Elkhorn Creek (Tug Fork tributary)

Last updated
Elkhorn Creek
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
County McDowell, Mercer
Physical characteristics
SourceCoaldale Mountain
 - location Mercer County, West Virginia
 - coordinates 37°20′50″N81°20′20″W / 37.34722°N 81.33889°W / 37.34722; -81.33889 [1]
 - elevation2,674 ft (815 m) [2]
River mouth Tug Fork
 - location Welch, West Virginia
 - coordinates 37°25′49″N81°35′10″W / 37.43028°N 81.58611°W / 37.43028; -81.58611 Coordinates: 37°25′49″N81°35′10″W / 37.43028°N 81.58611°W / 37.43028; -81.58611 [1]
 - elevation1,296 ft (395 m) [1]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 - rightNorth Fork Elkhorn Creek

Elkhorn Creek is a 23.7-mile-long (38.1 km) [3] tributary of the Tug Fork, belonging to the Ohio River and Mississippi River watersheds. It is located in McDowell and Mercer counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Elkhorn Creek is also known as Elkhorn Fork and Elkhorn River.

Tributary stream or river that flows into a main stem river or lake

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean.

Tug Fork river in the United States of America

The Tug Fork is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, 159 miles (256 km) long, in southwestern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Kentucky in the United States. Via the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

Ohio River river in the midwestern United States

The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the midwestern United States that flows southwesterly from western Pennsylvania south of Lake Erie to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the second largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 15 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for three million people.

Contents

According to tradition, Elkhorn Creek was named after an incident when a pioneer hunter displayed an elk's horn near the creek's mouth. [4]

Tributaries

Tributary streams are listed from source to mouth.

List of cities and towns along Elkhorn Creek

Big Four, West Virginia Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

Big Four is an unincorporated community located in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Their post office has been closed. Originally known as Cirrus, Big Four is reported to have been renamed for the four men who operated the coal mines in the area.

Bottom Creek, West Virginia Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

Bottom Creek is an unincorporated community located in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Bottom Creek lies along U.S. Route 52 between the towns of Kimball and Vivian. It takes its name from the stream that runs through the community.

Eckman, West Virginia Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

Eckman is an unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia. Eckman is located along U.S. Route 52 to the west of the city of Keystone. Eckman used to be known as Shawnee Camp.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Sleepy Creek river in the United States of America

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Twelvepole Creek river in the United States of America

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Crooked River (Missouri) tributary of the Missouri River in west-central Missouri

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Big Run (South Branch Potomac River tributary) river in the United States of America

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Goose Creek (Potomac River tributary) tributary of the Potomac River in Virginia, United States

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Cedar Creek is a 40.5-mile-long (65.2 km) tributary stream of the North Fork Shenandoah River in northern Virginia in the United States. It forms the majority of the boundary between Frederick and Shenandoah counties. Cedar Creek's confluence with the North Fork Shenandoah is located at Strasburg.

Seneca Creek (North Fork South Branch Potomac River) river in the United States of America

Seneca Creek is a 19.6-mile-long (31.5 km) tributary of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River located entirely within Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA.

Kettle Creek is a 7.3-mile-long (11.7 km) tributary stream of the South Fork South Branch Potomac River in Hardy and Pendleton counties in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Kettle Creek rises on Mitchell Knob and flows north along the eastern flanks of Sweedlin Hill through Sweedlin Valley in the George Washington National Forest.

Dry Fork (Tug Fork tributary) river in the United States of America

The Dry Fork is a 47.7-mile-long (76.8 km) tributary of the Tug Fork, belonging to the Ohio River watershed. The river is located in McDowell County, West Virginia, and Tazewell County, Virginia, in the United States. The mouth of the Dry Fork into the Tug Fork is located at Iaeger.

Fourpole Creek is a 4.8-mile-long (7.7 km) tributary of the Tug Fork, belonging to the Ohio River and Mississippi River watersheds. It is located in McDowell and Mingo counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Fourpole Creek forms the boundary between McDowell and Mingo counties.

North River (Cacapon River) river in the United States of America

The North River is a tributary of the Cacapon River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The river is located in Hampshire and Hardy counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The mouth of the North River into the Cacapon is located at Forks of Cacapon. From its headwaters to its mouth, the North River spans 52.4 miles (84.3 km) in length.

Lost River (Cacapon River tributary) river in the United States of America

The Lost River is a 31.1-mile-long (50.1 km) river in the Appalachian Mountains of Hardy County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region. The Lost River is geologically the same river as the Cacapon River: It flows into an underground channel northeast of McCauley along West Virginia Route 259 at "the Sinks" and reappears near Wardensville as the Cacapon. The source of the Lost River lies south of Mathias near the West Virginia/Virginia border. Along with the Cacapon and North rivers, the Lost River serves as one of the three main segments of the Cacapon River and its watershed.

Loop Creek (West Virginia) river in West Virginia, United States of America

Loop Creek, also known by the spelling Loup Creek, is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 20 miles (32 km) long, in southern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 49.6 square miles (128 km2) in a coal mining region on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.

Arnold Creek (West Virginia) river in the United States of America

Arnold Creek is a tributary of Middle Island Creek, 10.9 miles (17.5 km) long, in West Virginia in the United States. Via Middle Island Creek and the Ohio River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 34.7 square miles (90 km2) in a rural region on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.

Elkhorn Creek is a stream in Montgomery County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of West Fork Cuivre River.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Elkhorn Creek". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2004-04-24.
  2. ↑ "Elkhorn Creek Source". Elevation Query. U.S. Geological Survey . Retrieved 2008-04-24.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-04-05 at WebCite , accessed June 13, 2011
  4. ↑ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 225.
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