Gauley River

Gauley River
River
Sweet's Falls on the Gauley River
Country United States
State West Virginia
Counties Randolph, Webster, Nicholas, Fayette
Tributaries
 - left Williams River, Cranberry River, Meadow River
Source North Fork Gauley River [1]
 - location Gauley Mountain, Pocahontas County, WV
 - elevation 4,000 ft (1,219 m)
 - coordinates 38°25′42″N 80°10′22″W / 38.42833°N 80.17278°W / 38.42833; -80.17278
Secondary source South Fork Gauley River [2]
 - location Pocahontas County, WV
 - elevation 3,937 ft (1,200 m)
 - coordinates 38°22′43″N 80°12′52″W / 38.37861°N 80.21444°W / 38.37861; -80.21444
Additional source Middle Fork Gauley River [3]
 - location Pocahontas County, WV
 - elevation 3,844 ft (1,172 m)
 - coordinates 38°23′21″N 80°11′29″W / 38.38917°N 80.19139°W / 38.38917; -80.19139
Source confluence Three Forks of Gauley
 - location Webster County, WV
 - elevation 2,917 ft (889 m)
 - coordinates 38°24′33″N 80°14′17″W / 38.40917°N 80.23806°W / 38.40917; -80.23806
Mouth Kanawha River [4]
 - location Gauley Bridge, WV
 - elevation 660 ft (201 m)
 - coordinates 38°09′42″N 81°11′47″W / 38.16167°N 81.19639°W / 38.16167; -81.19639Coordinates: 38°09′42″N 81°11′47″W / 38.16167°N 81.19639°W / 38.16167; -81.19639
Discharge for Belva, WV
 - average 2,680 cu ft/s (76 m3/s) [5]
 - max 12,900 cu ft/s (365 m3/s) (1987)
 - min 341 cu ft/s (10 m3/s) (1976)

The Gauley River is a 105-mile-long (169 km)[6] river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. It is one of the most popular advanced whitewater runs in the Eastern United States and is the chief feature of the Gauley River National Recreation Area.

Headwaters and course

The Gauley rises in the Monongahela National Forest on Gauley Mountain in Pocahontas County as three streams, the North, Middle, and South Forks, each of which flows across the southern extremity of Randolph County; they converge in Webster County. The river then flows generally west-southwestwardly through Webster, Nicholas and Fayette counties, past the towns of Camden-on-Gauley and Summersville, to the town of Gauley Bridge, where it joins the New River to form the Kanawha River. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.

Tributaries

The Gauley's largest tributaries all flow into the main river from the east (flowing in a westerly direction) and are described as follows:

Dams

In Nicholas County, the Gauley is impounded by the Summersville Dam, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam, to form Summersville Lake. The Gauley River National Recreation Area is downstream of the dam.

Whitewater paddling

The Gauley is run year-round by recreational boaters and from spring to fall by commercial rafting companies. During the majority of the year, boating is dependent on water level, which fluctuates dramatically depending on rainfall and the level of Summersville Lake. However, starting the Friday after Labor Day, the Army Corps of Engineers provides a series of twenty-two controlled releases[7] for the express purpose of downriver recreation. These releases are collectively known as "Gauley Season" and are scheduled on six successive weekends, the first five of which are four-day weekends (Friday through Monday) and the last of which is just Saturday and Sunday. Typical release levels during "Gauley Season" range from 2,400 to 2,800 ft³/s (68 to 79 m³/s).

These releases are the result of an act of the U.S. Congress, the first law passed in the U.S. to specifically mandate recreational whitewater dam releases. The releases bring millions of dollars annually to the local economy, as paddlers travel from all over the United States and overseas for this event.

The Gauley has two commonly run sections: the more difficult 9.8-mile (15.8 km) Upper Gauley (Class IV-V),[8] and the easier 11-mile (18 km) Lower Gauley (Class III-IV, V).[9] Portions of the 5.5-mile (8.9 km) Middle Gauley (Class III+, IV)[10] are commonly run in conjunction with either the Upper or Lower Gauley, and it is sometimes run alone as a milder alternative.

Rapids

There are dozens of rapids on the Upper Gauley; the most notable are the "Big Five":

A paddler runs Iron Ring rapid on the Upper Gauley.

The Middle/Lower Gauley has fewer rapids and they are more spread out, but it also features big dramatic rapids that pose significant challenges. The list of Middle/Lower Gauley rapids includes:

History

The Gauley area was the site of the Battle of Carnifex Ferry on September 10, 1861, a Union victory in the American Civil War.

Name

Anglers fish for rainbow and brown trout on the Gauley River.

The Gauley River's name most likely is derived from Gaul, a historical region of Europe.[12]

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Gauley River has also been known as:

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.