Monongahela River

Monongahela River
River
The Monongahela River in Pittsburgh passing the South Side on the right and Uptown/The Bluff on the left just before entering Downtown Pittsburgh
Country	United States
States	Pennsylvania,  West Virginia
Counties	Marion WV, Monongalia WV, Greene PA, Fayette PA, Washington PA, Westmoreland PA, Allegheny PA
Tributaries
- right	Cheat River, Youghiogheny River
Source	Tygart Valley River
- location	Pocahontas County, West Virginia
- elevation	4,540 ft (1,384 m) [1]
- coordinates	38°28′06″N 79°58′51″W / 38.46833°N 79.98083°W / 38.46833; -79.98083 [2]
Secondary source	West Fork River
- location	Upshur County, West Virginia
- elevation	1,309 ft (399 m) [3]
- coordinates	38°51′08″N 80°21′32″W / 38.85222°N 80.35889°W / 38.85222; -80.35889 [4]
Source confluence
- location	Fairmont, West Virginia
- elevation	863 ft (263 m) [4]
- coordinates	39°27′53″N 80°09′10″W / 39.46472°N 80.15278°W / 39.46472; -80.15278 [5]
Mouth	Ohio River
- location	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- elevation	709 ft (216 m) [5]
- coordinates	40°26′30″N 80°00′58″W / 40.44167°N 80.01611°W / 40.44167; -80.01611 [5]
Length	128 mi (206 km) [6]
Basin	7,340 sq mi (19,011 km²) [7]
Discharge	for Elizabeth, PA
- average	17,900 cu ft/s (507 m³/s) [8]
- max	81,100 cu ft/s (2,296 m³/s)
- min	2,900 cu ft/s (82 m³/s)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- Masontown, PA	14,500 cu ft/s (411 m³/s) [9]
Map of the Monongahela River basin, with the Monongahela River highlighted.

The Monongahela River (pronounced /məˌnɒŋɡəˈheɪlə/, also known locally as the Mon /ˈmɒn/) is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in North-Central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. At Pittsburgh, it meets the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River.

Geography

The Monongahela is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and the Tygart Valley River at Fairmont, West Virginia. The river is navigable its entire length with a series of locks and dams that maintain a minimum depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) to accommodate coal-laden barges. In Pennsylvania, the Monongahela is met by two major tributaries: the Cheat River, which joins at Point Marion, and the Youghiogheny River, which joins at McKeesport.

History

The Monongahela Valley was the site of a famous, if small battle that was one of the first in the French and Indian War (Braddock Expedition). It resulted in a sharp defeat for British and Colonial forces against those of the French and their Native American allies.

The Monongahela Valley was the site of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.

In 1817, the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the Monongahela Navigation Company to build 16 dams with bypass locks to create a river transportation system between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Originally planned to run as far south as the Cheat River, the system was extended to Fairmont, and bituminous coal from West Virginia was the chief product transported downstream. After a canal tunnel through Grant's Hill in Pittsburgh was completed in 1832, boats could travel between the Monongahela River and the Western Division Canal of Pennsylvania's principal east-west canal and railroad system, the Main Line of Public Works. In 1897, the Federal government took possession of the Monongahela Navigation through condemnation proceedings. Later, the dam-lock combinations were increased in size and reduced in number.^[10] In 2006, the navigation system, operated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, had nine dam-locks along 128.7 miles (207.1 km) of waterway.^[11] The locks overcame a change in elevation of about 147 feet (44.8 m).^[10]

Briefly linked to the Monongahela Navigation was the Youghiogheny Navigation, a slack water system of 18.5 miles (29.8 km) between McKeesport and West Newton. It had two dam-locks overcoming a change in elevation of about 27 feet (8.2 m). Opening in 1850, it was destroyed by a flood in 1865.^[10]

During the 19th century, the Monongahela was heavily used by industry, and several U.S. Steel plants, including the Homestead Works, site of the Homestead Strike of 1892, were built along its banks. Following the killing of several workers in the course of the strike, anarchist Emma Goldman wrote: "Words had lost their meaning in the face of the innocent blood spilled on the banks of the Monongahela."

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named Monongahela for the river.

The river was the site of a famous airplane crash that has become the subject of numerous urban legends and conspiracy theories. Early in the morning of January 31, 1956, a B-25 bomber en route from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to Olmstead Air Force Base in Pennsylvania crashed into the river near the Glenwood Bridge in Homestead, Pennsylvania. All six crewmen survived the crash but two later succumbed to exposure and drowned. Despite the relative shallowness of the water, the aircraft was never recovered. [1]

Miscellaneous

• The Monongahela is uncommon as one of the few major navigable rivers in the world that flows north.^[12]

• Monongalia County, West Virginia is named for the river. The word "Monongalia" is a Latinized version of the Native American word "Monongahela," which means "falling banks," in reference to the geological instability of the river's banks. Moravian missionary David Zeisberger gave this account of the naming: In the Indian tongue the name of this river was Mechmenawungihilla, which signifies a high bank, which is ever washed out and therefore collapses. ^[13]

• Monongahela, Pennsylvania is named after the river.

• The Monongahela Valley is referenced in the Bruce Springsteen song, "Youngstown"--on his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad.

• "Monongahela" is uttered in the television show Seinfeld as one of Kramer's famous random expressions. The episode is the 23rd of the 6th season, "The Face Painter". The reference occurs around the 4th-5th minute of the show.

• It is also credited (incorrectly) by Michael Douglas in the film "The Wonder Boys" for washing away his unsaved book manuscript after Robert Downey Jr. crashes his car into a bowling alley. (This scene actually took place NW of the Monongahela River along the Ohio River in Rochester, PA).

• Montana Diaz Herrera/Sally Lerner (Ayda Field) of the television show Back To You has trouble pronouncing the name "Monongahela" when she has to mention it in her weather forecast.

• The Monongahela River was immortalized in the spoken introduction to actor/comedian Guy Marks' parody hit "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas" (1968).

• The Monongahela is mentioned in the choruses of The Oak Ridge Boys' song "Gonna Take A Lot of River" along with the Mississippi and the Ohio.

Cities and towns along the river

Sources:^[14][15]

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Monongahela River has also been known historically as:^[5]

Photo gallery

The South Tenth Street Bridge over the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh in 2005

The Monongahela River in Fairmont, West Virginia in 2006

Monongahela River Scene, 1857[17]

Opekiska Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River near Fairmont, West Virginia at river mile 115

See also

• List of crossings of the Monongahela River
• List of Pennsylvania rivers
• List of West Virginia rivers

References

Citations

Other sources

Core, Earl L. (1984), "The Monongalia River", In: Bartlett, Richard A. (ed), Rolling Rivers: An Encyclopedia of America's Rivers, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., pp 149-152.

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monongahela River

• Mouth or other endpoint (Pittsburgh) is at coordinates 40°24′42″N 80°00′51″W / 40.4118°N 80.0141°W / 40.4118; -80.0141
• Source (Fairmont, West Virginia) is at coordinates 39°27′53″N 80°09′13″W / 39.4647°N 80.1537°W / 39.4647; -80.1537