| Shenandoah River | |
|---|---|
 Crossing the Shenandoah River inHarpers Ferry, West Virginia | |
 Shenandoah River drainage basin | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia,West Virginia |
| Towns | Harpers Ferry, WV,Front Royal, VA,Luray, VA |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | North Fork |
| • location | Shenandoah Mountain |
| 2nd source | South Fork |
| • location | Port Republic |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | Front Royal, VA |
| Mouth | Potomac River |
• location | Harpers Ferry |
• coordinates | 39°19′21″N77°43′40″W / 39.3226009°N 77.7277704°W /39.3226009; -77.7277704[1] |
• elevation | 246 ft (75 m)[1] |
| Length | 56 mi (90 km) |
| Basin size | 2,937 sq mi (7,610 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Millville, WV[2] |
| • average | 2,755 cu ft/s (78.0 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | North Fork (Shenandoah River) |
| • right | South Fork (Shenandoah River) |
TheShenandoah River/ˌʃɛnənˈdoʊə/ is the principaltributary of thePotomac River, 55.6 miles (89.5 km) long with twoforks approximately 100 miles (160 km) long each,[3] in theU.S. states ofVirginia andWest Virginia. The river and itstributaries drain the central and lowerShenandoah Valley and thePage Valley in theAppalachians on the west side of theBlue Ridge Mountains, in northwestern Virginia and theeastern panhandle of West Virginia.[1] There is a hydroelectric plant along the Shenandoah River constructed in 2014 byDominion.
The Shenandoah River is formed northeast ofFront Royal near Riverton, by theconfluence of theSouth Fork and theNorth Fork. It flows northeast acrossWarren County, passing underneathInterstate 66 1 mile (1.6 km) from its formation. Beyond the I-66 bridge, the river flows through a set of bends before turning to the northeast again, crossing intoClarke County 11 miles (18 km) below I-66. Five miles (8 km) downriver from the Clarke County border, the Shenandoah passes underU.S. Route 50 and then passes through a triple bend. 14.5 miles (23.3 km) below the Route 50 bridge, the river passes underneathState Route 7 and then continues northeast another 8 miles (13 km) where it crosses intoJefferson County in West Virginia. Once in West Virginia, the river completes six large bends before joining the Potomac from the southwest nearHarpers Ferry. Theconfluence is on the West Virginia-Maryland border, and 0.4 miles (0.64 km) from the Virginia-West Virginia border.[4]
TheShenandoah Valley is underlaid bylimestone. The fertile soil made it a favored place for early settlement. It remains a majoragricultural area of Virginia and West Virginia. Somekarst topography is evident, and the limestone is honeycombed with caves. Several have been developed as commercial tourist attractions, includingLuray Caverns,Shenandoah Caverns, andSkyline Caverns.
On the riverbank, a few miles above Harper's Ferry, is said to be a cave with an opening just large enough for a mounted rider to squeeze through. It widened in the interior to a spacious room where hundreds ofCol. John Mosby's raiding troops are said to have hidden from pursuing Union cavalry.[5]
The Shenandoah River was contaminated withmercury which was released by aDuPontrayon manufacturing facility located inWaynesboro, Virginia from 1929 to 1950.[6] This mercury is still present in the fish population of the river today; data collected over the last several decades shows that mercury levels remain stable.[7] The fish in many sections of the Shenandoah River are not safe for human consumption. For example, theVirginia Department of Health (VDOH) states that it is not safe to consume any species excepttrout which are caught between Waynesboro andGrottoes, Virginia due to elevated mercury levels. In general, the VDOH states that it is not safe to consume more than two fish per month which are caught on the Shenandoah River inPage,Warren,Augusta, orRockingham counties.[8]
In 2017, DuPont agreed to pay $42,069,916.78 to address natural resource damages and to implement restoration projects related to the impacted resources in the South Fork Shenandoah River watershed.[6]
Since 2005, the Shenandoah River has experienced several springtimefish kills that have affected several of its native fish species. In 2005,redbreast sunfish andsmallmouth bass along a 100-mile (160 km) stretch of the South Fork Shenandoah River began dying of lesions caused by bacteria and fungi. Although the fish kill eventually wiped out 80% of the adult redbreast sunfish and smallmouth bass, juvenile populations appeared to be unaffected.[9] The following year more-localized fish kills inClarke County spread to two of the Shenandoah's three species of sucker: theshorthead redhorse and thenorthern hogsucker – the former suffering from similar lesions witnessed in the previous year's fish kill.[10] Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality received reports of fish kills near Elkton and between Bentonville and Front Royal in late April 2007 and observed fish exhibiting lesions and strange behavior.[11]
Various accounts tell the origin of the name. According to one, GeneralGeorge Washington named the valley (and river) in honor ofSkenandoa (or Shenandoah), anOneida "pine tree chief" based in New York, who led hundreds of Oneida and Tuscarora warriors in support of the American rebels on the frontier during the Revolutionary War. He also sent much needed corn to Washington and his troops during their hard winter atValley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1777–1778.[13][14] However, the name was in use when Washington was a child, as evidenced in land grants and correspondence.[15]
It is also said to be named after theSenedo people, a little-documented tribe said to have lived on the north fork of the river and destroyed by theCatawba, some time between 1650 and 1700.
The Shenandoah River is a very popular river forcanoeing,river tubing, andwhite-water recreation such asrafting andkayaking (class I-III in season, II-III+ during the spring run-off), and several commercial outfitters offer a variety of guided trips and rentals.
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The South Fork is formed atPort Republic in southernRockingham County, by theconfluence of theNorth River andSouth River. It flows 98.5 miles (158.5 km)[3] northeast in a tightmeandering course, pastElkton andShenandoah, through Page Valley, with the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and theMassanutten Mountain range to the west.
The North Fork is 105 miles (169 km) long[3] and rises in northernRockingham County, along the eastern flank ofShenandoah Mountain in theGeorge Washington National Forest. At its formation, the principal feeder on the North Fork is theGerman River.
The North Fork flows initially southeast, down from the mountains, then northeast through a valley acrossShenandoah County, along the western side ofMassanutten Mountain. It flows pastWoodstock andStrasburg. On the north end of the ridge it turns briefly southeast to join the South Fork from the northwest to form the Shenandoah.
