 the clarion river is a tributary of the allegheny river, approximately 110&nbsp;mi (177&nbsp;km) long, in west central pennsylvania in the united states. it drains a mountainous area of the allegheny plateau in the ohio river watershed, flowing through narrow serpentine valleys and hardwood forests. == course == it is formed at johnsonburg in central elk county by the confluence of its east and west branches. the east branch, approximately 15&nbsp;mi (24&nbsp;km) long, rises in northeastern elk county and flows southwest through east branch clarion river lake to join the west branch. the river flows generally wsw across western pennsylvania in a tight meandering course past ridgway and clarion. it joins the allegheny from the east in western clarion county approximately 5&nbsp;mi (8&nbsp;km) south of emlenton. the clarion is a designated part of the national wild and scenic river program. == history == before 1817, the clarion river was more commonly called "tobeco," likely a corruption of tuppeek-hanne, meaning the stream that flows from a large spring. settlers called it the toby or stump creek as early as 1809. the name clarion was given by surveyor daniel stanard in 1817, who said the water sounded like a distant clarion.clarion county historical society, walking among our ancestors: book one: ashland township, mechling bookbindery (2003) isbn 0-9744657-3-9 at the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th century, much of what is now the allegheny national forest and surrounding areas were deforested, in part to make way for the oil boom that followed edwin drake's discovery of oil near titusville on august 27, 1859, but also for wood chemicals."history of the allegheny national forest," united states forest service bark was in especially high demand for local tanneries that produced prodigious amounts of leather. this deforestation significantly degraded the watershed of the upper allegheny 
Rivers_of_Pennsylvania Tributaries_of_the_Allegheny_River Wild_and_Scenic_Rivers_of_the_United_States