The Elk River is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the Kanawha River, long, in central

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Via the Kanawha and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

rivers, it is part of the watershed of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Course

The Elk is formed in the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

in Pocahontas County by the confluence of two short streams, the Big Spring Fork and the Old Field Fork, which join near the community of Slatyfork. It flows above ground for several miles before it sinks into a network of caverns and flows underground for more than five miles. The old riverbed of solid rock, however, remains above ground in this section known as "The Dries." It follows a generally westward course across the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, through Randolph, Webster, Braxton,

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, and Kanawha Counties, past the towns of Webster Springs,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, Gassaway,

, Clendenin, and Elkview before joining the Kanawha River at Charleston. At Sutton, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concrete dam causes the Elk to form Sutton Lake. The Elk's largest tributaries are the Holly River and the Birch River, both of which join it in Braxton County. The upper portion of the river, above Sutton Lake, is a popular coldwater trout stream. Some reports of a 2013

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

study of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...

contamination in Sutton Lake in North Carolina (allegedly due to coal ash from the Sutton power plant of Duke Energy). erroneously attributed this contamination to Sutton Lake in West Virginia. Sutton Lake in North Carolina is on the Cape Fear River; whereas Sutton Lake in West Virginia is on the Elk River, an entirely different river drainage basin. Below Sutton Lake, is a high-gradient warmwater fishery well known for its muskellunge, walleye and smallmouth bass fishing. The Elk River serves as the source of water for 1500 miles of pipeline that carry its water to customers in central and southwestern West Virginia.

Name

The river's name most likely comes from the Native Americans of the area, who saw great numbers of elk near the stream. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

, the Elk River has also been known historically as: *Pe-quo-ni *Pe-quo-ni-cepe *Pequoni *Tis-chil-waugh *Tiskelewah *Tiskelwah *To-que-man *To-qui-min-cepe

History

Chemical spill

In January 2014 a spill of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, a foaming agent used as a wash component in the coal-preparation process, required West Virginia authorities to supply water to as many as 300,000 people in nine of the state's counties. The effect of the Elk River chemical spill to the critically endangered diamond darter fish, known only to live in the Elk River, is still unknown.

Recreation

Fishing

Multiple West Virginia state record fish were caught along the Elk River.

References

External links

West Virginia Encyclopedia.org: Elk River websiteArmy Corps of Engineers.mil: Sutton Lake website
{{authority control Tributaries of the Kanawha River Rivers of West Virginia Monongahela National Forest Rivers of Braxton County, West Virginia Geography of Charleston, West Virginia Rivers of Clay County, West Virginia Rivers of Kanawha County, West Virginia Rivers of Pocahontas County, West Virginia Rivers of Randolph County, West Virginia Rivers of Webster County, West Virginia