Monongahela River
Monongahela River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania and West Virginia |
Counties | Marion WV, Monongalia WV, Greene PA, Fayette PA, Washington PA, Westmoreland PA, Allegheny PA |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Tygart Valley River |
• location | Pocahontas County, West Virginia |
• coordinates | 38°28′06″N 79°58′51″W / 38.46833°N 79.98083°W[1] |
• elevation | 4,540 ft (1,380 m)[2] |
2nd source | West Fork River |
• location | Upshur County, West Virginia |
• coordinates | 38°51′08″N 80°21′32″W / 38.85222°N 80.35889°W[3] |
• elevation | 1,309 ft (399 m)[4] |
Source confluence | |
• location | Fairmont, West Virginia |
• coordinates | 39°27′53″N 80°09′10″W / 39.46472°N 80.15278°W[5] |
• elevation | 863 ft (263 m)[3] |
Braddock, PA[8] | |
• average | 12,650 cu ft/s (358 m3/s) |
• minimum | 2,900 cu ft/s (82 m3/s) |
• maximum | 81,100 cu ft/s (2,300 m3/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Masontown, PA[9] |
• average | 8,433 cu ft/s (238.8 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Turtle Creek , Ninemile Run |
The Monongahela River (/məˌnɒŋɡəˈhiːlə/ mə-NONG-gə-HEE-lə, /-ˈheɪ-/ -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
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
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
- Braddock Locks & Dam
- Locks & Dam 3
- Locks & Dam 4
- Maxwell Lock & Dam
- Grays Landing Lock & Dam
- Point Marion Lock and Dam
- Morgantown Lock and Dam
- Hildebrand Lock and Dam
- Opekiska Lock and Dam
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
- Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania[22]
- Youghiogheny River at Friendsville, Maryland[23]
- Cheat River at Albright, West Virginia[24][25]
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
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
Despite the closure of many of the mills in the 1980s and 90s, the Monogahela is still an important waterway for industry. The
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
Gallery
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The South Tenth Street Bridge over the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh in 2005
-
The Monongahela River in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 2006
-
Monongahela River Scene, 1857[35]
-
Opekiska Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River near Fairmont, West Virginia, at river mile 115 (185 km)
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Monongahela River in Pittsburgh in 2021
See also
- List of crossings of the Monongahela River
- List of rivers of Pennsylvania
- List of rivers of West Virginia
- Geography of Pennsylvania
Notes and references
- ^ 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]
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Tygart Valley River (Feature ID #1553309)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
- GNISsource coordinates. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
- ^ a b Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for West Fork River (Feature ID #1548931)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Monongahela River (Feature ID #1209053)". Retrieved March 12, 2007.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
- ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
- ^ United States Geological Survey; USGS 03085000 Monongahela River at Braddock, PA; retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ United States Geological Survey; USGS 03072655 Monongahela River near Masontown, PA; retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ There are several ways to pronounce this word that are acceptable. From "Geographical Names" of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (2009): /məˌnɒnɡəˈhiːlə/, /məˌnɒɡəˈhiːlə/ or /məˌnɒŋɡəˈheɪlə/.
- ISBN 1-889037-17-6
- ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
- ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
- ^ "Lenape Talking Dictionary". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
- OCLC 15760312.
- ^ Garton, E. Ray (January 2012). "Fauna of the Ice Age" (PDF). Wonderful West Virginia: 10–13.
- S2CID 128959212.
- ^ "Navigation". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0-933788-37-1.
- ^ "Corps of Engineers awards contract for Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 removal".
- ^ Hopey, Don (March 23, 2012). "Region's rivers are some of nation's most polluted". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ BradR. "6. Lower, Youghiogheny Pennsylvania, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "3. Upper, Youghiogheny Maryland, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "1. (Narrows) Below Rowlesburg to above Albright Power Dam, Cheat West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "2. (Canyon) Albright to Jenkinsburg Bridge, Cheat West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "4. Belington to Buckhannon River, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "5. Above Arden to Big Cove Run, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "6. Valley Falls to Hammond, Tygart Valley West Virginia, US". American Whitewater. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- The Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
- ^ usssteel.com
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ove, Torsten (April 4, 1999). "Searchers say 'Ghost Bomber' can be found in the Mon". Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ Hilston, James (April 4, 1999). "PG Graphic: One of the Mysteries of Pittsburgh: The B-25 in the Mon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Smith, Brady (January 7, 2016). "Let's learn from the past: B-25 'Ghost Bomber'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Ballou's Pictorial, issue of 21 Feb 1857
Bibliography
- Rinehart & Co.
- Callahan, James Morton and Bernard Lee Butcher (1912), Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
- ISBN 0-07-003910-0. pp 149–52.
- Core, Earl L. (1974–84), The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, McClain Printing Co., 5 volumes; an extensive, well-documented natural & human history of the Monongahela River basin.
- Volume I: Prelude (1974)
- Volume II: The Pioneers (1976)
- Volume III: Discord (1979)
- Volume IV: Industrialization (1984)
- Volume V: Sophistication (1984)
External links
- U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
- Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). . . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.