Blackwater River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | West Virginia |
County | Tucker |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Canaan Mountain |
• location | Tucker County, WV |
• coordinates | 39°03′39″N 79°29′04″W / 39.06083°N 79.48444°W[1] |
• elevation | 3,594 ft (1,095 m)[2] |
Mouth | Black Fork |
• location | Hendricks, WV |
• coordinates | 39°04′20″N 79°37′45″W / 39.07222°N 79.62917°W |
• elevation | 1,690 ft (520 m)[1] |
Length | 34 mi (55 km) |
Basin size | 142 sq mi (370 km2) |
Discharge | |
• location | Davis, WV[3] |
• average | 189 cu ft/s (5.4 m3/s)[3] |
• minimum | 22 cu ft/s (0.62 m3/s)(1930) |
• maximum | 12,500 cu ft/s (350 m3/s)(1929) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | North Branch Blackwater River, Little Blackwater River |
The Blackwater River is a 34.3-mile-long (55.2 km) river[4] in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Via the Black Fork, it is a principal tributary of the Cheat River. Via the Cheat, the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River and drains an area of 142 square miles (370 km2). It is a true blackwater stream, owing to spruce and hemlock trees in its watershed, the tannins of which impart a tea or amber color to its water.[5]