ELK CREEK (WEST VIRGINIA)

'Elk Creek' is a tributary of the West Fork River in north-central West Virginia in the United States. Via the West Fork, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 121 square miles (313 km²) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. The stream is believed to have been named by an 18th century trapper and hunter named John Simpson, who encountered herds of elk along the stream.^[2]
Elk Creek rises approximately six miles (10 km) southwest of Philippi in western Barbour County and flows generally west-northwestwardly into Harrison County, where it passes through the communities of Stonewood and Nutter Fort; it flows into the West Fork River in the city of Clarksburg.^[3]
According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 70% of Elk Creek's watershed is forested, mostly deciduous. Approximately 22% is used for pasture and agriculture, and approximately 3% is urban.

Contents

See also

References

See also

★ List of West Virginia rivers

References

1. Google Earth elevation for GNIS source coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
2. West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains, Kenny, Hamill, , , The Place Name Press, 1945,
3. DeLorme (1997). ''West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. pp. 25, 36. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.