Sullivan Branch (also known as Sullivan Run or the Sullivan Branch of East Branch Fishing Creek) is a tributary of East Branch Fishing Creek in

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. Sullivan Branch is acidic, with an average pH ranging from 3.99 to 4.19. The stream contains

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

and dissolved aluminum. It also has a large 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 severa ...

s. The upper reaches of the stream are on North Mountain. Sullivan Branch is designated as a high-quality coldwater fishery. It is in the

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 hun ...

Number 13.

Course

Sullivan Branch begins in northern Davidson Township. It flows east for a short distance before turning southeast and entering a valley. After more than a mile, it receives the tributary Ore Run and turns south-southeast. The valley of the stream is approximately deep at this point. Eventually, Sullivan Branch receives the tributary Hunts Run and turns southeast. Shortly afterwards, it merges with Big Run to form East Branch Fishing Creek.

Tributaries

Tributaries of Sullivan Branch include Ore Run, Hunts Run, and Pigeon Run. The watershed of Ore Run has an area of . The watershed of Hunts Run has an area of . The watershed of Pigeon Run has an area of .

Discharge, aluminum, acidity, and alkalinity

The discharge of Sullivan Branch at its headwaters is 3,276,000 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 ha ...

in Sullivan Branch at its headwaters is 0.43 milligrams per liter. The daily load of aluminum there is . The averaged

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 ...

and

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 ...

at an upstream point, both expressed in units of mg CaCO₃ per litre, were found to be 7.23 and 5.03 respectively. The daily loads of these substances are and , respectively. Downstream of the tributary Ore Run, the discharge of Sullivan Branch is 11,177,000 gallons per day. The aluminum concentration at this point is 0.39 milligrams per liter and the load is per day. The acidity concentration is 6.70 milligrams per liter and the daily alkalinity load is . The alkalinity concentration is 5.33 milligrams per liter and the daily alkalinity load is . Downstream of the tributary Pigeon Run, the discharge of Sullivan Branch is 14,693,000 gallons per day. The concentrations of aluminum, acidity, and alkalinity are 0.37, 7.57, and 5.57 milligrams per liter, respectively. The daily load of aluminum is . The load of acidity is per day and the alkalinity load is per day.

Acidity and water quality

The pH of Sullivan Branch at its headwaters is 3.99. Below Ore Run, the pH is 4.11 and below Pigeon Run, it is 4.19. The average temperature is at the stream's headwaters, downstream of Ore Run, and below Pigeon Run. At the headwaters of Sullivan Branch, the concentrations of

and dissolved organic carbon are 10.40 and 3.322 milligrams per liter, respectively. Below Ore Run, the dissolved oxygen concentration is 9.87 milligrams per liter and the concentration of dissolved organic carbon is 3.232 milligrams per liter. Downstream of Pigeon Run, the concentrations of these substance are 10.09 and 3.190 milligrams per liter, respectively. Sullivan Branch experiences chronic acidification throughout. As of 2011 it was not clear how much the acidity was due to sulfuric acid coming from the atmosphere and how much due to organic acids derived from

humic Humic substances (HS) are organic compounds that are important components of humus, the major organic fraction of soil, peat, and coal (and also a constituent of many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water). For a long era in the 19th an ...

substances. A total of of streams in the watershed of Sullivan Branch are considered to be impaired. This includes parts of all three of its tributaries and its unnamed tributaries. The water quality of the stream is considered to be poor in normal conditions and very poor in high flow conditions. Its water quality is significantly degraded by its tributaries.

Geography and geology

The headwaters of Sullivan Branch are on North Mountain. A

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 ...

separates the stream from another stream known as

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 ...

. The elevation of the stream at its mouth is between and 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 standardise ...

. The elevation of the stream's source is between and above sea level. The gradient of Sullivan Branch is about equal to that of Kitchen Creek.

Watershed

The watershed of Sullivan Branch has an area of . There are at least ten

s on Sullivan Branch, some of which are unnamed. The shapes of these waterfalls include bridal veil falls and wedding cake falls. The highest waterfall is the Fifth Falls, which have a height of . The lowest waterfall is the Tenth Falls, which have a height of . Several of the stream's tributaries also have waterfalls on them. Proposed methods to increase alkalinity in the Sullivan Branch watershed include high flow buffer channels, forest surface liming, in-stream limestone sand dosing, and road liming. The restoration of the stream is estimated to cost $600,000. Sullivan Branch is described as "the prettiest stream in Pennsylvania" in Scott E. Brown's book ''Pennsylvania Waterfalls: A Guide for Hikers and Photographers''.

Biology

As a tributary of East Branch Fishing Creek, Sullivan Branch is designated as a high-quality coldwater fishery. Plants found along Sullivan Branch include

red trillium ''Trillium erectum'', the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by anal ...

violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

of various colors, and squirrel corn. Hobblebush also occurs on the stream's edges.

Recreation

The entirety of Sullivan Branch is in

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 a ...

. It is possible to hike up the stream, but

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scrambl ...

is required in some places.

References

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