WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



301 



for about 6 miles, the Big Sandy river, with its Tug Fork, which 

 forms the southern boundary line for 50 miles, together with 

 Twelvepole creek, a large tributary of the Ohio, constitute the 

 drainage system of the county. Twelvepole creek flows north- 

 ward through the center of the county. Its principal tribu- 

 traies are the Right and Left Forks which flow together near 

 the town of Wayne, Buffalo creek and Beech creek which empty 

 several miles below. Most of the numerous streams that empty 

 into the Big Sandy and Tug Fork are small. Whites creek, 

 Isom creek and Hurricane creek are the largest tributaries of 

 the former, and Mill creek, Lost oreek and Jennie creek the 

 largest of the latter. 



The virgin forests have practically disappeared from 

 Wayne, making it difficult to determine from present conditions 

 the character of the original areas. There is, however, an 

 authentic timber record of a large tract on the Right Fork of 

 Twelvepole which may be taken as typical of the virgin forests 

 of the county.* The trees that were measured on this 12,263 acre 

 tract were those above 18 inches in diameter 4 feet from the 

 ground, with the exception of locusts, hickories and black wal- 

 nuts which were measured from a diameter of 10 inches and 

 upward. The varieties and numbers of commercial timber 

 trees growing on the tract at that time are as follows : 



The Original Forests. 



White Oaks 



Chestnut Oaks 



Hickories 



Black Oaks 



Yellow Poplars 



Basswoods 



Chestnuts 



Locusts 



White Maples (Red Maples) 



Sugar Maples 



Birches 



24,760 

 38,84S 

 21.298 

 8,528 

 12,450 

 2,328 

 7,681 

 1,996 

 1,583 

 450 

 1,344 



*Summer's "West Virginia," 1893, p. 31. 



