DRAINAGE AREAS OF WEST VIRGINIA STREAMS TRIBUTARY TO THE OHIO RIVER By Jeffrey B. Wiley U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 97-231 Prepared in cooperation with the WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS Charleston, West Virginia 1997 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey, WRD Branch of Information Services 11 Dunbar Street Box 25286 Charleston, WV 25301 Denver, CO 80225-0286 CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Drainage areas of streams tributary to the Ohio River......................................................................................4 Selected references............................................................................................................................................4 FIGURES 1. Map showing location of study area within the Upper Ohio River drainage basin 2. Map showing location of the study area.................................................................. TABLE 1. Drainage areas of streams tributary to the Ohio River. CONVERSION FACTORS AND ABBREVIATIONS Multiply By To obtain mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer square mile (mi ) 2.590 square kilometer Contents III DRAINAGE AREAS OF WEST VIRGINIA STREAMS TRIBUTARY TO THE OHIO RIVER By Jeffrey B. Wiley ABSTRACT This report tabulates data for 945 drainage-area divisions of streams tributary to the Ohio River. Data, compiled in downstream order, are listed for streams with drainage areas of approximately 2 square miles or larger within West Virginia, and for U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. The data presented are the stream name, the geographical limits in river miles, the latitude and longitude of the point of drainage- area determination (measuring point), the name of the county and the 7 '^-minute quadrangle in which the measuring point lies, and the drainage area at the measuring point. Drainage areas of West Virginia streams tributary to the Ohio River include Buffalo Creek, 162.76 square miles; Wheeling Creek, 296.71 square miles; Fish Creek, 250.61 square miles; Fishing Creek, 218.45 square miles; Middle Island Creek, 563.65 square miles; and Mill Creek, 232.78 square miles. INTRODUCTION West Virginia streams tributary to the Ohio River flow westward toward the State boundary with Ohio (fig. 1). The Ohio River flows southwest along the West Virginia and Ohio borders. The tributary streams presented in this report (shown in fig. 2) exclude the Little Kanawha River, Kanawha River, Guyandotte River, Twelvepole Creek, and Levisa Fork. Drainage-area data for the streams tributary to the Ohio River are compiled in this report to provide an easily accessible data base for hydraulic computations. Drainage area is an independent variable for many hydraulic regression equations. Drainage area is the most significant independent variable for many equations that estimate low-flow discharges, peak discharges, and peak stages. This report, prepared in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, lists drainage areas of 2 mi2 or larger for streams tributary to the Ohio River that lie in West Virginia. Drainage areas of the Little Kanawha River, Kanawha River, Guyandotte River, Twelvepole Creek, and Levisa Fork have been published previously, and only the total drainage areas of these streams are presented in this report. The drainage areas of tributary inflows lying outside the West Virginia border are listed as total drainage area at the border. Cumulative drainage areas are listed for the Ohio River main stem. METHODS The boundary of the study area was outlined on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7 ! /2- minute topographic quadrangles along divides indicated by elevation contours. Drainage boundaries were then traced *\ for tributaries with areas of approximately 2 mi or larger, resulting in 945 divisions. Drainage areas, river miles, latitudes, and longitudes were determined with an electronic digitizer or calculated by application of a geographic information system. The area of each quadrangle was measured and compared with the areas of quadrilaterals of the Earth's surface of 7 ! /2 minutes in latitude and longitude, found in the "Inter-Agency Coordination of Drainage Area Data" (U.S. Geological Survey, 1951). The areas of the drainage-area divisions were then balanced to agree. Drainage areas are accumulated and are accurate to three significant figures, although some areas are reported to greater than three significant figures for accounting purposes. West Virginia Streams Tributary to the Ohio River Upper Ohio River Basin Boundary 36° - Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:2,000,000,1992 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 17 Figure 1. Location of study area within the Upper Ohio River drainage basin. 2 West Virginia Streams Tributary to the Ohio River ts) I «§ p w H I CD O River miles were measured from the mouth to the point of drainage-area determination and reported to the nearest one-tenth of a mile for the tributary streams. Previously established river miles, presented on the USGS 7 '/2- minute topographic quadrangles, were reported for the Ohio River main stem. The latitude and longitude of each point were reported to the nearest second. DRAINAGE AREAS OF STREAMS TRIBUTARY TO THE OHIO RIVER The drainage areas for streams tributary to the Ohio River are listed in table 1. Stream segments are listed in downstream order. The river mile is the distance measured upstream from the mouth of the stream to the point of drainage-area determination, in miles. The limits of each stream segment are listed from the previous site to a location just upstream from the next stream confluence listed. If the previous site is the drainage-area divide, it is listed as a divide. The latitude and longitude of each point is listed by degree (°), minute ('), and second ("). The name of the county and the quadrangle in which the point of drainage-area determination lies are listed as aids in locating the stream segment. The drainage areas are listed for the division, the tributary stream, and the Ohio River. The area of the division is the drainage area for the stream segment indicated by the limits. The area of the tributary stream is the accumulated drainage area of the tributary noted. The area of the Ohio River lists the accumulated drainage area for that stream. SELECTED REFERENCES Bower, D.E., and Jackson, W.H., 1981, Drainage areas of streams at selected locations in Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-61, 118 p. Mathes, M.V, Jr., 1977, Drainage areas of the Guyandotte River Basin, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-801, 56 p. Mathes, M.V., Kirby, J.R., Payne, D.D., and Shultz, R.A., 1982, Drainage areas of the Kanawha River Basin, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 82-351, 222 p. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water, 1992, Principal streams and their drainage areas: scale 1 in. = 10 mi., 1 sheet. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, 1989, Pennsylvania gazetteer of streams: DER #456-11/89, 324 p. Preston, J.S., and Mathes, M.V., 1984, Stream drainage areas for the Little Kanawha River Basin, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 84-861, 171 p. Stewart, D.K., and Mathes, M.V., 1995, Drainage areas of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-170, 79 p. U.S. Geological Survey, 1951, Inter-agency coordination of drainage area data: Notes on Hydrologic Activities, Bulletin 4, 48 p. Wiley, J.B., and Hunt, M.L., 1995, Drainage areas of the Potomac River Basin, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-292, 60 p. Wilson, M.W., 1979, Drainage areas of the Twelvepole Creek Basin, West Virginia; Big Sandy River Basin, West Virginia; Tug Fork Basin, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 79-746, 49 p. 4 West Virginia Streams Tributary to the Ohio River Table 1. Drainage areas of streams tributary to the Ohio River [ °, degree;', minute; ", second; - -, no drainage area] Measuring point Drainage area, in square miles River Stream limits Latitude County Stream mile From To longitude quadrangle Division Tributary Ohio (° ' ") stream River Ohio River 40.0 Divide WV-PA-OH 40 38 15 Hancock/Beaver, PA/23,487a 23,487.00a State lines 8031 10 Columbia, OH East Liverpool North Ohio River 50.4 WV-PA-OH Yellow Creek 40 34 23 Hancock /Jefferson, OH 58.70 23,545.70 State lines 80 40 01 Wellsville Yellow Creek 0 Divide Mouth 40 34 23 Jefferson, OH 239b 23,784.70 80 40 01 Wellsville Ohio River 52.8 Yellow Creek Tomlinson Run 40 32 49 Hancock/Jefferson, OH 5.08 23,789.78 80 38 06 Wellsville South Fork Tomlinson Run South Fork 10.1 Divide WV-PA 40 33 09 Hancock /Beaver, PA 3.01 3.01 -- Tomlinson Run State line 80 31 09 East Liverpool South South Fork 4.5 WV-PA Mouth 40 32 34 Hancock 8.24 11.25 Tomlinson