Cacapon River

Cacapon River
The Cacapon River looking south from the Cacapon River Rt 127 Bridge Public Access Site
Location of the mouth of the Cacapon River in West Virginia Show map of West Virginia Cacapon River (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Hampshire, Hardy, Morgan
Physical characteristics
Source	Lost River
• location	Wardensville, Hardy County
• coordinates	39°04′52″N 78°38′10″W / 39.08111°N 78.63611°W / 39.08111; -78.63611[1]
Mouth	Potomac River
• location	Great Cacapon, Morgan County
• coordinates	39°37′13″N 78°16′58″W / 39.62028°N 78.28278°W / 39.62028; -78.28278[1]
Length	81.0 mi (130.4 km)[2]
Basin size	680 sq mi (1,800 km2)
Discharge
• location	Great Cacapon[3]
• average	592 cu ft/s (16.8 m3/s)[3]
• minimum	26 cu ft/s (0.74 m3/s) (September 12, 1966)[3]
• maximum	87,600 cu ft/s (2,480 m3/s) (March 18, 1936)[3]

The Cacapon River (locally /kəˈkeɪpən/ kə-KAY-pən; meaning Medicine Waters), located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region, is an 81.0-mile-long (130.4 km)^[2] shallow river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, hunting, and wilderness scenery. As part of the Potomac River watershed, it is an American Heritage River.

The Cacapon River Watershed is made up of three major river segments and many smaller stream watersheds. The headwaters of the Cacapon River, known as the Lost River, is 31.1 miles (50.1 km) long^[2] and receives water from a watershed covering 178 square miles (460 km²). The largest tributary of the Cacapon is the North River, which drains 206 square miles (530 km²), an area comparable to that of the Lost River. Overall, the Cacapon River watershed includes the Lost and North River watersheds, and those of many smaller streams for a total of 680 square miles (1,800 km²). The Cacapon watershed is itself part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

In recent years the Cacapon River and its watershed have become threatened by development, and industrial and agricultural growth. Concern about these issues led to the establishment of the Cacapon Institute in 1985 (originally known as the Pine Cabin Run Ecological Laboratory).^{[citation needed]}