Elk River (Kanawha River)

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Elk River
Elk River in Charleston

Elk River in Charleston

Data
Water code US :  1551032
location West Virginia (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Kanawha River  → Ohio River  → Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
Confluence of Big Spring Fork and Old Field Fork
38 ° 25 ′ 8 ″  N , 80 ° 7 ′ 48 ″  W.
Source height 813  m
muzzle Kanawha River Coordinates: 38 ° 21 ′ 18 "  N , 81 ° 38 ′ 42"  W 38 ° 21 ′ 18 "  N , 81 ° 38 ′ 42"  W
Mouth height 173  m
Height difference 640 m
Bottom slope 2.3 ‰
length 283 km
Catchment area 2451 km²
Left tributaries Birch River , Buffalo Creek
Right tributaries Holly River , Big Sandy Creek
Reservoirs flowed through Sutton Lake
Medium-sized cities Charleston
Communities Webster Springs , Sutton , Gassaway , Clay , Clendenin
Elk River catchment area

Elk River catchment area

The Elk River ( Elk = elk deer ) is a right tributary of the Kanawha River in the US state of West Virginia .

The Elk River arises at the confluence of the Big Spring Fork and Old Field Fork in Pocahontas County in the Allegheny Mountains . From there it flows mainly in a westerly direction. The following places are on the river: Webster Springs , Sutton , Gassaway , Clay and Clendenin . Eventually the Elk River reaches the capital of West Virginia, Charleston , where it flows into the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River . In the middle reaches - above Sutton - the river from Sutton Dam to Sutton Lake is dammed. The Holly River flows into the reservoir on the right. The Elk River has a length of 283 km. It drains an area of ​​2,451 km².

pollution

On January 9, 2014, at least 28,000 liters of a liquid mainly containing 4-methylcyclohexylmethanol (MCHM) from a coal washing plant entered the river near Charleston , contaminating the American Water Works Company's pipeline network and impairing the drinking water supply in West Virginia.

Animal species

The fish Crystallaria cincotta from the subfamily of bottom perch occurs only in the lower reaches of the Elk River.

Web links

Commons : Elk River  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Big Spring Fork in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ↑ Elk River in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
  3. ^ A b West Virginia Encyclopedia: Elk River
  4. ^ Brian Clark Howard: What's the Chemical Behind West Virginia's River Spill ?: Spill in the Elk River brings a "do not drink" advisory. . In: National Geographic Magazine , Jan. 10, 2014. 
  5. ^ Chemical Leak Into West Virginia River Far Larger Than Previously Estimated
  6. ^ Chemical Spill Fouls Water in West Virginia
  7. ↑ Nearly 800 calls to W. Virginia poison center after chemical spill
  8. ↑ Stuart A. Welsh, Dustin M. Smith, Nate D. Taylor: Microhabitat use of the diamond darter . In: Ecology of Freshwater Fish . tape 22 , no. 4 , October 2013, p. 587-595 , doi : 10.1111 / eff.12062 (English).