Bluestone River
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| Bluestone River | |
|
Bluestone River in Pipestem Resort State Park
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Virginia, West Virginia |
| Counties | Tazewell VA, Mercer WV, Summers WV |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Little Bluestone River |
| - right | Blacklick Creek (West Virginia) |
| Source | East River Mountain |
| - location | Tazewell County, Virginia |
| - elevation | 3,589 ft (1,094 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. [2] |
| Mouth | New River in Bluestone Lake |
| - location | Summers County, West Virginia |
| - elevation | 1,424 ft (434 m) [2] |
| - coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. [2] |
| Length | 77 mi (124 km) [3] |
| Discharge | for Pipestem, West Virginia |
| - average | 470 cu ft/s (13 m3/s) [4] |
| - max | 19,300 cu ft/s (547 m3/s) peak (April 5, 1977) |
| - min | 7 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) daily mean (September 22, 1955) |
The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi (124 km) long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States.[3] Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. An 11 mi (18 km) portion of its lower course is designated as the Bluestone National Scenic River.[5]
Contents
Course
The Bluestone rises on East River Mountain in Tazewell County, Virginia and flows generally northeastwardly through Mercer and Summers Counties in West Virginia, passing the towns of Bluefield in Virginia and Bramwell and Montcalm in West Virginia.[6][7] It joins the New River about 4 mi (6.4 km) south of Hinton as part of Bluestone Lake,[3] which is formed by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam on the New. The Bluestone's National Scenic River segment is located mostly in Summers County, as is Pipestem Resort State Park, which lies along a gorge formed by the river.[7][8]
Pollution
The Bluestone has been compromised by PCB contamination, largely left over from former coal mining activities. As a result of this contamination, Virginia does not recommend eating any carp in the upstream vicinity of Bluefield, Virginia.[9] West Virginia recommends eating only one meal of carp per month.[10]
In Virginia, the state Department of Environmental Quality does not recommend any contact recreation (such as swimming or wading) in the Bluestone due to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria.[11]
Little Bluestone River
The Little Bluestone River[12] is a minor tributary of the Bluestone in Summers County, fewer than 10 mi (15 km) in length from its formation by the confluence of two streams, White Oak Branch and Jumping Branch.[7]
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Bluestone River has also been known as:[13]
- Big Bluestone River
- Blue Stone Creek
- Blue Stone River
- Bluestone Creek
- Mec-ce-ne-ke-ke-ce-pe-we
- Mec-cen-ne-ke-ke
- Mo-mom-ga-sen-eka-ce-pe
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Bluestone National Scenic River website
- ↑ DeLorme (2005). Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-326-5
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3
- ↑ Pipestem Resort State Park website
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Bluestone River
- ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bluestone River
