Excerpt from New River Gorge National River Fecal Coliform Study: April-September, 1991

This report presents the data from the 1991 fecal coliform study and is a continuation of the water quality studies conducted at the New River Gorge National River (neri) since 1980. Any visible trends between fecal coliform counts, stage level and 48 hour precipitation (48prcp.) will be discussed. Recommendations for 1992 will also be presented.

Neri is on a stretch of the New River flowing north from below the Bluestone Dam, near Hinton, West Virginia, to just north of the u.s. Highway 19 bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia. The headwaters of the New River are located high in the Southern Appalachian Mountains in northwestern North Carolina. From Blowing Rock, North Carolina, the New River flows generally in a northward direction across southwestern Virginia and enters West Virginia 163 miles from its source. The river continues flowing northward for 87 miles to Gauley Bridge where it joins the Gauley River and forms the Kanawha River. The Kanawha River flows northwest to Point Pleasant, West Virginia and joins the Ohio River, which is part of the Mississippi watershed. From the New River's headwaters in Blowing Rock to Nitro, West Virginia the new/kanawha River's course follows that of the ancient Teays River, which began forming as the southern Appalachians rose out of an ancient ocean. Mountain uplift and subsequent erosion have exposed many types of rock in the basin, most typical are shales, sandstones and limestones. On its journey to the Gorge, the New River passes through extensive karst (an area of limestone formations) areas and gathers water from other streams that drain these calcareous lands. Consequently the New River is a well-buffered, biologically productive stream (wvdnr 1987-88, p.9).

Neri was established by the United States Congress in 1978 and placed under management of the National Park Service (nps) part of the United States Department of the Interior. Title XI of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (public Law 95-625) set aside a acre corridor along 52 miles of New River. To conserve and interpret the outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in and around the New River Gorge and preserve as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the New River in West Virginia for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. (wvdnr 1987-88, p.1).

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.