Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. In 2020, the census showed Richwood with a population of 1,661. During the 19th and early 20th century Richwood was a booming coal and lumber town. Richwood has a very rich history, including the formation of the Cherry River Navy civic organization to draw attention to issues important to the community. Richwood has also become known statewide as the "Ramp Capital of the World". Each year, in April, the city hosts a large festival that draws visitors from around the country.
The Monongahela River, sometimes referred to locally as the Mon, is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, US. It protects over 921,000 acres of federally managed land within a 1,700,000 acres proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.
The Cheat River is a 78.3-mile-long (126.0 km) tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Ohio River, the Cheat and Monongahela are part of the Mississippi River watershed. Owing to the ruggedness of the surrounding Allegheny Mountains, the Cheat remains largely remote with few settlements or developments along its banks. Its headwaters are in the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District of the Monongahela National Forest.
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, 162 miles (261 km) long, in southeastern West Virginia, in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 1,656 square miles (4,290 km2). It is one of the longest rivers in West Virginia.
The Whitewater River is a 101-mile-long (163 km) southerly flowing right tributary of the Great Miami River in southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio in the United States. It is formed by the confluence of two forks, the West Fork and East Fork. The name is a misnomer, as there is no true white water on the river. However, there are many rapids due to the steep gradient present - the river falls an average of six feet per mile (1.1 m/km). The gradient rendered upstream navigation impossible, and in the mid-nineteenth century resulted in the construction of the Whitewater Canal paralleling the river from north of Connersville, Indiana, to the Ohio River.
The Gauley River is a 105-mile-long (169 km) river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. The river features numerous recreational whitewater areas, including those in Gauley River National Recreation Area downstream of the Summersville Dam.
The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, 103-mile (166 km) long, in north-central West Virginia, United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 881 square miles (2,284 km²) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.
The Blackwater River is a 34.3-mile-long (55.2 km) river in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Via the Black Fork, it is a principal tributary of the Cheat River. Via the Cheat, the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River and drains an area of 142 square miles (370 km2). It is a true blackwater stream, owing to spruce and hemlock trees in its watershed, the tannins of which impart a tea or amber color to its water.
Shavers Fork of the Cheat River is situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is 88.5 mi (142.4 km) long and forms the Cheat at its confluence with Black Fork at Parsons. It was traditionally considered one of the five Forks of Cheat and its upper reaches constitute the highest river in the eastern United States.
The Dry Fork is a 39.1-mile-long (62.9 km) tributary of the Black Fork of the Cheat River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Via the Black Fork, the Cheat, and the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Dry Fork flows for much of its length in the Monongahela National Forest and drains mostly rural and forested areas. It was traditionally considered one of the five Forks of Cheat.
The Williams River is a tributary of the Gauley River, 33 miles (53 km) long, in east-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Gauley, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 132 square miles (342 km2) in a sparsely populated region of the southern Allegheny Mountains and the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.
The Cranberry River is a tributary of the Gauley River located in southeastern West Virginia in the United States. It is a part of the Mississippi River watershed, by way of the Gauley, Kanawha, and Ohio Rivers, draining an area of 74 square miles (192 km2).
Summit Lake is a 43-acre (170,000 m2) cold water reservoir located in Greenbrier County, West Virginia in the Gauley Ranger District of the Monongahela National Forest. The reservoir is formed by the impoundment of the waters of two forks of Coats Run, a small tributary of the North Fork of the Cherry River. There have been attempts to rename the lake in honor of Carl E. Gainer, a politician from nearby Richwood. These efforts, however, have had limited success with local residents and the United States Forest Service.
Glady Fork is a 31.9-mile-long (51.3 km) river in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is considered one of the five principal headwaters tributaries of the Cheat River — known as the Forks of Cheat.
Laurel Fork is a 37.8-mile-long (60.8 km) river in eastern West Virginia, USA. It is a tributary of the Dry Fork; via the Dry Fork, the Black Fork, and the Cheat, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 60 square miles (160 km2) in the Allegheny Mountains. With the Dry Fork, the Glady Fork, the Shavers Fork and the Blackwater River, it is considered to be one of the five principal headwaters tributaries of the Cheat River.
The Middle Fork River is a 35.4-mile-long (57.0 km) tributary of the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 152 square miles (390 km2) on the easternmost part of the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Middle Fork River has also been known simply as "Middle Fork" and as "Middlefork."
Wheeling Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River, 25 miles (40 km) long, in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, with a watershed extending into southwestern Pennsylvania. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 300 square miles (780 km2) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It flows into the Ohio River in downtown Wheeling, just downstream of Ohio's Wheeling Creek on the opposite bank. A variant name is Big Wheeling Creek. According to the French explorer Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville, the native name of the stream is the Kanououara River, as was inscribed on the lead plate buried at the mouth by the Ohio River in 1749.
The Cranberry Wilderness is a 47,815-acre (19,350 ha) U.S. wilderness area in the Monongahela National Forest of southeast West Virginia, United States. Its name derives from the nearby Cranberry Glades as well as from the Cranberry River and Cranberry Mountain. In addition to being wilderness, it is a designated black bear sanctuary.
