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The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 160 mi (257 km) long, in western West Virginia in the United States, on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The Little Kanawha is generally slow-moving and is often muddy. It has served as an important commercial water route in the history of West Virginia, particularly in the logging and petroleum industries.
Course
The Little Kanawha rises in southern Upshur County, approximately 25 mi (40 km) south of Buckhannon. It follows a meandering course generally west and northwest, through Braxton, Gilmer, Calhoun, Wirt and Wood Counties, past the towns of Burnsville, Sand Fork, Glenville, Grantsville, Palestine and Elizabeth. It flows into the Ohio River at Parkersburg.
Dams
Upstream of Burnsville, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam causes the river to form Burnsville Lake, which was completed in 1976 at a cost of $56.2 million*.
Tributaries
The Little Kanawha receives its largest tributaries in Wirt County: the West Fork Little Kanawha River joins it at the community of Creston and the Hughes River joins it near the community of Newark, approximately 12 mi (19 km) southeast of the Little Kanawha's confluence with the Ohio. Additionally, a very minor tributary near Grantsville is known as Bull River; despite being named as a "river", it is no larger than dozens of other small streams that enter the Little Kanawha.
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Little Kanawha River has also been known as:
- Fishing Creek
- Little Canawha River
- Little Canhawa River
- Little Conaway River
- Little Cunnaway River
- Little Kanahaway River
- Little Kanahwa River
- Little Kanahway River
- Little Kanawah River
- Little Kanhaway River
- Little Kanhawey River
- Little Kawahwa River
- Little Kenawah
- Little Kenhawa
- Little Kenhaway
- Little Kennaway River
- Nau-mis-sip-pia
- Newmissipi
- O-mom-go-how-ce-pe
- O-nim-go-how
See also
External links
"Little Kanawha River"