Little Kanawha River

Little Kanawha River
Little Kanawha River
	The Little Kanawha River just upstream of its mouth in Parkersburg
Location
Country	United States
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Upshur County, West Virginia
Mouth
• location	Ohio River, Parkersburg, West Virginia
Length	169 mi (272 km)
Basin size	2,320 sq mi (6,000 km2)
Discharge
• location	mouth
• average	3,187.67 cu ft/s (90.265 m3/s) (estimate)

The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi (269 km) long,^[2] 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 2,320 mi² (6,009 km²)^[3] on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It served as an important commercial water route in the early history of West Virginia, particularly in the logging and petroleum industries.^[2]^[4]

^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Little Kanawha River". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
^ ^a ^b Gilchrist-Stalnaker, Joy Gregoire. 2006. "Little Kanawha River." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. ISBN 0-9778498-0-5.
^ Willis, Todd C. (ed.) 1987. "Length of rivers and watershed areas in West Virginia." West Virginia Blue Book. Vol. 71.
^ "Little Kanawha once was vital transportation link," Parkersburg News & Sentinel website