54 Charles H. Hocutt, Robert F. Denoncourt, Jay R. Stauffer, Jr. 



drops 104 m in 24 km (gradient, 4.2 m/km), and begins the descent into 

 its gorge. Summersville Dam is constructed across the gorge at or near 

 the mouths of Battle Run and McKee Creek, and has a normal pool 

 elevation of 503 m to above the Route 39 bridge approximately 22.5 km 

 upstream. In the vicinity of the dam the gorge is cut nearly 152 m below 

 the level of the Plateau. Hominy and Big Beaver creeks are the major 

 tributaries between Summersville Dam and Cherry River. 



Progressing downstream 9.7 km from the Summersville Dam to Car- 

 nifex Ferry at the mouth of Meadow River, Gauley River descends an ad- 

 ditional 65 m at an average gradient of 6.7 m/km. Meadow River, the 

 only significant tributary, has a large drainage basin, near 932 km 2 , as 

 compared to 1932 km 2 in the Gauley River basin above the confluence. 

 Collison Creek also enters this section of the river with an average 

 gradient of 28.4 m/km over its 10 km length. From Carnifex Ferry to 

 Swiss the Gauley River continues its run through the gorge and is charac- 

 terized by torrential water, boulder and bedrock substrate, and an 

 average gradient over 3.8 m/km for the 30.5 km distance. The river then 

 approaches base-level with an average gradient of 1.1 to 1.3 m/km, and 

 with long riffle and pool habitats alternating over the last 14.5 km to its 

 confluence with New River. These physical characteristics and associated 

 stresses influence distribution of fishes throughout the drainage. In this 

 survey, 31 species were collected in the main-channel Gauley River, Sta- 

 tions 1 through 9 (Table 2). 



Williams River 

 Williams River heads against Dry Mountain, Pocahontas County, at 

 an elevation of 1210 m and discharges into Gauley River near Co wen at 

 an elevation of 689 m. Length of the stream is 54 km and average gradient 

 is 11.5 m/km. The drainage basin of Williams River, 337 km 2 , is larger 

 than Gauley River above their confluence. A total of 23 species was 

 collected in the Williams River subdrainage, Stations 10 through 12 

 (Tables 1 and 2; Fig. 1). 



Cranberry River 

 Cranberry River rises in Pocahontas County at approximately 1402 m 

 in elevation, flows north, then southwest to enter Gauley River at Cran- 

 berry Station at 585 m. Length of the river is 51.5 km and gradient is 15.9 

 m/km. The basin is 181 km 2 in size. Associated with the river is the Cran- 

 berry Back Country and Wilderness Study Area, a 14690 hectare tract 

 that is regulated by the U.S. Forest Service and has been promoted for in- 

 clusion as a Wilderness Area. Nine species were collected from two sta- 

 tions (13, 14) on Cranberry River (Tables 1 and 2; Fig. 1). Generally, 



