The Middle Fork River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011

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

Tygart Valley River The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed A ...

in north-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 ...

, USA. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela 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 Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

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 ...

, draining an area of on the easternmost part of the

unglaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often cen ...

portion of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

. 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 Middle Fork River has also been known simply as "Middle Fork" and as "Middlefork."

Geography

The Middle Fork River is formed at the community of

Adolph Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

in western Randolph County by the confluence of the headwaters tributaries Kittle Creek and Birch Fork, each approximately in length, which rise just north of Kumbrabow State Forest and flow northwardly. Kittle Creek rises on the western slope of Rich Mountain, considered to be part of the westernmost ridge of 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 ...

and the eastern boundary of the Allegheny Plateau. From Adolph, the Middle Fork River flows generally northwardly, roughly in parallel to Rich Mountain. The river's course defines part of the boundary between Randolph and Upshur counties, and then between Upshur and Barbour counties, before flowing into southern Barbour County, where it joins the Tygart Valley River, approximately south of

Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...

and a few miles upstream of the mouth of the

Buckhannon River The Buckhannon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Tygart Valley ...

. Near its mouth it passes through Audra State Park, which was established in the mid-20th century and provides campsites and a swimming beach along the river. In Upshur County it collects a tributary known as the Right Fork Middle Fork River, which rises in southwestern Randolph County and flows northwardly into eastern Upshur County. For most of its course, the Middle Fork forms

whitewater rapids Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque ...

of Class I to Class IV on the International Scale of River Difficulty. From Audra State Park downstream to its mouth, it forms Class IV rapids. According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 94% of the Middle Fork River's watershed is

forested A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

, mostly

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, and approximately 4% is used for agriculture and pasture.

Flow rate

At the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation (" stage") and/or v ...

in Audra State Park, the annual mean flow of the river between 1942 and 2005 was . The highest recorded flow during the period was on May 17, 1996. The lowest recorded flow was on several days in October 1953.

References

{{authority control Rivers of West Virginia Tributaries of the Tygart Valley River Rivers of Randolph County, West Virginia Rivers of Upshur County, West Virginia Rivers of Barbour County, West Virginia Allegheny Mountains Allegheny Plateau

Geography

Flow rate

See also

References