Youghiogheny River
Encyclopedia
The Youghiogheny River (icon), or the Yough (ˈ) for short, is a 134 miles (215.7 km) tributary
of the Monongahela River
in the U.S. states of West Virginia
, Maryland
, and Pennsylvania
. It drains an area on the west side of the Allegheny Mountains
northward into Pennsylvania, providing a small watershed in extreme western Maryland into the tributaries of the Mississippi River
.
southeast of the town of Kingwood
and near Backbone Mountain
. The headwaters are approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River
. It flows north-northeast into Garrett County, Maryland
, flowing north past Oakland
and roughly parallel to the West Virginia border, separated by approximately 3 miles (5 km). The river enters southwestern Pennsylvania on the border between Fayette
and Somerset
counties. It flows northwest through a gap
in Chestnut Ridge
and then past Connellsville
. It joins the Monongahela River
from the southeast at McKeesport
, southeast of Pittsburgh.
Upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania
, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Pennsylvania border, the river is impounded by the 184 feet (56.1 m) Youghiogheny Dam to form the Youghiogheny River Lake
, a reservoir that stretches upstream into northern Maryland. The dam was completed in 1944 primarily for flood
control.
In the colonial era and in the early United States, the valley of the river provided an important route of access through the mountains for settlers and military forces from Virginia
to western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country
. In 1754, as a militia officer of the British Colony of Virginia, George Washington
followed the river in an attempt to find a water route to Fort Duquesne
, then held by the French
.
During the uncommonly severe winter of 1787-88, American pioneers to the Northwest Territory
departed New England
and cut trails westward through the mountains. At Sumrill’s Ferry, present-day West Newton, Pennsylvania
, on the Youghiogheny River, the men built flatboats which carried them down the Youghiogheny River to the Monongahela River
, and then to the Ohio River
, and onward to the Northwest Territory
.
The pioneer town of Somerfield, Pennsylvania, was inundated by the building of the Youghiogheny Dam. Perryopolis
in northern Fayette County, Pennsylvania, is the site of the George Washington Grist Mill. The Youghiogheny River Trail
follows the river in southwestern Pennsylvania southeast of Connellsville.
Coal mining
became an important industry along the lower Youghiogheny River during the 19th century. At the time the name was often spelled Yohoghany (or variants thereof), and during the 1860s and 1870s that spelling was used as the name of a post office near what is now Shaner in Westmoreland County.
Fallingwater
, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
, is located in the river valley southeast of Connellsville.
A portion of the river in Maryland has been set aside by the state as the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River.
, kayaking
and rafting
. Three sections of the river, varying in difficulty, are available on a predictable basis for whitewater
recreation:
Although the Youghiogheny is generally considered to be safe for whitewater recreation, there have been 19 deaths on the Lower Yough. At least five, and possibly as many as 14, of the fatalities have occurred at a rapid within the Lower Yough known as Dimple. Dimple refers to both the Class III/IV rapid by that name, as well as an undercut rock in the middle of the rapid by that name. Some of the deaths were attributed to preexisting health conditions, with 9 of the 14 being caused by the rock itself.
The Youghiogheny is also known for fishing, having brown
and rainbow trout
, as well as smallmouth
above the power plant discharge.
Part of the Great Allegheny Passage
, a multi-use trail along the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
right-of-way, extends from Confluence
to Homestead
. From Confluence, it connects to Washington, D.C.
, and will soon connect from Homestead to Pittsburgh.
for the setting of his short story "In the Black Mill" from the 2000 collection Werewolves in their Youth. His 2001 story "The God Of Dark Laughter" is also set in Yuggogheny County. In Chabon's 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
, an expert or experts on Yuggogheny cannibal cults are present at the party where Joe Kavalier saves Salvador Dalí
from drowning.
"Youghiogheny, Pennsylvania," is mentioned in a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show, and the Youghiogheny is referred to as Yochio Geni in Thomas Pynchon
's novel Mason & Dixon
.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
in the U.S. states of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It drains an area on the west side of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
northward into Pennsylvania, providing a small watershed in extreme western Maryland into the tributaries of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
Geography
The Youghiogheny rises in northern West Virginia, in Preston CountyPreston County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,334 people, 11,544 households, and 8,357 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 13,444 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
southeast of the town of Kingwood
Kingwood, West Virginia
Kingwood is a town in and the county seat of Preston County, West Virginia, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Kingwood was founded in 1815...
and near Backbone Mountain
Backbone Mountain
Backbone Mountain is a ridge of the Allegheny Mountains of the central Appalachian Mountain Range. It is situated in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland and forms a portion of the Eastern Continental Divide...
. The headwaters are approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. It flows north-northeast into Garrett County, Maryland
Garrett County, Maryland
Garrett County is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. Created from Allegany County, Maryland in 1872 it was the last Maryland county to be formed. It was named for John Work Garrett , railroad executive, industrialist, and financier. Garrett served as president of the Baltimore...
, flowing north past Oakland
Oakland, Maryland
Oakland is a town in the west-central part of Garrett County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 1,925 according to United States Census 2010 figures, it is the most populated community in Garrett County...
and roughly parallel to the West Virginia border, separated by approximately 3 miles (5 km). The river enters southwestern Pennsylvania on the border between Fayette
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Somerset
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 77,742. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania,...
counties. It flows northwest through a gap
Water gap
A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...
in Chestnut Ridge
Chestnut Ridge, Bedford County
Chestnut Ridge is an elongate hill trending northeast-southwest in west-central Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It is partially forested with rural homes, farms, and notably apple orchards. Four small towns surround it: Schellsburg, New Paris, Fishertown, and Pleasantville...
and then past Connellsville
Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...
. It joins the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
from the southeast at McKeesport
McKeesport, Pennsylvania
McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States; it is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census...
, southeast of Pittsburgh.
Upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania
Confluence, Pennsylvania
Confluence is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 834 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Confluence is located at ....
, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Pennsylvania border, the river is impounded by the 184 feet (56.1 m) Youghiogheny Dam to form the Youghiogheny River Lake
Youghiogheny River Lake
The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. It was formed in 1944 by the damming of the Youghiogheny River upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania....
, a reservoir that stretches upstream into northern Maryland. The dam was completed in 1944 primarily for flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
control.
History
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
. In 1754, as a militia officer of the British Colony of Virginia, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
followed the river in an attempt to find a water route to Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
, then held by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
During the uncommonly severe winter of 1787-88, American pioneers to the Northwest Territory
American Pioneers to the Northwest Territory
American pioneers to the Northwest Territory included soldiers of the Revolution and members of the Ohio Company of Associates. During 1788 these pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory,...
departed New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and cut trails westward through the mountains. At Sumrill’s Ferry, present-day West Newton, Pennsylvania
West Newton, Pennsylvania
West Newton, located southeast of Pittsburgh, is a borough in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Formerly, the manufacture of radiators and boilers were the chief industries. In 1900, the people living there numbered 2,467. In 1910, 2,880 people lived there...
, on the Youghiogheny River, the men built flatboats which carried them down the Youghiogheny River to the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
, and then to the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, and onward to the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
.
The pioneer town of Somerfield, Pennsylvania, was inundated by the building of the Youghiogheny Dam. Perryopolis
Perryopolis, Pennsylvania
Perryopolis is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,764 at the 2000 census.-History:George Washington purchased here when land first became available. He visited in 1770 and said, "as fine a land as I have ever seen, a great deal of rich meadow; it is well...
in northern Fayette County, Pennsylvania, is the site of the George Washington Grist Mill. The Youghiogheny River Trail
Youghiogheny River Trail
The Yough River Trail is a non-motorized multi-use rail trail that stretches between McKeesport, PA and Confluence, PA. It is part of the Great Allegheny Passage that will one day allow cyclists to bike from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D.C...
follows the river in southwestern Pennsylvania southeast of Connellsville.
Coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain 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 iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
became an important industry along the lower Youghiogheny River during the 19th century. At the time the name was often spelled Yohoghany (or variants thereof), and during the 1860s and 1870s that spelling was used as the name of a post office near what is now Shaner in Westmoreland County.
Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, is located in the river valley southeast of Connellsville.
A portion of the river in Maryland has been set aside by the state as the Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River.
Recreation
The Youghiogheny is popular for whitewater canoeingWhitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
and rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
. Three sections of the river, varying in difficulty, are available on a predictable basis for whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
recreation:
- Top Yough, near Swallow Falls State ParkSwallow Falls State ParkSwallow Falls State Park is a Maryland state park in Garrett County Maryland, in the United States. Swallow Falls State Park is located nine miles north of Oakland, Maryland and contains some of Maryland's most breathtaking scenery. The Youghiogheny River flows along the park's borders, passing...
in Maryland (Class IV-V) - Upper Yough, from Sang Run to Friendsville, MarylandFriendsville, MarylandFriendsville is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, United States. The population was 539 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Friendsville is located at ....
(Class IV-V) - Middle Yough, from Confluence, PennsylvaniaConfluence, PennsylvaniaConfluence is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 834 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Confluence is located at ....
to OhiopyleOhiopyle, PennsylvaniaOhiopyle is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 77 at the 2000 census. While Ohiopyle has a tiny year-round population, it is often filled with tourists on the weekend, who come take advantage of outdoor recreation...
(Class II) - Ohiopyle Falls in Ohiopyle State ParkOhiopyle State ParkOhiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than of the Youghiogheny River Gorge that passes through the park. The river provides some of the best...
: Previously, this spectacular 18 feet (5.5 m) waterfall was legal for kayakers and canoeists to run on only one weekend a year (Class IV), during a race and festival. During August 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced a pilot program allowing boaters to run the falls during three weeks from Sunday, August 22, 2010, through Sunday, September 12, 2010. The program was successful, so the falls are accessible to whitewater kayakers and canoeists with the same rules as the test program. - Lower Yough, which runs through Ohiopyle State ParkOhiopyle State ParkOhiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than of the Youghiogheny River Gorge that passes through the park. The river provides some of the best...
from Ohiopyle to Bruner Run (Class III-IV) This section is the busiest whitewater trip east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, being completed by over 250,000 people each year. - Further downstream, near Connellsville, the river is much slower, without whitewater rapids, and is able to be piloted by personal tubes, kayaks or canoes.
Although the Youghiogheny is generally considered to be safe for whitewater recreation, there have been 19 deaths on the Lower Yough. At least five, and possibly as many as 14, of the fatalities have occurred at a rapid within the Lower Yough known as Dimple. Dimple refers to both the Class III/IV rapid by that name, as well as an undercut rock in the middle of the rapid by that name. Some of the deaths were attributed to preexisting health conditions, with 9 of the 14 being caused by the rock itself.
The Youghiogheny is also known for fishing, having brown
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
and rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, as well as smallmouth
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
above the power plant discharge.
Part of the Great Allegheny Passage
Great Allegheny Passage
The Great Allegheny Passage is a rail trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is the central part of a several-hundred-mile long network of long-distance hiker-biker trails through the Allegheny region of the Appalachian Mountains, connecting Washington, D.C...
, a multi-use trail along the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, ...
right-of-way, extends from Confluence
Confluence, Pennsylvania
Confluence is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 834 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Confluence is located at ....
to Homestead
Homestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
. From Confluence, it connects to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and will soon connect from Homestead to Pittsburgh.
Treatment in fiction
The Youghiogheny River was likely the inspiration for the fictional Yuggogheny River, whose valley was used by Michael ChabonMichael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
for the setting of his short story "In the Black Mill" from the 2000 collection Werewolves in their Youth. His 2001 story "The God Of Dark Laughter" is also set in Yuggogheny County. In Chabon's 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. They are a Czech artist named Joe Kavalier and a Brooklyn-born...
, an expert or experts on Yuggogheny cannibal cults are present at the party where Joe Kavalier saves Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
from drowning.
"Youghiogheny, Pennsylvania," is mentioned in a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show, and the Youghiogheny is referred to as Yochio Geni in Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's novel Mason & Dixon
Mason & Dixon
Mason & Dixon is a postmodernist novel by American author Thomas Pynchon published in 1997. It centers on the collaboration of the historical Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in their astronomical and surveying exploits in Cape Colony, Saint Helena, Great Britain and along the Mason-Dixon line in...
.
See also
- American Pioneers to the Northwest TerritoryAmerican Pioneers to the Northwest TerritoryAmerican pioneers to the Northwest Territory included soldiers of the Revolution and members of the Ohio Company of Associates. During 1788 these pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory,...
- List of rivers of Maryland
- List of rivers of Pennsylvania
- List of rivers of West Virginia
- Meshach BrowningMeshach BrowningMeshach Browning was an early backwoodsman, hunter and explorer of the watersheds of the North Branch Potomac and Youghiogheny Rivers. His memoir is Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter...
(1781–1859), early backwoodsman and explorer of the Youghiogheny country
External links
- wikimapia.org Youghiogheny
- U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Youghiogheny River Lake
- State of Maryland: Youghiogheny Scenic and Wild River
- Youghiogheny River Trail
- Youghiogheny River Trail
- National Whitewater River Inventory: Upper Yough
- National Whitewater River Inventory: Lower Yough
- National Whitewater River Inventory: Middle Yough
- National Whitewater River Inventory: Ohiopyle Falls
- West Virginia Rivers Coalition