Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-05-06
Notes of the Topography of West Vir'
ginia.

east of the central part of the State, rise
into true mountains composed of folded
layers arranged in parallel ridges and
separated from each other by both longi
tudinal and transverse valleys.
The surface of the State slopes in three
directions, to the East to II North anf
to the Southwest.
The topography of West Virginia has
vertical range of 4, 600 feet, Being lowest
200 feet above the sea, at Harper S Ferry
and highest, $3.50 feet above the sea, a
the top of Spruce Knob, in Pendletol
county.
The average elevation Of West Nirginia
is greater than that of any other State
east of the Mississippi river. The aver
/ age elevation Of the Appalachian States
above the sea level is as follows:
New Hampshire, 1000 feet.
Vermont, I 900 feet.
New York, 600 feet.
Pennsylvania, 100 feet.
Ohio, $50 feet.
Virginia, $50 feet.
West Virginia 1900 feet.
From the top of Spruce Mountain the
tributaries of the Potomac descend rap
idly to the eastward and pass from the
State at Harper's Ferry; the waters Of
the Cheat flow to the northward and
within sight of the Pennsylvania line
empty into the Nonongahela; the Green.
brier and Elk flow to the Southwest and
entering the Great Kanawha soon join
the Ohio, which leaves the State at the
mouth of the Big Sandy. So the lowest
points of these three inclined planes are
at the mouth of the Shenandoah, 200 feet
above the sea the mouth of the Big
Sandy, 500 feet above the sea, and the
mouth of Cheat river, us feet above the
sea.
Within these three points the success
sive contour lines become smaller and
smaller, until when the 3, 900 foot level is
reached, this contour line is no longer
continuous, but is broken into number
of broken circles and cllipses surround
ing the higher knobs and ridges.
As so per cent of the grain Of the Uni
ted States is raised below the 1000 foot
level and 90 per cent of the grain of the
United States is raised below the 1900
| foot level, it becomes matter OF very
great interest to know where these lines
run in our State and to know what coun-
ties are above and below them. The 1000
foot leveli is far above the general surface
of the more southwestern counties and
extends up the rivervalleys into the cen
trail counties; in Jefferson and Berkeley
counties it is almost even with the sum-
mits ofthe Blue Ridge and North Noun
tain, so that the general surface of these
counties, as we'll as that of Morgan and
Hampshire, is much below this level.
This contour line creeps up the Big Sandy
to the mouth Of Crane Creek, or Dry
Fork, and TO the mouth Of Dry Branch,
on Tug Fork, i'll Mcdowell county. 1t
extends up the Great Kauawha to Sewell,
in Fayettc; up the Gauley to Wood 5
Ferry, and up the Elk to the BraXton-
Webster county line.
On the Little Kanawha the 1000 foot
contour line extends up the river to the
mouth of Glade Greek, i'll the southern
part of Lewis county, thence it skirts
across the country with many irregular
windings to near the corner of the PENN
sylvauia line. II extends northward
through the counties of Greene and Wash
ington, and turning eastward and south
ward, again crosses these counties and
enters West Virginia in Mouongalia
county, 225 feet above the river level.
It Creeps up the narrow canon Of Cheat
river 10 the mouth of Sandy in Preston
county, and up the Tygarts Valley TO six
miles above Grafton and up the West
Fork river to Weston. The 1000 foot
level extends up the north branch of the
PotomacabovcP Piedmont to Bloomington
and up the south branch Of the Potomac
to the forks Of the river above Peters
burg, in Grant comfy.
The 800 foot contour line extends up
the Big Sandy river to the mouth Of Gu
cumber Creek i'll Mcdowell county, up
the Greenbrier river to Lowell Station,
and up New river beyond the Virginia
line to the mouth Of East river.
1t extends up the Gauley to'Hugh's
Ferry; up the Elk at Addison and up
the little Kanawha to the mouth Of
Right Fork on up the Upshur-Webster
line.
This level extends up the BuCkhannon
river to the mouth of Grassy Run, in Up
shur county, and up the Cheat river to
St. George, in Tucker county. In the
eastern counties this level extends up the
north branch of the Potomac to the river
DCu QlIG(IlN DCION IsIk Ndl NCu sihu uP
the South Branch to the mouth of Deer
run, in Pendleton county.
Although the highest mountain in the
State is i'll Pendleton county, the county
Of the highest general elevation is Poca-
hontas. This county can hardly have an
average elevation of less than three
thousand feet above the sea.
The Greenbrier river enters Pocahon-
tas county on either side of Beech Noun
tain at an elevation Of 900 feet above the
sea. Cranberry river and Williams riv
er are 5000 feet above the sea at Poca-
hontas-Websterl line and Elk river passes
the Randolph line at height of $500
feet.
Shaver's fork, Cheat river, enters Ran
dolph from Pocahontas at height of
3, 100 feet above the sea, so that the high