Elk Creek (West Fork River)

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Elk Creek
Elk Creek in Clarksburg (2006)

Elk Creek in Clarksburg (2006)

Data
Water code US :  1538618
location West Virginia (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over West Fork River  → Monongahela River  → Ohio River  → Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
source in Barbour County
39 ° 6 ′ 32 ″  N , 80 ° 8 ′ 7 ″  W.
muzzle at Clarksburg in the West Fork River Coordinates: 39 ° 16 '55 "  N , 80 ° 21' 6"  W 39 ° 16 '55 "  N , 80 ° 21' 6"  W.
Mouth height 281  m

Catchment area 316 km²
Small towns Clarksburg

The Elk Creek ( Elk = elk deer ) is a right tributary to the West Fork River in central northern West Virginia in the United States .

About the West Fork River, Monongahela River and Ohio River it is part of the catchment area of the Mississippi River . The river drains an area of ​​316 km² of the non- glacial area of ​​the Allegheny Plateau . It is believed that the water got its name from an 18th century trapper and hunter who observed herds of elk along the water .

Elk Creek rises about 10 km southwest of Philippi in the western part of Barbour County and flows in a generally west-northwest direction into Harrison County , where it runs through the settlements of Stonewood and Nutter Fort ; it then flows into the West Fork River in the city of Clarksburg .

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, about 70% of the Elk Creek catchment area is forested , most of it deciduous . Around 22% are used for agriculture and grazing and around 3% are built up in urban areas.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elk River ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  2. ^ A b West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection: Watershed Atlas Project. . Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ Kenny, Hamill: West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains . The Place Name Press, Piedmont, West Virginia 1945, p. 225.
  4. ^ West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer . DeLorme , Yarmouth, Maine 1997, ISBN 0-89933-246-3 , pp. 25, 36.