Mill Creek (western West Virginia)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mill Creek | |
|---|---|
 Mill Creek in Ripley in 2007
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| Length | 25 mi (40 km) approx.[1][2] |
| Watershed | 234 mi² (606 km²) [3] |
| Primary source | Elk Fork |
| - location | western Roane County |
| - coordinates | [4] |
| - elevation | 1,021 ft (311 m) [5] |
| Other source | Little Mill Creek |
| - location | northwestern Roane County |
| - coordinates | [6] |
| - elevation | 976 ft (297 m) [5] |
| Source confluence | |
| - location | east of Ripley |
| - coordinates | [7] |
| - elevation | 610 ft (186 m) [6] |
| Mouth | Ohio River |
| - location | Millwood |
| - coordinates | [7] |
| - elevation | 554 ft (169 m) [7] |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Tug Fork |
- For other uses, including other streams in West Virginia named Mill Creek, see Mill Creek.
Mill Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 25 miles (40 km) long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 234 square miles (606 km²) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as Big Mill Creek.[7]
Mill Creek is formed approximately four miles (6 km) east of the city of Ripley in central Jackson County by the confluence of streams known as the Elk Fork[4] and Little Mill Creek.[6] The Elk Fork rises in western Roane County and flows generally northwestwardly; Little Mill Creek rises in northwestern Roane County and flows generally westwardly.[2] Shortly downstream of their confluence, Mill Creek collects a tributary known as the Tug Fork,[8] which is formed in southern Jackson County by the confluence of the Bear Fork and Grasslick Creek, and flows northwestwardly, past the community of Staats Mills, joining Mill Creek from the south.[2]
Mill Creek flows generally west-northwestwardly in a winding course through central and western Jackson County, through the city of Ripley, which may have been named for Harry Ripley, a traveling preacher said to have drowned in the creek in 1830.[9] Downstream of Ripley, the stream passes through a broad valley in the vicinity of the community of Cottageville[1] and flows into the Ohio River at the community of Millwood.[2] Approximately the lowermost six miles (10 km) of the stream consists of backwater caused by damming of the Ohio.[1] A commercial port facility is located on the creek near its mouth, handling limestone, sand, gravel, aluminum, and salt.[10]
According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 74% of the Mill Creek watershed is forested, mainly deciduous. Approximately 25% is used for agriculture and pasture, and less than 1% is urban.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Davidson, Paul; Ward Eister, Dirk Davidson, Charlie Walbridge (1995). "The Northwest Quadrant - The Ohio Basin", Wildwater West Virginia, 4th ed., Birmingham, Ala.: Menasha Ridge Press, p. 156. ISBN 0-89732-156-1.
- ^ a b c d (1997) West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme, pp. 32-33, 43. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.
- ^ a b West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Watershed Atlas Project. Middle Ohio River 2. Archived from the original on 2006-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b Geographic Names Information System. Geographic Names Information System entry for Elk Fork (Feature ID #1538623). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS source coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
- ^ a b c Geographic Names Information System. Geographic Names Information System entry for Little Mill Creek (Feature ID #1542173). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. Geographic Names Information System entry for Mill Creek (Feature ID #1543321). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. Geographic Names Information System entry for Tug Fork (Feature ID #1548309). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Flesher Bolovan, Carolyn (2006). "Ripley", in Ken Sullivan (ed.): The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Charleston, W.Va.: West Virginia Humanities Council, p. 618. ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
- ^ Public Port Authority, West Virginia Department of Transportation. Riverport Locations & Services. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
