Leading Creek (Tygart Valley River tributary)

Leading Creek
Leading Creek (Tygart Valley River tributary) is located in West Virginia
Leading Creek (Tygart Valley River tributary)
Location of the mouth of Leading Creek in Elkins, West Virginia
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountyRandolph County
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationnorth of Montrose
 • coordinates39°06′59″N 79°49′11″W / 39.1164923°N 79.8197921°W / 39.1164923; -79.8197921[1]
 • elevation2,431 ft (741 m)[2]
MouthTygart Valley River
 • location
Elkins
 • coordinates
38°56′08″N 79°52′54″W / 38.9356612°N 79.8817369°W / 38.9356612; -79.8817369[1]
 • elevation
1,896 ft (578 m)[1]
Length17.4 mi (28.0 km)
Basin size61 sq mi (160 km2)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • rightSpringstone Run

Leading Creek is a tributary of the Tygart Valley River, 17.4 miles (28.0 km) long,[3] in eastern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 61 square miles (160 km2)[4] in the Allegheny Mountains. The stream's entire course and drainage basin are in northern Randolph County.

Leading Creek rises north of Montrose and flows southward in a valley between Laurel Mountain and Cheat Mountain, through Montrose and the unincorporated community of Kerens, to Elkins, where it flows into the Tygart Valley River from the north. The creek is paralleled by U.S. Route 219 for most of its course.[5]

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 80 percent of the Leading Creek watershed is forested, mostly deciduous. Approximately 18 percent is used for pasture and agriculture.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Leading Creek (Feature ID #1551754)". Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  2. ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS source coordinates. Retrieved on 2010-07-05.
  3. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Assessment, Tracking & Environmental Results: Assessment Summary for Reporting Year 2008, West Virginia, Tygart Valley Watershed". Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  4. ^ a b West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. "Tygart Valley River". Watershed Atlas Project. Archived from the original on 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2011-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  5. ^ West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme. 1997. p. 37. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.