Buckhannon River

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title: "Buckhannon River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-west-virginia", "rivers-of-barbour-county,-west-virginia", "rivers-of-randolph-county,-west-virginia", "rivers-of-upshur-county,-west-virginia", "allegheny-plateau", "west-virginia-placenames-of-native-american-origin", "tributaries-of-the-tygart-valley-river"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckhannon_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

FieldValue
nameBuckhannon River
imageBuckhannon River Rangoon.jpg
image_captionThe Buckhannon River in Rangoon in 2005
mapMonon BuckhannonRiver.png
map_size275
map_captionMap of the Monongahela River basin, highlighting the Buckhannon River
pushpin_map_size275
subdivision_type1Country
subdivision_name1United States
subdivision_type2State
subdivision_name2West Virginia
subdivision_type3Counties
subdivision_name3Upshur, Barbour
length45 mi
source1Confluence of Left Fork Buckhannon River and Right Fork Buckhannon River
source1_locationAlexander, Upshur County
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation1837 ft
mouthTygart Valley River
mouth_locationsouthwestern Barbour County
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation1325 ft
basin_size309 sqmi
tributaries_leftCutright Run
::

| name = Buckhannon River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = Buckhannon River Rangoon.jpg | image_caption = The Buckhannon River in Rangoon in 2005 | map = Monon BuckhannonRiver.png | map_size = 275 | map_caption = Map of the Monongahela River basin, highlighting the Buckhannon River | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = 275 | pushpin_map_caption= | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = West Virginia | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Upshur, Barbour | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 45 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = | source1 = Confluence of Left Fork Buckhannon River and Right Fork Buckhannon River | source1_location = Alexander, Upshur County | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 1837 ft | mouth = Tygart Valley River | mouth_location = southwestern Barbour County | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 1325 ft | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 309 sqmi | tributaries_left = Cutright Run | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =

The Buckhannon River is a 45.4 mi tributary of the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 309 sqmi on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It provides drinking water for much of Upshur County.

Geography

The Buckhannon River is formed at the community of Alexander in southern Upshur County by the confluence of the Left Fork Buckhannon River both of which rise in southwestern Randolph County at elevations of 3658 ft and 3401 ft, respectively, and flow generally north-northwestwardly into southern Upshur County. The Right Fork flows through the communities of Pickens and Selbyville and collects tributaries known as the Middle Fork Right Fork Buckhannon River and the Left Fork Right Fork Buckhannon River; the Left Fork of the Right Fork flows through the community of Helvetia.

From Alexander the Buckhannon River flows generally northwardly, past Sago, to the city of Buckhannon, then northeastwardly into southwestern Barbour County, past Boulder (Rangoon Post Office) and Carrollton, where it is crossed by the Carrollton Covered Bridge. It joins the Tygart Valley River just downstream of Carrollton, about 4 mi southwest of Philippi, at the site of the former community of Tygart Junction.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Buckhannon_River_Buckhannon.jpg" caption="Buckhannon]] in 2006"] ::

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 79.5% of the Buckhannon River's watershed is forested, mostly deciduous; approximately 18.1% is used for agriculture and pasture; and less than 1% is urban.

Name

The city of Buckhannon was officially named for Buckongahelas (–1805), the legendary Lenape Chief. A statue of Buckongahelas and his fallen son, crafted by Buckhannon sculptor Ross Straight, was erected in Buckhannon West Virginia’s Jawbone Park in 2000.

Fish life

The uppermost (southernmost) stretch of the river downstream of Alexander drops approximately 400 ft in its first 13 mi and is boulder-strewn, providing habitat for trout (particularly brown trout), smallmouth bass, and rock bass. A low dam, installed for the provision of drinking water, forms a pool stretching upstream of Buckhannon to Sago; downstream of Sago, the Buckhannon is considered to be one of the best streams for muskellunge fishing in West Virginia. For 20 mi downstream of Buckhannon, the river generally moves slowly between vegetation-covered banks over numerous submerged logs, providing habitat for muskies as well as smallmouth bass, rock bass, and carp. In its lowermost course above its mouth, the river assumes a higher gradient and is home to smallmouth bass, rock bass, and sunfish.

Variant names and spellings

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/BuckhannonRiverMouth.JPG" caption="Philippi"] ::

According to the Geographic Names Information System & official historic markers, the Buckhannon River has also been known as:

  • Buckongehanon River
  • Buckanan River
  • Buckhanan River
  • Buckhannans Fork
  • Buckhanon River

References

References

  1. Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Buckhannon River (Feature ID #1536596)".
  2. Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Left Fork Buckhannon River (Feature ID #1551766)".
  3. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. "Watershed Atlas Project.".
  4. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map] {{webarchive. link. (2012-03-29 , accessed August 15, 2011)
  5. Howard, Kim. (2006). "The West Virginia Encyclopedia". West Virginia Humanities Council.
  6. Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Right Fork Buckhannon River (Feature ID #1552654)".
  7. [[Google Earth]] elevations for [[GNIS]] source coordinates. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  8. Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Middle Fork Right Fork Buckhannon River (Feature ID #1543194)".
  9. Geographic Names Information System. "Geographic Names Information System entry for Left Fork Right Fork Buckhannon River (Feature ID #1549551)".
  10. [[DeLorme]] (1997). ''West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. {{ISBN. 0-89933-246-3.
  11. "Buckhannon / Frontier Days Historical Marker".
  12. "E-WV | Buckongahelas".
  13. Shingleton, Michael V.. (March 1996). "Various Fishing Opportunities Await Anglers at the Buckhannon River". West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

rivers-of-west-virginiarivers-of-barbour-county,-west-virginiarivers-of-randolph-county,-west-virginiarivers-of-upshur-county,-west-virginiaallegheny-plateauwest-virginia-placenames-of-native-american-origintributaries-of-the-tygart-valley-river