 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2011) |
The Coal River is a tributary of the Kanawha River in southern West Virginia. It is formed near the community of Alum Creek by the confluence of the Big and Little Coal Rivers, and flows generally northward through western Kanawha County, past the community of Upper Falls and into the Kanawha River at St. Albans.
Originally named Walhondecepe by the Delaware Indians, the three rivers that make up the Coal River Watershed, Big, Little and Coal River were renamed in the 18th century by explorer John Peter Salling for the coal deposits found along its banks.
Since humans first arrived in the region the three rivers that make up the Coal River Watershed have served as a vital transportation link to the Kanawha River. The Indians used the rivers as favorite hunting and fishing sites. Early settlers in the region discovered that outcrops of (Cannel) Coal along the Big Coal River could be utilized as an excellent source of heat and light. The abundant timber reserves found in the region also could be transported to the Kanawha Valley during floods and sold to the growing Kanawha Valley.
The availability of large seams of Cannel Coal, which could be used to produce a very desirable coal oil, brought investors to the region in the mid-19th century. The coal could be utilized to produce a coal oil which was in high demand in the urban areas of the US. The oil was used to replace whale oil for lighting. Cannel Coal oil burned bright and produced very little smoke. The utilization of the rivers for navigation was enhanced in the mid 1851 by the construction of a 34-mile (55 km) lock and dam system designed by William Rosecrans. The Coal River Navigation Company was formed and invested approximately $208,000 to complete the system. [1]
The lock and dam system was repeatedly washed out by floods but continued to be rebuilt by investors. The system operated successfully from 1855 through 1861. In 1860 over 850,000 bushels of coal were shipped. The outbreak of the Civil War stopped operations of the system but in 1867 a new company was formed and the lock and dams returned to service until 1881. Altogether the lock and dams operated for 16 years. The system is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as is a series of Log booms built after the locks on the dams were washed away as the Coal River Locks, Dams, and Log Booms Archeological District. [2] The log booms helped to channel cut timber into Sawmill locations along the Coal River near St. Albans, WV.
The Coal River from St. Albans to Upper Falls remains a federal government of the United States-designated navigable waterway.
Beginning around 1800, flax mills and gristmills were built and operated along the river, yielding fiber for the production of textiles in addition to staples such as flour and cornmeal.
After failed attempts by others, the Coal River and Western Railway Company established scheduled rail service along the river at the dawn of the 20th century. This finally provided a reliable source of transportation for the coal and timber industries, sparking an economic boom in the region.
Environmental concerns are based on underground and surface mining operations in the Coal River watershed. Coal slurry impoundments are a byproduct of coal mining and preparation and contain toxic waste including heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. A repeat of the nearby Buffalo Creek disaster is a concern.
Local volunteer watershed groups are working to restore the river and improve fish habitat and recreational opportunities. Also, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is implementing a program to restore the Little Coal River. A series of river structures are being built to move accumulated silt in order to improve fish habitat. Marshall University was hired to conduct a comprehensive river water quality study.
The Big Coal River rises in Raleigh County as two streams, the Clear Fork and the Marsh Fork, which join near Whitesville. The river then flows generally northwest through Boone County, past the towns of Sylvester, Seth and Racine.
The Little Coal River also rises as two streams, the Spruce Fork in Logan County and the Pond Fork in Boone County. They meet at Madison in Boone County and the river then flows generally northward, past the towns of Danville and Julian.
The Tour de Coal, a "paddling event" for canoes and kayaks normally held in June, is an 11-mile (18 km) trip from Upper Falls to St. Albans. Paddlers negotiate the Lower Falls, a one-mile (1.6 km) rapid along the route. About 200 people participated in 2009.
Alum Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha and Lincoln counties along the Coal River in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It includes the unincorporated communities of Alum Creek, Forks of Coal, and Priestley. The CDP had a population of 1,749 at the 2010 census, down from 1,839 at the 2000 census.
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 Big Sandy River, called Sandy Creek as early as 1756, is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 29 miles (47 km) long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
Tornado, also called Upper Falls, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States.
The New River is a river which flows through the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia before joining with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River at the town of Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. Part of the Ohio River watershed, it is about 360 miles (580 km) long.
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of the state since early in the 19th century.
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi (269 km) long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,320 mi2 (6,009 km2) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It served as an important commercial water route in the early history of West Virginia, particularly in the logging and petroleum industries.
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The 260-mile (420 km) river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass region. Its watershed encompasses about 7,000 square miles (18,000 km2), and it supplies drinking water to about one-sixth of the population of the state.
The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately 310 miles (500 km) long. It is named after William Clark of the 1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The river flows northwest through a long valley at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and empties into Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle. The Pend Oreille River in Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada which drains the lake to the Columbia in Washington, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork, giving it a total length of 479 miles (771 km), with a drainage area of 25,820 square miles (66,900 km2). In its upper 20 miles (32 km) in Montana near Butte, it is known as Silver Bow Creek. Interstate 90 follows much of the upper course of the river from Butte to Saint Regis. The highest point within the river's watershed is Mount Evans at 10,641 feet (3,243 m) in Deer Lodge County, Montana along the Continental Divide.
The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the Black Warrior is the primary tributary. The river is named after the Mississippian paramount chief Tuskaloosa, whose name was Muskogean for 'Black Warrior'. The Black Warrior is impounded along nearly its entire course by a series of locks and dams to form a chain of reservoirs that not only provide a path for an inland waterway, but also yield hydroelectric power, drinking water, and industrial water.
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a rail line following the same course.
The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 172 miles (277 km) long, in central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about 310 miles (500 km) long. Via the Arkansas, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
Orlando is an unincorporated community located in Braxton and Lewis counties, West Virginia, United States. It is located on Oil Creek, a tributary of the Little Kanawha River.
Waterways in West Virginia find their highest sources in the highland watersheds of the Allegheny Mountains. These watersheds supply drainage to the creeks often passing through deep and narrow hollows. From the hollows, rushing highland streams collect in bottom land brooks and rivers. People have lived along and boated on the waterways of what is now the Mountain State from the time of antiquity.
Cannelton is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. Cannelton is 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Smithers, along Smithers Creek. Cannelton has a post office with ZIP code 25036. The community was named for the deposits of cannel coal in the area.
Peytona is an unincorporated community in Boone County, West Virginia, United States. Peytona is located on the Big Coal River and West Virginia Route 3, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Madison. Peytona has a post office with ZIP code 25154.
Coal River Locks, Dams, and Log Booms Archeological District is a national historic district and historic archaeological site located on the Coal River in Boone, Lincoln, and Kanawha County, West Virginia. It consists of an underwater resource depicting the navigation and transportation system used on the Coal River during the late-19th and early-20th century. It includes remains of timber cribs, locks and dams, and a lock master house. It was designed by William Rosecrans in the mid-1850s, and was one of the first complete lock and dam systems in West Virginia.
The West Fork Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Little Kanawha River, 48.1 miles (77.4 km) long, in west-central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Little Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 246 square miles (640 km2) in a rural region on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. By drainage area, it is the second-largest tributary of the Little Kanawha River, after the Hughes River.
Union Magisterial District is one of ten magisterial districts in Mason County, West Virginia, United States. The district was originally established as a civil township in 1863, and converted into a magisterial district in 1872. In 2020, Union District was home to 1,261 people.
38°23′50″N81°50′29″W / 38.3972°N 81.8413°W
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
