WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



135 



stretches away with more or less regularity to the north and 

 south of the meandering channel of the New river. In places, as 

 about the head waters of Wolf creek and Laurel creek, the work 

 of erosion has progressed but slowly and the rolling surface is 

 strongly suggestive of the plateau which once existed there on a 

 somewhat higher plane. Everywhere throughout the upland re- 

 gion numerous streams have cut their channels to varying depths 

 The summits of thousands of irregular hills thus formed lie more 

 or less uniformly at an elevation of about 2,000 feet and here 

 and there stand mountain peaks which rise in bold relief to a 

 height of more than 1,000 feet above the surrounding country. 

 Among the highest of these in the eastern part of the county are 

 Ford Knob, Bee Lick Knob, and Big Sewell Knob, all reaching 

 an elevation of over 3,000 feet, the latter ascending to 3,500 feet. 

 The lowest land, 618 to 675 feet aboA^e tide, lies along the Gauley 

 and the Great Kanawha rivers. The fertile bottoms and loamy 

 coves of this lower section contrast sharply with the heavy clays 

 found above the stratum of Sewell sandstone which outcrops at 

 the "Hawk's Nest" and at other places along the New river. 



The whole area of the county lies within the drainage basin 

 of the Great Kanawha river which is formed by the confluence 

 of the New and the Gauley. Southward from the Great Kanawha 

 and the New rivers, which flow in a northwesterly direction 

 through the center of the county, the principal streams are 

 Powellton and Loop creeks, tributaries of the Great Kanawha 

 river and Laurel, "Wolf, Arbuckle and Dunloup creeks, tribu- 

 taries of the New river. The northern half of the county is 

 drained by Smithers creek, a tributary of the Great Kanawha; 

 by the lower waters of Gauley and Meadovr rivers, which are fol- 

 lowed for nearh/ 50 miles by the northern boundary line ; and by 

 numerous small streams that flow southward into the New and 

 northward into the Gauley and Meadow rivers. 



The New River Gorge. 



New river, which has its source on the high summits of the 

 Blue Ridge in North Carolina, flows through Fayette county for 

 a distance of about 50 miles. It enters the county from the 

 south through a deep narrow channel at about 1,200 feet eleva- 



