Wheeling Creek (West Virginia)

Wheeling Creek
Wheeling Creek in Wheeling in 2006
A map of Wheeling Creek and its watershed
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountiesMarshall, Ohio
Physical characteristics
SourceEnlow Fork
 • locationboundary of Greene and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates40°00′08″N 80°20′27″W / 40.00222°N 80.34083°W / 40.00222; -80.34083[1]
 • elevation1,339 ft (408 m)[2]
2nd sourceDunkard Fork
 • locationConfluence of North Fork and South Fork, Richhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates39°53′33″N 80°28′41″W / 39.89250°N 80.47806°W / 39.89250; -80.47806[3]
 • elevation927 ft (283 m)[2]
Source confluence 
 • locationnortheastern Marshall County near Majorsville, West Virginia
 • coordinates39°57′15″N 80°31′43″W / 39.95417°N 80.52861°W / 39.95417; -80.52861[4]
 • elevation829 ft (253 m)[2]
MouthOhio River
 • location
Wheeling, West Virginia
 • coordinates
40°03′50″N 80°43′30″W / 40.06389°N 80.72500°W / 40.06389; -80.72500[4]
 • elevation
630 ft (190 m)[2]
Length25 mi (40 km)[4]
Basin size300 sq mi (780 km2)approx.[5]
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average373.5 cu ft/s (10.58 m3/s) (estimate)[6]
Basin features
ProgressionOhio River → Mississippi River → Gulf of Mexico
Tributaries 
 • leftDunkard Fork
Wolf Run
Stull Run
Burch Run
Bald Eagle Hollow
Hollidays Run
Seabright Hollow
Jakes Run
 • rightEnlow Fork
Turkey Run
Bruce Run
Cricket Hollow
Grandstaff Run
Britt Run
Little Wheeling Creek
Carter Run
Long Run
Wheeling Creek as viewed at the junction of Interstates 70 and 470 in Wheeling in 2006
Wheeling Creek as viewed upstream from Main Street in downtown Wheeling in 2006

Wheeling Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River, 25 miles (40 km) long, in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, with a watershed extending into southwestern Pennsylvania. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of approximately 300 square miles (780 km2) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It flows into the Ohio River in downtown Wheeling, just downstream of Ohio's Wheeling Creek on the opposite bank.[7] A variant name is Big Wheeling Creek.[4] According to the French explorer Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville, the native name of the stream is the Kanououara River, as was inscribed on the lead plate buried at the mouth by the Ohio River in 1749. [8]

  1. ^ Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Enlow Fork (Feature ID #1174270)". Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  2. ^ a b c d Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  3. ^ Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Dunkard Fork (Feature ID #1173610)". Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Wheeling Creek (Feature ID #1548996)". Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  5. ^ Ward, S. M.; G. R. Crosby. "Water Resources Data, West Virginia, Water Year 2005". United States Geological Survey. pp. Upper Ohio and Little Kanawha River Basins. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  6. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Wheeling Creek". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  7. ^ West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme. 1997. p. 21. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
  8. ^ "Leaden Plate Buried at Wheeling Creek > Research | Ohio County Public Library | Ohio County Public Library | Wheeling West Virginia | Ohio County WV | Wheeling WV History |".