Quinn Run is a tributary of

Heberly Run Heberly Run is a tributary of East Branch Fishing Creek in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, 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 Quin ...

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 ...

. It is approximately long and flows through

Davidson Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Davidson Township is a township in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 544 at the 2020 census. History The Sonestown Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Geography Accordin ...

. 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 Huntley Mountain Formation and the Burgoon Sandstone. Soils in the watershed include the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga soil association, and the Oquaga and Norwich soil associations. There are some waterfalls on the stream.

Course

Quinn Run begins in northern Davidson Township. It flows southeast for a short distance before turning south and entering a valley. After some distance, the stream turns east-southeast and receives the tributary Shanty Run. Approximately further downstream, Quinn Run reaches its confluence with Heberly Run just upstream of Lewis Falls. Quinn Run reaches its confluence with Heberly Run upstream of its mouth.

Hydrology

During average flow conditions, the discharge of Quinn Run is 1111 gallons per minute. 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 ...

in the stream is 0.114 milligrams per liter during average flow conditions and the pH is 5.75. Quinn Run experiences episodic acidification. However, it is not extremely deficient in

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 ...

. Quinn Run has "good"

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 ...

during average flow conditions and "very poor" water quality during high flow conditions. However, several methods have been proposed to improve its water quality by increasing alkalinity. These methods include the addition of vertical flow wetlands at the stream's headwaters, forest surface liming, and road liming. Quinn Run is considered 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. ...

to be impaired by atmospheric deposition due to pH.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Quinn Run is above sea level. The elevation of the stream's source is between and . Most of Quinn Run is on rock of 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 ...

. However, the stream's upper reaches are on rock of 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 , ...

formation. There are some 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 in the watershed. Most of Quinn Run flows over soil of the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga soil association. However, its upper reaches are on soil of the Oquaga association and the Morris association. These soils are all highly

acid 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 ...

ic.

Watershed

The watershed of Quinn Run has an area of . The stream is entirely on

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 are also 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 on the stream. No part of Quinn Run is accessible by road. However, the stream can be accessed using a

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. An old

tram road Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes with the wagons or carriages moved without locomotives. Because individual tramway infrastructure is not intended to carry the weight of typical standard-gauge railway equipment, the tramways over w ...

also goes up the stream's valley. Quinn Run is designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 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 ...

History

Together with its tributary Shanty Run, the restoration of Quinn Run is the second phase of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. This phase is estimated to cost $300,000, making it the second most expensive phase of the restoration plan.

References

External links

2004 Waterbody Report for Quinn Run
{{authority control Rivers of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Fishing Creek (North Branch Susquehanna River) Rivers of Pennsylvania