Cherry River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cherry River
Cherry River in Nicholas County after heavy rains
Cherry River in Nicholas County after heavy rains
Origin Pocahontas County, West Virginia (North and South Forks)
Mouth Gauley River, Nicholas County, West Virginia
Basin countries United States
Source elevation 2,226 ft (679 m) (at confluence of forks at Richwood)[1]
The North Fork of the Cherry River in the Monongahela National Forest in northern Greenbrier County
Enlarge
The North Fork of the Cherry River in the Monongahela National Forest in northern Greenbrier County

The Cherry River is a tributary of the Gauley River in southeastern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Gauley, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Cherry River drains mostly rural and forested areas and flows for much of its length through the Monongahela National Forest.[2]

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the river has also been known historically by the toponyms Cherry Tree Waters and Cherrytree Creek.[3]

Contents

[edit] Course

The Cherry begins as two streams, the North Fork Cherry River[4] and the South Fork of Cherry River[5], each of which rises in southeastern Pocahontas County and flows generally west-northwestwardly across northern Greenbrier County before converging in Nicholas County at the city of Richwood. The Cherry then flows northwestwardly to its confluence with the Gauley, in Curtain, a nearly-abandoned lumber town just south of Craigsville.[2]

Downstream of Richwood, the Cherry River is paralleled by a rail trail, the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Rail-Trail.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Arnold, Amy Donaldson. 2006. "Richwood." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
  2. ^ a b DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
  3. ^ Geographic Names Information System entry for Cherry River
  4. ^ GNIS entry for North Fork Cherry River
  5. ^ GNIS entry for South Fork Cherry River
  6. ^ West Virginia Rails-to-Trails Council website, reprinted news article about the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Rail-Trail