Greenbrier River

Greenbrier River
River
Greenbrier River at Marlinton, West Virginia
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	38°44′07″N 79°45′37″W / 38.73528°N 79.76028°W / 38.73528; -79.76028
Secondary source	East Fork Greenbrier River [2]
- location	Pocahontas County, WV
- elevation	3,746 ft (1,142 m)
- coordinates	38°41′04″N 79°39′31″W / 38.68444°N 79.65861°W / 38.68444; -79.65861
Source confluence
- location	Durbin, WV
- elevation	2,710 ft (826 m)
- coordinates	38°32′37″N 79°49′56″W / 38.54361°N 79.83222°W / 38.54361; -79.83222
Mouth	New River [3]
- location	Hinton, WV
- elevation	1,365 ft (416 m)
- coordinates	37°39′13″N 80°53′05″W / 37.65361°N 80.88472°W / 37.65361; -80.88472
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)

The Greenbrier River in Marlinton

The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, 173 miles (278 km) long,^[4] in southeastern West Virginia, USA. 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] It is one of the longest rivers in West Virginia, and the longest untamed (un-dammed) river East of the Mississippi^[6]

Course

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][7] From Durbin the Greenbrier flows generally south-southwest through Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Summers Counties, past several communities including Cass, Marlinton, Hillsboro, Ronceverte, Fort Spring, Alderson, and Hinton, where it flows into the New River.^[7]

Uses

The Greenbrier is the the longest untamed (unblocked) river left in the Eastern United States.^[8] It is heavily used for recreational pursuits.^[4] Its upper reaches flow through the Monongahela National Forest,^[7] 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.^[9] It has always been a valuable water route, with the majority of the important cities in the watershed being established riverports. The river gives the receiving waters of the New River an estimated 30% of its water volume. Over three-fourths of the watershed is heavily a karstic (cavern system) that supports fine trout fishing, cave exploration and recreation. The river connects many important festivals and public events throughout the watershed.

In honor of the river's use in the state's logging history, the West Virginia State Park, Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass has a car called "The Greenbrier River."[1]

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 (Lenape for Dark Path)
• O-ne-pa-ke-cepe (Lenape for Dark Path Water or River)
• Onepake
• Riviere de la Ronceverte (River of the Greenbrier)
• We-o-to-we
• We-o-to-we-cepe-we
• Weotowe

Geology

Caves and karst

The unique karstlands of the Greenbrier River Valley — underlain by the Greenbrier Limestone Formation — constitute one of the world's densest sinkhole plains, with an average of 18 sinkholes per square kilometer. This green "moonscape" of collapsed craters is a unique problem for development as the ground is prone to subsidization. It is impossible to tell how large a cave system is by looking at the surface, and developers often build their structures too close to the open spaces beneath the ground. There is no current karst protection plan for any of the counties that are involved with this problem. A booklet describing the issues of the watershed, "What's All the Fuss About Karst?" has been placed online to help residents along the Greenbrier understand their unique region:

• What's All The Fuss About Karst? Overview
• What's All The Fuss About Karst? A Closer Look At Sinkholes
• What's All The Fuss About Karst? The Karst Watershed

The aggregated caves and karst of the Greenbrier River Valley are among the world's Top Ten Endangered Karst Ecosystems as listed by the Karst Waters Institute in 2001.^[10]

West Virginia State Fossil

American vertebrate paleontology arguably began in the sub-watershed of Second Creek, a Greenbrier tributary. Bones discovered by saltpeter miners in Haynes Cave close to the river in Monroe County were sent to (future President) Thomas Jefferson, who identified them as a previously unknown species. Without a skull for identification purposes, Jefferson used the eight-inch claws as an identifying mark, and named the skeleton, Megalonyx or "Great Claw". Later the bones were positively identified as that of a giant ground sloth. The name "jeffersonii" was later added to it in tribute. For years the sloth was mistakenly thought to be from another cave within the watershed, Organ Cave, but recent research indicates that Haynes Cave was the cave of origin. The Megalonyx jeffersonii is now the state fossil of West Virginia.

West Virginia State Gemstone

The West Virginia state gemstone is also part of the Greenbrier River watershed: The Lithostrotionella, a fossilized form of coral^[11] that is found in the Hillsdale Limestone group in Pocahontas and Greenbrier counties. Not an official gemstone, it is a siliceous chalcedony. It is found almost exclusively within Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.^[12]

Ecology

The Greenbrier hosts one of the state's two endemic species of salamanders, the West Virginia Spring Salamander in Fort Spring. The other salamander, the Cheat Mountain Salamander lives in the mountains of the headwaters.

The Candy Darter of Knapp Creek (Finescale saddled darter) is a survivor to when the Greenbrier followed a more ancient drainage pattern with Teays Valley.

The Greenbrier River near the town of Anthony in Greenbrier County

Threats to the Greenbrier

The river is vulnerable to Nonpoint Source Pollution and sediment from timbering and flooding. It has been on the WV List of Impaired Streams since 2006 for the contamination of fecal coliform bacteria. Algae is becoming a known nuisance upon the waters, primarily in warm weather, and there is a need to study how much water can be pulled out of the river to supply the needs of communities in a state that practices little in the way of water conservation, even in times of drought. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and various concerned citizen groups are working to prevent further stresses upon the river.

See also

• Battle of Greenbrier River
• List of West Virginia rivers
• Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
• Watoga State Park
• Greenbrier River Trail State Park

References

External links

• Map of the Greenbrier River watershed
• The Greenbrier River Watershed Association
• [2]Friends of the Lower Greenbrier River
• The Greenbrier River Trail and The Great Greenbrier River Race
• Allegheny Mountain Radio
• Durbin Days, Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad
• Battle of Lewisburg
• Ronceverte River Festival
• Riders of the Flood
• The Festival of the Rivers in Hinton