Heberly 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 . Its tributaries include Quinn Run and Meeker Run. The stream also has a number of

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s. It is partly in Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 13. The forests near the stream largely consist of

second-growth A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

woods.

Course

Heberly Run begins on the top of a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in Davidson Township. It flows east for a few tenths of a mile, quickly becoming highly steep. It then turns roughly south and its valley becomes very deep, reaching heights of approximately within . In this stretch, the stream receives Meeker Run, its first tributary. Eventually, Heberly Run turns southeast and then east, its valley becoming deep. At the Lewis Falls, it receives Quinn Run and turns southeast. After approximately a mile, the stream's valley becomes deep. Shortly after this, it enters the valley of East Branch Fishing Creek and reaches its confluence with that creek near the border between Sullivan County and Columbia County. Heberly Run joins East Branch Fishing Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Tributaries of Heberly Run include Quinn Run and Meeker Run.

Hydrology

At its headwaters, the

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 Heberly Run is 5,787,000 gallons per day. Downstream of the tributary Meeker Run, the stream's discharge is 12,931,000 gallons per day. At the mouth of Heberly Run, it increases to 24,076,000 gallons per day. The 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 ...

at the headwaters of Heberly Run is 0.24 milligrams per liter and the daily load is . The concentration is 0.18 milligrams per liter and the load is downstream of Meeker Run. At Heberly Run's mouth, the concentration is 0.15 milligrams per liter and the daily load is . The

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

concentration at the headwaters of Heberly Run is 4.40 milligrams per liter and the

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 ...

concentration is 5.84 milligrams per liter. The daily loads of these substances are and , respectively. Downstream of Meeker Run, the acidity concentration is 2.87 milligrams per liter and the acidity load is per day. The alkalinity concentration is 6.83 milligrams per liter and the daily load is . At the mouth of Heberly Run, the acidity concentration is 2.80 milligrams per liter and the concentration of alkalinity is 6.93 milligrams per liter. The daily loads for these substances are and . The pH of Heberly Run at its mouth ranges from 4.15 to 6.40, with an average of 5.60. Downstream of Meeker Run, the pH ranges between 3.88 and 6.36. The average pH here is 4.97. At the stream's headwaters, the minimum pH is 3.48 and the maximum pH is 6.30. The average is 4.91.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Heberly 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 ...

. There are some

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Upstream of the waterfalls, there are smooth

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) ...

outcroppings in the

streambed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood st ...

of Heberly Run. The stream has created a "steep and rugged"

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

in the

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 ...

that it is located on.

Watershed

The watershed of Heberly Run has an area of . It is difficult to access the stream by

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

. There are a number of

s on Heberly Run. These include Lewis Falls, Twin Falls, Big Falls and several others. Most of these waterfalls are fairly small. Big Falls is high and Lewis Falls is high. The upper Twin Falls are high and the lower Twin Falls are high. There is also an unnamed waterfall that is high. There are also waterfalls on the tributary Quinn Run. The vicinity of Heberly Run is described as "very scenic" in the Sullivan County Natural Areas Inventory. The community of Jamison City is fairly near the watershed of Heberly Run.

Biology

There are

woods in the watershed of Heberly Run. Trees found near the stream include hemlock and

black birch Black birch is a common name for several trees, and may refer to: * Asian black birch, the English name for ''Betula dahurica'', tree species native to eastern Asia * Black birch, a common name for ''Betula lenta'', tree species native to eastern ...

. Other plants living there include

wood sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species di ...

and violets. A plant species that is threatened in Pennsylvania is found near the stream, as is one that is endangered in the state. The endangered species is becoming less common in the area. The low pH of Heberly Run makes it difficult for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

to reproduce in the stream.

Recreation

Heberly Run flows through the

Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 13 Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 13 are Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Columbia County and Sullivan County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. They have an area of 49,529 acres. The game lands are mountainous and contain streams such as ...

. This area is less frequently visited than the nearby

Ricketts Glen State Park Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 13,193 acres (5,280 ha) in Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. Ricketts Glen is a National Natural Landmark known for its old-growth fore ...

. A

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

known as Waterfall Wonderland follows Heberly Run for part of its length. A more difficult version of this hike is considerably closer to the stream and at times goes up the streambed itself. The trail requires bushwhacking in places.

References

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