Elk River (West Virginia)
| Elk River | |
| River | |
 Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | West Virginia |
| Counties | Pocahontas, Randolph, Webster, Braxton, Clay, Kanawha |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Birch River |
| - right | Holly River |
| Source | Old Field Fork |
| - location | Elk Mountain, Pocahontas County, WV |
| - elevation | 3,557 ft (1,084 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°18′24″N 80°06′18″W / 38.30667°N 80.10500°W |
| Secondary source | Big Spring Fork |
| - location | Pocahontas County, WV |
| - elevation | 3,655 ft (1,114 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°22′32″N 80°00′34″W / 38.37556°N 80.00944°W |
| Source confluence | |
| - location | Slatyfork, WV |
| - elevation | 2,667 ft (813 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°25′08″N 80°07′48″W / 38.41889°N 80.13000°W |
| Mouth | Kanawha River |
| - location | Charleston, WV |
| - elevation | 574 ft (175 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°21′18″N 81°38′42″W / 38.35500°N 81.64500°WCoordinates: 38°21′18″N 81°38′42″W / 38.35500°N 81.64500°W |
| Length | 172 mi (277 km) |
| Discharge | for Queen Shoals, WV |
| - average | 2,650 cu ft/s (75 m3/s) |
| - max | 14,000 cu ft/s (396 m3/s) (1972) |
| - min | 271 cu ft/s (8 m3/s) (1976) |
 A map of the Elk River and its watershed.
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The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 172 miles (277 km) long, in central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The Elk is formed in the Allegheny Mountains 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, and Kanawha Counties, past the towns of Webster Springs, Sutton, Gassaway, Clay, Clendenin, and Elkview before joining the Kanawha River at Charleston.
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Wikipedia