Wolf Run is a tributary of Bowman Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The surficial geology in its vicinity consists of Wisconsinan Till, alluvium, alluvial fan, and bedrock. There are a series of wetlands at the stream's headwaters. These wetlands are listed on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory. The drainage basin of the stream is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.

Course

Wolf Run begins in a valley near the edge of a plateau in Ross Township. It flows south-southwest for several hundred feet before turning south-southeast and flowing down a slope. After a few tenths of a mile, the stream turns south for a few tenths of a mile before reaching the base of the slope. It then reaches its confluence with Bowman Creek. Wolf Run joins Bowman Creek upstream of its mouth.

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 Wolf Run is above sea level. The elevation of the stream's source is just over above sea level. The

surficial geology Superficial deposits (or surficial deposits) refer to geological deposits typically of Quaternary age (less than 2.6 million years old). These geologically recent unconsolidated sediments may include stream channel and floodplain deposits, beach ...

near the mouth of Wolf Run consists of alluvium and alluvial fan, which both contain stratified sand, silt, and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

, as well as some

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

s. Further upstream, the surficial geology consists of a till known as Wisconsinan Till. At the headwaters, the surficial geology features

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

containing sandstone and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

Watershed

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 Wolf Run has an area of . The stream is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Sweet Valley. Its mouth is located at Mountain Springs. There are several hydrologically connected wetlands at the headwaters of Wolf Run.

History and recreation

Wolf Run was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1191676. Wolf Run was historically used as a water supply for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. At least part of Wolf Run is in

Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 57 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, Maryl ...

and a hiking trail is located relatively close by.

Biology

The drainage basin of Wolf Run is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. Wild trout naturally reproduce in the stream from its headwaters downstream to its mouth. The wetlands at the headwaters of Wolf Run are listed on the Luzerne County Natural Areas Inventory. The center of the wetlands is relatively open and they are bordered by

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s. Major plant species at the site include

cinnamon fern ''Osmundastrum'' is genus of leptosporangiate ferns in the family Osmundaceae with one living species, ''Osmundastrum cinnamomeum'', the cinnamon fern. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands. I ...

, highbush blueberry,

cotton grass ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog h ...

soft rush ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution '' ...

, woolgrass, groundberry, huckleberry, cranberry, and swamp candles. Other major species include the sedgees ''

Carex stricta ''Carex stricta'' is a species of sedge known by the common names upright sedge and tussock sedge. The plant grows in moist marshes, forests and alongside bodies of water.

'', '' Carex rustrata'', and ''

Carex folliculata ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

'',

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es, and red spruce. Two animal species of concern have been observed at the site. There are no serious disturbances at wetlands at the headwaters of Wolf Run. A trail passes close to the wetlands, but there is little sign of the wetlands being trampled by hikers. Deer browsing is also a possible threat to the area, but no impacts have been observed. Logging and hydrological changes are also possible threats to the site.

References