Cranberry River (West Virginia)

Cranberry River
High water near Big Rock Campground in Monongahela National Forest
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountiesPocahontas, Webster, Nicholas
Physical characteristics
SourceSouth Fork Cranberry River
 • locationCranberry Mountain, Pocahontas County
 • coordinates38°12′48″N 80°13′14″W / 38.21333°N 80.22056°W / 38.21333; -80.22056
 • elevation3,890 ft (1,190 m)
2nd sourceNorth Fork Cranberry River
 • locationBlack Mountain, Pocahontas County
 • coordinates38°14′03″N 80°14′32″W / 38.23417°N 80.24222°W / 38.23417; -80.24222
 • elevation4,364 ft (1,330 m)
Source confluence 
 • locationPocahontas County
 • coordinates38°15′28″N 80°19′27″W / 38.25778°N 80.32417°W / 38.25778; -80.32417
 • elevation3,176 ft (968 m)
MouthGauley River[1]
 • location
Woodbine
 • coordinates
38°17′58″N 80°36′49″W / 38.29944°N 80.61361°W / 38.29944; -80.61361
 • elevation
1,919 ft (585 m)
Length24 mi (39 km)[1]
Basin size74 sq mi (190 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationnear Richwood[2]
 • average233.6 cu ft/s (6.61 m3/s) (USGS water years 1945-2019)
 • minimum126.2 cu ft/s (3.57 m3/s) (water year 1999)
 • maximum318 cu ft/s (9.0 m3/s) (water year 1979)
Discharge 
 • locationmouth[3]
 • average277.08 cu ft/s (7.846 m3/s) (estimate)
Cranberry River at the Woodbine Picnic Area after a heavy rain

The Cranberry River is a tributary of the Gauley River located in southeastern West Virginia in the United States.[5] It is a part of the Mississippi River watershed, by way of the Gauley, Kanawha, and Ohio Rivers, draining an area of 74 square miles (192 km2).[4]

The river has also been known historically as Cranberry Creek.[1] The river was named for cranberry bogs along its course.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "Cranberry River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  2. ^ "Water-Year Summary for Site 03187500". waterdata.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  3. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Cranberry River". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  4. ^ a b Grafton, Emily. 2006. "Cranberry River." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
  5. ^ DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
  6. ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 189.