The Bluestone River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
New River, 77 mi (124 km) long, in
southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
southern West Virginia
Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia is known for its coal mining heritage and Southern affinity. The region is also closely identified with southwe ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry]
Via the New,
Kanawha and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
rivers, it is part of the
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. An 11 mi (18 km) portion of its lower course in West Virginia is designated as the
Bluestone National Scenic River
The Bluestone National Scenic River protects a section of the Bluestone River in Summers and Mercer counties of southern West Virginia. It was created 26 October 1988 under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and is protected by the National Park Ser ...
.
Course
The Bluestone rises on East River Mountain in
Tazewell County, Virginia
Tazewell County () is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,429. Its county seat is Tazewell.
Tazewell County is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA Micropolitan S ...
and flows generally northeastwardly through
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
and
Summers
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wi ...
counties in West Virginia, passing the towns of
Bluefield in Virginia and
Bramwell and
Montcalm in West Virginia.
DeLorme
DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...
(1997). ''West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. It joins the New River about 4 mi (6.4 km) south of
Hinton as part of
Bluestone Lake
Bluestone Lake is a flood control reservoir located on the New River near Hinton, West Virginia. At its normal pool level, Bluestone Dam impounds a stretch of the New and its tributary, the Bluestone River. Normally approximately in size, ...
,
[ which is formed by a ]U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
on the New. The Bluestone's National Scenic River
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...
segment is located mostly in Summers County, as is Pipestem Resort State Park
Pipestem Resort State Park is a state park located in southern West Virginia, on the border between Mercer and Summers counties. The park was built with grants provided by the Area Redevelopment Administration of the U.S. Department of Commer ...
, which lies along a gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
formed by the river.[
]
Pollution
The Bluestone has been compromised by PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
contamination, largely left over from former coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
activities. As a result of this contamination, Virginia does not recommend eating any carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
in the upstream vicinity of Bluefield, Virginia
Bluefield is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States, located along the Bluestone River. The population was 5,096 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 106,363 in 2020.
G ...
. West Virginia recommends eating no more than one meal of carp per month.
In Virginia, the state Department of Environmental Quality does not recommend any contact recreation (such as swimming or wading) in the Bluestone due to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria
A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...
.
Little Bluestone River
The Little Bluestone River is a minor tributary of the Bluestone in Summers County, fewer than 10 mi (15 km) in length from its formation by the confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of two streams, White Oak Branch and Jumping Branch.[
]
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
, the Bluestone River has also been known as:
*Big Bluestone River
*Blue Stone Creek
*Blue Stone River
*Bluestone Creek
Native American names have included the following:
*Mec-ce-ne-ke-ke-ce-pe-we
*Mec-cen-ne-ke-ke
*Mo-mom-ga-sen-eka-ce-pe
See also
*List of Virginia rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in the order of their confluence from mouth to source, indented under each larger stream's nam ...
*List of West Virginia rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
List of West Virginia rivers includes streams formally designated as rivers. There are also smaller streams (i.e., branches, creeks, drains, forks, licks, runs, etc.) in the state. Exc ...
*List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers
This is a list of the designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the United States. Each river has been designated by Congress, or, if certain requirements were met, the Secretary of the Interior. A designation may include multiple watercourses ...
References
External links
Bluestone Lake website
Bluestone State Park website
{{authority control
Rivers of Virginia
Rivers of West Virginia
Rivers of Mercer County, West Virginia
Rivers of Summers County, West Virginia
Rivers of Tazewell County, Virginia
Tributaries of the New River (Kanawha River tributary)
Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States