Cheat Canyon — also called Cheat River Canyon or Cheat River Gorge — is a long, forested
Canyon
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 ...
of the
Cheat River at the western edge of the
Allegheny Mountains in northeastern
West Virginia, United States. A popular
whitewater venue, for many years the Canyon has been the object of controversy as environmental activists have contended with timber and development interests over its preservation status.
Description
The remote Cheat Canyon was carved by the
Cheat River and extends for about 10.5 miles between the towns of
Albright in
Preston County and
Cheat Lake
Cheat Lake is a reservoir on the Cheat River in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States. It was originally named Lake Lynn, but the Board on Geographic Names officially decided upon Cheat Lake as the reservoir's name in 1976. The surfac ...
in
Monongalia County, West Virginia. The steep forested slopes rise as much as 1,200 feet from the river bed to the Canyon rim.
Geology
The Canyon rim with its steep tributaries is composed of hard, white, grainy
Pottsville sandstone. This forms the outcrops and cliffs along the rim which often break off to form
talus fields that gradually slide down the forest slopes and pile up at the river bottom. Numerous caves have been formed by water in the
Greenbrier Limestone of the lower strata of the Canyon walls.
Ecology and preservation
A timber company planning to log sensitive parts of Cheat Canyon agreed to protect the habitat of two federally imperiled species, the threatened
flat-spired three-toothed snail (''Triodopsis platysayoides'') and the endangered
Indiana bat (''Myotis sodalis''). In addition, according to the Association for Biodiversity Information, there are eight other globally uncommon plant and animal species in the canyon:
Virginia bladetooth snail,
delicate vertigo snail,
eastern small-footed bat
The eastern small-footed bat (''Myotis leibii'') is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada and in mountainous portions of the eastern United States from New England to northern Georgia, and westward to n ...
,
green salamander
The green salamander (''Aneides aeneus'') is a species of lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It and the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander (''A. caryaensis'') are the only currently-described members of the genus ''Aneides'' that i ...
,
Allegheny woodrat
The Allegheny woodrat (''Neotoma magister''), is a species of "pack rat" in the genus ''Neotoma''. Once believed to be a subspecies of the eastern woodrat (''Neotoma floridana''), extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species.
D ...
,
Barbara's buttons, an unnamed
amphipod
Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...
, and an unnamed
isopod
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...
.
Whitewater recreation
The river in the Canyon features
Class IV rapids (and
Class V rapids
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
at upper levels), making it a popular destination for
whitewater kayak
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
ing and
rafting. The toughest and most celebrated rapids are known as Big Nasty, High Falls, and Upper Coliseum. On the first weekend in May of every year, paddlers gather from many states to attend the Cheat Festival. A very popular whitewater race — The Cheat River Race — takes place in the Canyon on the Friday of that weekend. Unlike the overwhelming majority of
whitewater races which employ a staggered start, this race uses a mass start (in which all participants start at the same time). For the first few miles, paddlers must avoid one another, in addition to the whitewater hazards that the river presents. The race, which typically attracts about 150 contestants, is often cited as the largest whitewater race in existence.
See also
*
Coopers Rock State Forest
*
Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area
The Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a hill area covering along the Cheat canyon (78.3-mile-long) in Monongalia and Preston Counties, West Virginia. The wildlife management area mostly lies directly south of Coopers Rock State Forest, pro ...
External links
National whitewater River Inventory: Cheat Canyon
{{coord, 39.742630, N, 79.901198, W, type:landmark_region:US-WV, display=title
Canyons and gorges of West Virginia
Natural history of West Virginia
Landforms of Monongalia County, West Virginia
Landforms of Preston County, West Virginia
Tourist attractions in Monongalia County, West Virginia
Tourist attractions in Preston County, West Virginia