Laurel Fork (Cheat River tributary)
River in West Virginia, United States
Laurel Fork is a 37.8-mile-long (60.8 km) river in
eastern West Virginia, USA. It is a tributary of the Dry Fork;
via the Dry Fork, the Black Fork, and
the Cheat, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of
the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 60
square miles (160 km2) in the Allegheny Mountains. With the
Dry Fork, the Glady Fork, the Shavers Fork and
the Blackwater River, it is considered to be one of the five
principal headwaters tributaries of the Cheat River.
Quick Facts Location, Country ...
Geography
The Laurel Fork flows for its entire length in
eastern Randolph County. It rises on a divide on the
Randolph-Pocahontas county border separating the
watershed of the Cheat River from that of the Greenbrier, andflows north-northeastwardly in a meandering course
between Middle Mountain and Rich Mountain, through
the Monongahela National Forest, to its mouth at the Dry
Fork just south of the Tucker County border, approximately
four miles (6 km) northwest of Harman. The lowermost
seven miles (11 km) of the river are characterized by
continuous Class 3 rapids.
Two adjacent wilderness areas of the Monongahela National
Forest (separated only by a road), the north and south units
of the Laurel Fork Wilderness, are located along the river.
These areas of the watershed were logged of all virgin timber
by 1921, by a company known as the Laurel River Lumber
Company, which also constructed a railroad along the
river. According to the West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection, nearly 87% of the Laurel Fork
watershed is forested, primarily deciduous.
See also
+ List of West Virginia rivers
References
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River in West Virginia, United States
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Black Fork (Cheat River tributary)
River in West Virginia, United States
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