Kanawha Falls

{{Short description|Major waterfall on Kanawha River, West Virginia}}

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Image:Kanawha Falls Pano-27527.jpg at Glen Ferris, WV]]

Kanawha Falls is a waterfall on the Kanawha River in West Virginia that has been a barrier to fish movement for more than 1 million years.{{cite book |last1=Paybins |first1=Katherine |last2=others |title=Circular |chapter=Water quality in the Kanawha-New River basin: West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, 1996-98 |date=2000 |publisher=U.S Geological Survey |series=Circular 1204 |doi=10.3133/cir1204 }}{{rp|13}}

The waterfall is formed by a diagonal sandstone ledge across the river about {{cvt|1|mile}} downstream from the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers. It is {{cvt|24|ft}} high.{{rp|13}}

A low concrete overflow dam built in 1920 along the crest of the falls directs part of the flow to an electric generating plant on the western (right) bank of the river at the community of Glen Ferris.{{cite news |title=Rehabilitation of Glen Ferris hydropower begins |url=https://www.montgomery-herald.com/news/local_news/rehabilitation-of-glen-ferris-hydropower-begins/article_c72aff30-bb46-57c9-9b59-f19c14b39743.html |access-date=27 February 2023 |publisher=The Montgomery Herald |date=30 June 2010}} The plant was rehabilitated beginning in 2010 and fully returned to operation in 2012.{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Jim |title=112-Year-Old Hydro Plant Gets Modern Makeover |url=http://www.uppermon.org/news/charleston/SJ-Hydro_Makeover-15June11.html |access-date=27 February 2023 |publisher=The State Journal |date=15 June 2011}} The community of Gauley Bridge is {{cvt|2|mi}} upstream from Glen Ferris along U.S. Route 60. On the eastern (left) bank, a community named Kanawha Falls is about {{cvt|0.6|mi}} downstream.

Kanawha Falls is the upstream limit of several fish species that broadly inhabit the Ohio River watershed.{{rp |12–14}}{{cite book |last1=Messinger |first1=Terence |last2=Chambers |first2=Douglas |title=Fish communities and their relation to environmental factors in the Kanawha River basin, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, 1997-98 |date=2001 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |series=Water-Resources Investigations Report 2001-4048 |doi=10.3133/wri014048 }}

Above the waterfall, the watershed has fewer fish species overall, a relatively high number of species found nowhere else in the world, and nearly as many non-native species as natives.

The waterfall also divides the flat-water barge navigation industry downstream{{cite web |title=Kanawha River Locks |url=https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Portals/73/docs/Civil%20Works/Ohio%20River%20System%20Projects/Navigation%20Projects/Huntington%20District/Kanawha%20River/Kanawha%20River%20Overview%20FINAL.pdf |publisher=US Army Corps of Engineers |access-date=23 February 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223034704/https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Portals/73/docs/Civil%20Works/Ohio%20River%20System%20Projects/Navigation%20Projects/Huntington%20District/Kanawha%20River/Kanawha%20River%20Overview%20FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead }}

from the recreational white-water rafting industry upstream.{{cite web |title=Whitewater rafting |url=https://wvtourism.com/things-to-do/outdoor-adventures/whitewater-rafting/ |publisher=West Virginia Department of Tourism |access-date=27 February 2023}}

The waterfall is one stop on the West Virginia Tourism statewide Waterfall Trail.{{cite web |title=Kanawha Falls |url=https://wvtourism.com/company/kanawha-falls/ |publisher=West Virginia Department of Tourism |access-date=27 February 2023}}

Streamflow and flood information at Kanawha Falls since 1877 is available from the U.S. Geological Survey.{{cite web |title=Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls, WV |url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/03193000/ |website=Water data for the nation |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=27 February 2023}}

Three reservoirs on the New River (Claytor and Bluestone Lakes) and Gauley River (Summersville Lake) reduced the estimated 100-year flood discharge under 20th-century climate by about half.{{cite book |last1=Appel |first1=D.H. |chapter=West Virginia Surface-Water Resources |editor-last=Moody |editor-first=David |title=National Water Summary 1985: Hydrologic events and surface-water resources |date=1986 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |series=Water Supply Paper 2300 |pages=479–484 |doi=10.3133/wsp2300 }}