Monongahela River

Coordinates: 40°26′30″N 80°00′58″W / 40.44167°N 80.01611°W / 40.44167; -80.01611
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Monongahela River
The Monongahela River in Pittsburgh with South Side Pittsburgh on the right and Uptown Pittsburgh on the left
Map of the Monongahela River basin with the Monongahela River highlighted
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania and West Virginia
CountiesMarion WV, Monongalia WV, Greene PA, Fayette PA, Washington PA, Westmoreland PA, Allegheny PA
Physical characteristics
SourceTygart Valley River
 • locationPocahontas County, West Virginia
 • coordinates38°28′06″N 79°58′51″W / 38.46833°N 79.98083°W / 38.46833; -79.98083[1]
 • elevation4,540 ft (1,380 m)[2]
2nd sourceWest Fork River
 • locationUpshur County, West Virginia
 • coordinates38°51′08″N 80°21′32″W / 38.85222°N 80.35889°W / 38.85222; -80.35889[3]
 • elevation1,309 ft (399 m)[4]
Source confluence 
 • locationFairmont, West Virginia
 • coordinates39°27′53″N 80°09′10″W / 39.46472°N 80.15278°W / 39.46472; -80.15278[5]
 • elevation863 ft (263 m)[3]
Braddock, PA[8]
 • average12,650 cu ft/s (358 m3/s)
 • minimum2,900 cu ft/s (82 m3/s)
 • maximum81,100 cu ft/s (2,300 m3/s)
Discharge 
 • location
Masontown, PA[9]
 • average8,433 cu ft/s (238.8 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left
Turtle Creek
, Ninemile Run

The Monongahela River (/məˌnɒŋɡəˈhlə/ mə-NONG-gə-HEE-lə, /-ˈh-/ -⁠HAY-),[10] sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (/mɒn/), is a 130-mile-long (210 km)[6] river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.

Etymology

The

Indian tongue the name of this river was Mechmenawungihilla (alternatively spelled Menawngihella), which signifies a high bank, which is ever washed out and therefore collapses."[11]

The Lenape Language Project renders the word as Mënaonkihëla (pronounced [mənaoŋɡihəla]), translated "where banks cave in or erode",[12] from the verbs mënaonkihële "the dirt caves off" (such as the bank of a river or creek, or in a landslide)[13] and mënaonke (pronounced [mənaoŋɡe]), "it has a loose bank" (where one might fall in).[14]

Monongalia County and the town of Monongah, both in West Virginia, are named for the river, as is the city of Monongahela in Pennsylvania. (The name "Monongalia" is either a Latinized adaptation of "Monongahela" or simply a variant spelling.)

Variant names

The USGS name for the river is the Monongahela River; there have been numerous alternate names, alternate spellings and misspellings in historical texts.[a]

Geography

The Monongahela is formed by the confluence of the

Forks of the Ohio at "The Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh
.

Geology

Prior to early Pleistocene regional glaciation, more than 780,000 years ago, the ancestral Monongahela River (a.k.a. the Pittsburgh River) flowed northward from present-day north-central West Virginia, across western

Hydrography

Via the Ohio River, the river is part of the Mississippi watershed which drains to the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic Ocean.

The river's length is 130 miles, its drainage basin is 7,340 sq.mi. and the average 30-year discharge at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, is 9,109 cfs. It falls 3,831 ft. in elevation from its highest source to its mouth on the Ohio River. It falls 280 feet from its forks to its mouth, a stretch made navigable by locks. The mean depth is about 20 ft.

In southwestern Pennsylvania, the Monongahela is met by two major tributaries: the Cheat River, which joins at Point Marion, and the Youghiogheny River, which joins at McKeesport.

Major tributaries include: Becks Run, Big Sandy Creek, Buffalo Creek, Cheat River, Crooked Run, Deckers Creek, Dunkard Creek, Lick Run, Middle Fork River, Paw Paw Creek, Peters Creek, Streets Run, Turtle Creek, Tygart Valley River, West Fork River, Youghiogheny River.

Locks and dams

The river is navigable its entire length with a series of locks and dams that maintain a minimum depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) to accommodate coal-laden barges. All dams are operated by the Pittsburgh District Army Corps of Engineers. In 2006, the navigation system, operated by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, had nine dam-locks along 128.7 miles (207.1 km) of waterway.[18] The locks overcame a change in elevation of about 147 feet (44.8 m).[19]

Dam removal

The locks and dam at Elizabeth will be removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Work will commence in 2024. Afterwards 30 miles of the river between Charleroi and Braddock will be free flowing.[20]

Ecology

According to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory for 2010, the Monongahela ranked as the 17th most polluted river in the nation.[21] The primary polluters were Pennsylvania iron and steel mills.

Recreation

The upper drainage area of the river basin is renowned for its water sports/hobbies of

whitewater rafting
) opportunities. The land here is of a very rugged plateau type which allows streams to gather sufficient water volume before they fall off the plateau and create challenging rapids. Some of the best known specific stream locations for this include:

History

18th and 19th centuries

The Monongahela River valley was the site of a famous battle that was one of the first in the French and Indian War—the Braddock Expedition (May–July 1755). It resulted in a sharp defeat for two thousand British and Colonial forces against those of the French and their Native American allies.

In 1817, the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the Monongahela Navigation Company to build 16 dams with bypass

locks to create a river transportation system between Pittsburgh and the area that would later become West Virginia.[29] Originally planned to run as far south as the Cheat River, the system was extended to Fairmont, and bituminous coal from West Virginia was the chief product transported downstream. After a canal tunnel through Grant's Hill in Pittsburgh was completed in 1832, boats could travel between the Monongahela River and the Western Division Canal of Pennsylvania's principal east–west canal and railroad system, the Main Line of Public Works. In 1897, the federal government took possession of the Monongahela Navigation through condemnation proceedings. Later, the dam-lock combinations were increased in size and reduced in number.[19]

Briefly linked to the Monongahela Navigation was the Youghiogheny Navigation, a slack water system of 18.5 miles (29.8 km) between McKeesport and West Newton. It had two dam-locks overcoming a change in elevation of about 27 feet (8.2 m). Opening in 1850, it was destroyed by a flood in 1865.[19]

During the 19th century and well into the twentieth, the Monongahela was heavily used by

Jones and Laughlin
steel works on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Only the Edgar Thomson works remain producing steel along the river.

Despite the closure of many of the mills in the 1980s and 90s, the Monogahela is still an important waterway for industry. The

Mon Valley Works of U.S. Steel operates three plants, including the Edgar Thomson plant for basic steel marking, the Irvin plant for steel finishing, and the Clairton plant for coke production.[30]
Coal barges are a common sight on the river, and the railways which line either side are heavily used by freight. Other industries include power generation, chemicals, and recycling.

20th century

Three ships in the United States Navy have been named Monongahela after the river. In October 1930, severe drought caused the river flow to drop below 10 cu ft/s (280 L/s), and in some places, it was possible to walk across the river bottom.[citation needed]

The river was the site of a

Olmsted Air Force Base in Pennsylvania crashed into the river near the Glenwood Bridge in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The six crewmen survived the initial crash, but two of them succumbed in the cold water and drowned. Despite the relatively shallow water, the aircraft was never recovered and became known as the "ghost bomber".[31][32] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a graphical representation of the flight path and flight details in 1999.[33][34]
As of 2018, the bomber has not been found.

Gallery

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ including Malangueulé,[15] Me-nan-gi-hil-li, Meh-non-au-au-ge-hel-al, Mehmannaunringgehlau, Mehmannauwinggehla, Mo-hon-ga-ly, Mo-hon-galy, Mo-hon-gey-e-la, Mo-hong-gey-e-la, Mohungahala, Mohunghala, Monaung, Monaungahela, Monna, Monnyahela, Monona, Mononga, Monongahalia, Monongahaly, Monongaheley, Monongahelia, Monongalia, Monongalo, Mononguhela, Mononyahela, Muddy River [5]
  1. ^ Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Tygart Valley River (Feature ID #1553309)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  2. GNIS
    source coordinates. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for West Fork River (Feature ID #1548931)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  4. ^ Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Straight Fork (headwaters tributary of West Fork River) (Feature ID #1547564)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Monongahela River (Feature ID #1209053)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  6. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
  7. .
  8. ^ United States Geological Survey; USGS 03085000 Monongahela River at Braddock, PA; retrieved September 29, 2010.
  9. ^ United States Geological Survey; USGS 03072655 Monongahela River near Masontown, PA; retrieved September 29, 2010.
  10. ^ There are several ways to pronounce this word that are acceptable. From "Geographical Names" of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (2009): /məˌnɒnɡəˈhlə/, /məˌnɒɡəˈhlə/ or /məˌnɒŋɡəˈhlə/.
  11. ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  12. ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  13. ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  14. OCLC 15760312
    .
  15. ^ Garton, E. Ray (January 2012). "Fauna of the Ice Age" (PDF). Wonderful West Virginia: 10–13.
  16. S2CID 128959212
    .
  17. ^ "Navigation". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  18. ^ .
  19. ^ "Corps of Engineers awards contract for Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 removal".
  20. ^ Hopey, Don (March 23, 2012). "Region's rivers are some of nation's most polluted". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  21. ^ BradR. "6. Lower, Youghiogheny Pennsylvania, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "3. Upper, Youghiogheny Maryland, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  23. ^ "1. (Narrows) Below Rowlesburg to above Albright Power Dam, Cheat West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  24. ^ "2. (Canyon) Albright to Jenkinsburg Bridge, Cheat West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "4. Belington to Buckhannon River, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  26. ^ "5. Above Arden to Big Cove Run, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  27. ^ "6. Valley Falls to Hammond, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  28. The Darlington Collection
    , Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
  29. ^ usssteel.com
  30. ^ Powell, Albrecht (May 15, 2017). "The Pittsburgh B-25 Ghost Bomber Mystery (1956)". About.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  31. ^ Ove, Torsten (April 4, 1999). "Searchers say 'Ghost Bomber' can be found in the Mon". Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  32. ^ Hilston, James (April 4, 1999). "PG Graphic: One of the Mysteries of Pittsburgh: The B-25 in the Mon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  33. ^ Smith, Brady (January 7, 2016). "Let's learn from the past: B-25 'Ghost Bomber'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  34. ^ Ballou's Pictorial, issue of 21 Feb 1857

Bibliography

External links