Greenbrier River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Greenbrier River | |
| River | |
 Greenbrier River at Marlinton, West Virginia
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| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State |  West Virginia |
| Counties | Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, Summers |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | Anthony Creek, Knapp Creek |
| Source | West Fork Greenbrier River [1] |
| - location | Pocahontas County, WV |
| - elevation | 3,396 ft (1,035 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Secondary source | East Fork Greenbrier River [2] |
| - location | Pocahontas County, WV |
| - elevation | 3,746 ft (1,142 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Source confluence | |
| - location | Durbin, WV |
| - elevation | 2,710 ft (826 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Mouth | New River [3] |
| - location | Hinton, WV |
| - elevation | 1,365 ft (416 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Length | 162 mi (261 km) [4] |
| Basin | 1,656 sq mi (4,289 km²) [4] |
| Discharge | for Alderson, WV |
| - average | 2,600 cu ft/s (74 m³/s) [5] |
| - max | 10,200 cu ft/s (289 m³/s) (2000) |
| - min | 576 cu ft/s (16 m³/s) (1976) |
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The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, 162 miles (261 km) long,[4] in southeastern West Virginia in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 1,656 square miles (4,290 km²).[4]
The Greenbrier is formed at Durbin in northern Pocahontas County by the confluence of the East Fork Greenbrier River[2] and the West Fork Greenbrier River[1], both of which are short streams rising at elevations exceeding 3,300 feet (1,000 m) and flowing for their entire lengths in northern Pocahontas County.[4][6] From Durbin the Greenbrier flows generally south-southwestwardly through Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Summers Counties, past the communities of Cass, Stony Bottom, Marlinton, Falling Spring, Ronceverte and Alderson to Hinton, where it flows into the New River.[6]
The Greenbrier is the only major undammed river in West Virginia, and is heavily used for recreational pursuits.[4] Its upper reaches flow through the Monongahela National Forest,[6] and it is paralleled for 77 miles (124 km) by the Greenbrier River Trail, a rail trail which runs between the communities of Cass and North Caldwell.[7]
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[edit] Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Greenbrier River has also been known historically as:[3]
- Green Briar River
- Green Brier River
- Green Bryar River
- Greenbriar River
- O-ne-pa-ke
- O-ne-pa-ke-cepe
- Onepake
- Riviere de la Ronceverte
- We-o-to-we
- We-o-to-we-cepe-we
- Weotowe
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b USGS GNIS: West Fork Greenbrier River
- ^ a b USGS GNIS: East Fork Greenbrier River
- ^ a b USGS GNIS: Greenbrier River
- ^ a b c d e f McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
- ^ United States Geological Survey; USGS 03183500 GREENBRIER RIVER AT ALDERSON, WV; retrieved April 19, 2008.
- ^ a b c DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
- ^ Greenbrier River Trail website
[edit] External links
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