The Elk River near its mouth in Charleston in 2001

The Elk River near its mouth in Charleston in 2001

The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 172 mi (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. Image File history File links Elk_River_Charleston. ... Image File history File links Elk_River_Charleston. ... Nickname: Home of Hospitality, The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North, Chemicalville, The Capitol City C-Town Location of Charleston in West Virginia. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Look up tributary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map of the Kanawha River watershed, showing its main tributary, the New River. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... View of Pittsburgh, the largest metropolitan area on the Ohio River, where the Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join at Point State Park to form the Ohio River Cincinnati, Ohio is a well known city along the Ohio River, historically known for its riverboats. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ...

Course

The Elk is the longest river in West Virginia which flows entirely within the state's boundaries. It 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. The Allegheny Mountain Range (also spelled Alleghany and Allegany) -- informally, the Alleghenies -- is part of the Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States. ... Pocahontas County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. ... Map of the Allegheny plateau. ... Randolph County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ... Webster County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ... Braxton County is a county located in the central part of the state of West Virginia. ... Clay County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ... Kanawha County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ... Addison (Webster Springs) is a town located in Webster County, West Virginia. ... Sutton is a town located in Braxton County, West Virginia. ... Gassaway is a town located in Braxton County, West Virginia. ... Clay is a town located in Clay County, West Virginia. ... Clendenin is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia along the Elk River. ... Elkview is a census-designated place located in Kanawha County, West Virginia. ... Nickname: Home of Hospitality, The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North, Chemicalville, The Capitol City C-Town Location of Charleston in West Virginia. ...

At Sutton, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam causes the Elk to form Sutton Lake. United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... This article is about structures for water impoundment. ... Sutton Lake is a 1,520 acre reservoir on the Elk River in Braxton and Webster counties, West Virginia. ...

The Elk's largest tributaries are the Holly River and the Birch River, both of which join it in Braxton County. The Birch River is a tributary of the Elk River in rural central West Virginia in the United States, on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. ...

The upper portion of the river, above Sutton Lake, is a popular coldwater trout stream. Below Sutton Lake, it is a high-gradient warmwater fishery well-known for its muskellunge, walleye and smallmouth bass fishing.

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Elk River has also been known historically as: GNIS (The Geographic Names Information System) contains name and locative information about almost two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its Territories. ...

• Pe-quo-ni
• Pe-quo-ni-cepe
• Pequoni
• Tis-chil-waugh
• Tiskelewah
• Tiskelwah
• To-que-man
• To-qui-min-cepe

Trivia

In the motion picture The Silence of the Lambs, the victim Clarice Starling autopsied was found in the Elk River in Clay County. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 Academy Award-winning film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ... Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... Post-mortem, postmortem and post mortem redirect here. ... Clay County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ...

See also

• List of West Virginia rivers

This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of West Virginia. ...

External links

• Sutton Lake website
• Elk River Harmonicas
• Elk River Fly Shop

References

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
• USGS GNIS: Elk River