre County Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The lands ...

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, ...

, United States. It is part of

Bald Eagle State Forest Bald Eagle State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #7. The main office is located in Laurelton in Union County, Pennsylvania. The forest is found in Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Snyder, and Union ...

, and is a short distance from R.B. Winter State Park.

Description

The area protects a glaciated landscape of a type uncommon for Central Pennsylvania, along both banks of

Halfway Run Halfway Run is a tributary of Rapid Run in Union County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Hartley Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . A number of waterlogged pingo scars occur nea ...

, which has been designated as a stream of unimpaired quality. The area is known for numerous

pingo Pingos are intrapermafrost ice-cored hills, high and in diameter. They are typically conical in shape and grow and persist only in permafrost environments, such as the Arctic and subarctic. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is define ...

scars from the age of glaciation, in the form of ponds filling pits that formed when small ice-covered hills collapsed. 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 ...

naturally reproduce in Halfway Run, and in springtime various branches of the stream contribute to

vernal pools Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

that are breeding spots for amphibians.

References

{{Protected Areas of Pennsylvania Protected areas of Union County, Pennsylvania