Gauley River

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Gauley River
Sweet's Falls

Sweet's Falls

Data
Water code US :  1551216
location West Virginia (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Kanawha River  → Ohio River  → Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
Confluence of North Fork and South Fork Gauley River
38 ° 24 ′ 33 ″  N , 80 ° 14 ′ 17 ″  W
Source height 875  m
Association with New River to Kanawha River at Gauley Bridge Coordinates: 38 ° 9 ′ 42 "  N , 81 ° 11 ′ 47"  W 38 ° 9 ′ 42 "  N , 81 ° 11 ′ 47"  W
Mouth height 201  m 
Height difference 674 m
Bottom slope 3.9 ‰
length 172 km
Catchment area 3681 km²
Drain at Belva Gauge, West Virginia NNQ (1965)
MQ
HHQ (1975) 		3 m³ / s
39.9 m³ / s
224.83 m³ / s
Left tributaries Cherry River , Williams River , Cranberry River , Meadow River
Reservoirs flowed through Summersville Lake
A kayaker drives the Iron Ring Rapids

A kayaker drives the Iron Ring Rapids

An angler, probably waiting for rainbow and brown trout

An angler, probably waiting for rainbow and brown trout

The Gauley River is one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the eastern United States for kayakers and the main draw for day trippers and tourists in the Gauley River National Recreation Area .

The body of water forms the right headwaters of the Kanawha River in central West Virginia . The river has a length of 172 km, the catchment area covers 3681 km².

Headwaters and run

The Gauley River rises in the Monongahela National Forest , more precisely on Gauley Mountain in Pocahontas County in West Virginia , from the three headwaters North, Middle and South Fork Gauleny River, all of which flow through the extreme south of Randolph County ; these unite in Webster County . The river then follows a generally west-southwest run through Webster, Nicholas and Fayette Counties, passing through the towns of Camden-on-Gauley and Summersville . Below Summersville Lake, the river meanders west, before it bends south at Belva , until it finally joins the New River in Gauley Bridge , thus forming the Kanawha River. Over this and the Ohio River , the Gauley River is part of the catchment area of the Mississippi River .

Tributaries

Aside from the headwaters, the main tributaries of the Gauley River are the Cranberry River and Williams River , both of which flow into Webster County, as well as the Cherry River , whose mouth is at Curtin in Nicholas County, and the Meadow River , which is on the county border between Fayette County and Nicholas County empties.

Dams

In Nicholas County, the US Army Corps of Engineers dammed the river through the Summersville Dam to form Summersville Lake. The Gauley River National Recreation Area is below the dam.

wild Water

The Gauley River is used by recreational kayakers year round; commercial rafting providers are active from spring to autumn. For most of the year, the options and difficulty depend on the rainfall and water level at Summersville Lake. For the first time on the Friday after Labor Day, the Army Corps of Engineers granted a series of 21 controlled water drains, which are specifically intended only for those seeking leisure below. This "Gauley Season" takes place on the six consecutive weekends, from Friday to Monday, on the last weekend only on Saturdays and Sundays. Typically 68 to 79 m³ / s of water are released.

This drainage was a Congressional law that earns the region millions of dollars annually as a result of the kayakers' travel from across the United States and elsewhere. The law was the first law in the United States to order the discharge of water from reservoirs for the purposes of whitewaterers.

The Gauley River is usually navigated in two sections: the heavier 16 km Upper Gauley in Class IV-V and the lighter 18 km Lower Gauley in Class III-IV, V parts of the 9 km Middle Gauley in the class III + and IV are usually used in conjunction with the other two sections, occasionally as a simple alternative alone.

There are dozens of rapids in the upper section, the most famous of which are known as the Big Five :

  • Insignificant (Class V - ironically called that because the first expedition above Pillow Rock didn't want to find anything significant )
  • Pillow Rock (Class V - accessible via a steep path from the battlefield on Carnifax Ferry. Very strong rapids.)
  • Lost Paddle (Class V - a long, deceptive rapids made up of four parts, First Drop, Second Drop, Third Drop, and Tumblehome.)
  • Iron Ring (Class V - so named because many years ago lumberjacks attached a large iron ring to a rock; this ring was sawed off and removed by vandals in the 1980s.)
  • Sweet's Falls (Class V - named after John Sweet, a canoeist and pioneer of the sport on the Gauley River.)

There are fewer rapids on the middle and lower reaches than on the upper reaches, and these do not follow one another as quickly, although there are some technically demanding rapids in this area too.

history

On September 10, 1861 there was a victory of the Union troops on the river during the Civil War in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry .

Name variants

According to the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System , the Gauley River was known by several other names:

  • Chin-que-ta-na
  • Chinquetanacepewe
  • Falling Creek
  • Gaul River
  • Gawly River
  • Gualey River
  • River of Gauls
  • The Falling Creek
  • The Falls Creek
  • To-ke-be-lo-ke
  • To-ke-bel-le-ke
  • To-ke-bel-lo-ke
  • Tokobelloke

Web links

Commons : Gauley River  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ North Fork Gauley River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ^ Gauley River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  3. ↑ a b c Nature & Science. Gauley River National Recreation Area ( English ) National Park Service . Retrieved December 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ United States Geological Survey ; USGS 03192000 GAULEY RIVER ABOVE BELVA, WV ; Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  5. ^ Upper Gauley
  6. ^ Lower Gauley
  7. ↑ Middle Gauley