Kern 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 Middle Creek in

Snyder County, Pennsylvania Snyder County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,736. The county seat is Middleburg. Snyder County was formed in 1855 from parts of Union County. Snyder County comprises the Selin ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Spring Township, Beaver Township, and Beavertown. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream has two named tributaries: Luphers Run and Wetzel Run. Kern Run is

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

med in one place to produce a lake for drinking water and flood control. Some reaches of the stream are impaired. A number of bridges have also been constructed across it. The drainage basin of the stream is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. 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 within it.

Course

Kern Run begins on a large ridge in Spring Township. It flows down the ridge in a northerly direction for several tenths of a mile before turning east-northeast for about a mile, flowing between the ridge and the much smaller Ore Ridge, and entering Beaver Township. Here, the stream turns north-northeast for a few tenths of a mile before entering an unnamed

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. The stream then turns north-northwest for a few tenths of a mile, leaving its valley. At this point, it turns north-northeast for more than a mile, passing through Beavertown and reentering Beaver Township. In Beavertown, the stream crosses

US Route 522 U.S. Route 522 (US 522) is a spur route of US 22 in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Highway travels in a north-south direction, and runs from US 60 near Powhatan, Virginia, to its northern terminus at ...

and receives the tributary Luphers Run from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

. A short distance north of Beavertown, it receives the tributary Wetzel Run from the right and turns north-northwest for several tenths of a mile, passing between Freestone Ridge and Thomas Ridge and then reaching its confluence with Middle Creek. Kern Run joins Middle Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Kern Run has two named tributaries: Luphers Run and Wetzel Run. Luphers Run joins Kern Run upstream of its mouth and drains an area of . Wetzel Run joins Kern Run upstream of its mouth and drains an area of .

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 Kern 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 above sea level. The creek is a relatively small stream. Its headwaters are on a ridge sometimes known as Shade Mountain. In its upper reaches, Kern Run is a mountain stream in a wild setting. In the late 1980s, one book described the stream as a "little mountain brook". However, it goes underground for a time near Beavertown. North-dipping rock of the

Bloomsburg Formation The Silurian Bloomsburg Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. It is named for the town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania in which it was first described. The Bloomsburg marked the first occurrence of re ...

has been discovered on a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

on Kern Run, approximately south of Beavertown.

Watershed and hydrology

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 Kern 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 Beavertown. However its source is in the quadrangle of Beaver Springs. The stream's mouth is located near Beavertown. Kern Run is

med in one location; the site is known as PA-638. The lake created by the dam typically has a surface area of , and a volume of 248 acre-feet. The lake drains an area of . The

itself is high and has an area of . Upstream of the lake on Kern Run, the watershed of the stream consists of 99 percent

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, and 1 percent bodies of water,

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, and pastures. Kern Run can be accessed via Township Road 588 from US Route 522. One reach of Kern Run is designated as an impaired waterbody.

History

Kern 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 1178399. 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 4007 and a township road over Kern Run was built north of Beavertown in 1922 and is long. A bridge carrying

also crosses the stream in Beavertown and Beaver Township. It was slated for replacement for a cost of $500,476. A lake was created on Kern Run in 1983. It is used for

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

and

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

and is owned by the Spring Township Municipal Authority. The Spring Township Municipal Authority uses the lake as its primary water supply to serve approximately 1000 people.

Biology

The drainage basin of Kern Run is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. Wild

naturally reproduce in the stream for . The stream is classified as Approved Trout Waters. In the 1980s, however, of the stream was stocked with trout.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Snyder County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania