The Clarion 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 drai ...

of the Allegheny River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, in west central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 territori ...

. It drains a rugged area of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York (state), New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Oh ...

in the Ohio River watershed, flowing through narrow serpentine

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s and hardwood

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Course

The river is formed at

Johnsonburg Johnsonburg is a borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh and south of Buffalo, New York, in a productive farming and lumbering region. Paper mills were once common in the borough, with the Domtar mill still operating. In 19 ...

in central Elk County by the confluence of its East and West Branches. The East Branch, approximately 15 mi (24 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 west-southwest across western Pennsylvania in a tight

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

ing course past Ridgway and Clarion. It joins the Allegheny from the east in western Clarion County approximately 5 mi (8 km) south of Emlenton. The Clarion is a designated part of the

National Wild and 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- ...

program.

Discharges

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. The French explorers named the river Rivière au Fiel. 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. At the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th century, much of what is now the

Allegheny National Forest The Allegheny National Forest is a National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The forest covers of land. Within the forest is Kinzua Dam, which impounds the Allegheny River to form Allegheny Reservoir ...

and surrounding areas were deforested, in part to make way for the oil boom that followed

Edwin Drake Edwin Laurentine Drake (March 29, 1819 – November 9, 1880), also known as Colonel Drake, was an American businessman and the first American to successfully drill for oil. Early life Edwin Drake was born in Greenville, New York on March 2 ...

's discovery of oil near Titusville on August 27, 1859, but also for wood chemicals. Bark was in especially high demand for local

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

that produced prodigious amounts of leather. This deforestation significantly degraded the watershed of the upper Allegheny in general, leading to floods downstream (particularly in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

), and eventually to the declaration of the national forest in 1923, but in the case of the Clarion River, run-off from tanneries compounded the problem, as did

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering ...

. The Clarion was an important part of the timber industry, allowing timber to be transported downstream to the Allegheny, then the Ohio, and ultimately the Mississippi. The Clarion River came to be Pennsylvania's most polluted waterway. The regrowth of the forest did much to help restore the Clarion River, as well as a major cleaning effort in the 1980s. Today, the river is used for fishing, canoeing, and other recreational activities, and runs through extensive wildlife and forest areas, including a inventoried roadless area that has been proposed as a

national wilderness area The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

. In 1996, a stretch of the Clarion River was designated a National Wild & Scenic River.Clarion River
,
National Wild & Scenic Rivers System
/ref> The bridge at Cooksburg is in Clarion County in its western portion, passes through a narrow spike of Forest County in its middle, and is in Jefferson County at its east end. USS Clarion River (LSM(R)-409) was an LSM(R)-401-class medium-type landing ship (LSM) built for the United States Navy during World War II.

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
{{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Allegheny River Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Allegheny Plateau Rivers of Clarion County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Forest County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Elk County, Pennsylvania

Course

Discharges

History

See also

References

External links