New River (Kanawha River)

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New River
New River in Hawks Nest State Park

New River in Hawks Nest State Park

Data
Water code US :  1552301
location North Carolina , Virginia , West Virginia (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Kanawha River  → Ohio River  → Mississippi River  → Gulf of Mexico
Confluence of South Fork and North Fork New River
36 ° 32 ′ 45 ″  N , 81 ° 21 ′ 9 ″  W.
Source height 753  m
Association with Gauley 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 199  m
Height difference 554 m
Bottom slope 1.1 ‰
length 515 km
Drain at Glen Lyn gauge MNQ
MQ
MHQ
 40 m³ / s
188 m³ / s
631 m³ / s
Left tributaries Bluestone River
Right tributaries Little River , Greenbrier River
Reservoirs flowed through Claytor Lake , Bluestone Lake
Small towns Radford
National Wild and Scenic River (35 km on the South Fork and 7 km afterwards on the main river),
American Heritage River as New River Gorge National River on the lower reaches
Kanawha River highlighted with the catchment area of ​​the New River.

Kanawha River highlighted with the catchment area of ​​the New River.

New River Gorge with the bridge at Fayetteville

New River Gorge with the bridge at Fayetteville

North Fork New River
Water code US :  991227
location North Carolina (USA)
source north of Boone in Ashe County, North Carolina,
36 ° 19 ′ 59 ″  N , 81 ° 41 ′ 4 ″  W
Association with South Fork to New River
36 ° 32 ′ 45 ″  N , 81 ° 21 ′ 11 ″  W.
Mouth height 753  m

South Fork New River
Water code US :  1015692
location North Carolina (USA)
source at Boone , Ashe County, North Carolina,
36 ° 12 ′ 16 "  N , 81 ° 38 ′ 59"  W
Association with North Fork to the New River
36 ° 32 ′ 46 ″  N , 81 ° 21 ′ 11 ″  W.
Mouth height 753  m

National Wild and Scenic River

The New River is the 515 km long main left source river of the Kanawha River in the US states of North Carolina , Virginia and West Virginia . For most of its course through West Virginia it is designated as the New River Gorge National River . About the Kanawha River and the Ohio River , the New River belongs to the catchment area of the Mississippi River .

Run

The New River arises from the confluence of the South Fork New River and North Fork New River near Boone in Ashe County , North Carolina . It then flows northeast into southwest Virginia, past Galax and through a canyon in the Iron Mountains . Further north it reaches Pulaski County , where it is dammed to Claytor Lake . The Little River flows below the dam and the river flows past Radford before passing Walker Mountain in a breakthrough valley . Meanwhile it changed direction to the northwest and through the Giles County and Narrows the river enters West Virginia.

There the New River in Summers County is dammed to Bluestone Lake . The Bluestone River flows into this from the left . Directly below the reservoir, the water of the Greenbrier River connects to the right with the New River, which continues its course through the New River Gorge. At the end of this gorge is the town of Fayetteville . A few kilometers northwest of Fayetteville, the New River flows with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River .

A section of the South Fork New River and its continuation in the actual New River (a total of 42 km of flow) have been recognized as National Wild and Scenic River in the "Scenic" category.

history

The first exploration by Europeans dates back to 1671 when Abraham Wood set out on an expedition to explore the river. An earlier name of the river is therefore "Wood's River" .

At Fayetteville, the river is spanned by the New River Gorge Bridge , built in 1977 , the second highest road bridge in the United States.

Today the river is especially popular for rafting , as the river reaches Class II-IV and during the snowmelt up to VI on the white water difficulty scale.

Cities on the New River

geology

Despite its name ( new in German means new ) applies the New River among geologists as one of the oldest rivers in the world. Its age is estimated to be between 10 and 360 million years. However, there is no information to make an exact chronological classification. However, in contrast to the orientation of the Appalachian Mountains and most of the other major rivers in Virginia and North Carolina, the New River does not follow the east-west direction, but flows south-north. This suggests that the river was formed before the Appalachian Mountains unfolded. However, this hypothesis has not yet been confirmed beyond doubt.

Hydrology

The United States Geological Survey operates a gauge on the New River in Glen Lyn, Virginia . The long-term average annual runoff there is 188 m³ / s. The highest flow rate measured there was measured in 1987 with 631 m³ / s, the lowest value was observed in 1976 with 40 m³ / s.

Name variants

According to the information in the Geographic Names Information System , the following name variants are known for the New River:

  • Conhaway River
  • Great Konhaway River
  • Kanawha River
  • Kunhaway River
  • Mon-don-ga-cha-te
  • Wood River
  • Wood's River
  • Woods River

Protected areas on the New River

The following state sanctuaries are designated on the New River:

Web links

Commons : New River  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b North Fork New River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ^ A b New River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  3. ↑ a b United States Geological Survey ; USGS 03176500 NEW RIVER AT GLEN LYN, VA ; Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  4. ^ South Fork New River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  5. ↑ National Wild & Scenic Rivers - New River (South Fork) ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rivers.gov