Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Geological Formation

Canaan Valley

Valleys

Canaan Valley is a large, bathtub-shaped upland valley in northeastern Tucker County, West Virginia. It contains extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River, which spills out of the valley at Blackwater Falls, and it is a well-known, partially undeveloped scenic attraction and tourist draw. Since 1994, almost 70 percent of the valley has become the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the nation's 500th such refuge, with the Canaan Valley Resort State Park and Blackwater Falls State Park nearby.

Facts
Classification
Protected Status
Locally or Regionally Protected 1
Connections

Associated With

Limestone, Materials
Source Canaan Valley (Wikipedia)
Shale, Materials
Source Canaan Valley (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Erosion, Processes

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Erosion via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Canaan Valley (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Geomorphology, Disciplines

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to discipline Geomorphology via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Canaan Valley
In the Other Atlases

Found In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikidata: Canaan Valley
Sources
1. Canaan Valley (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    Since 1994, almost 70% of the Valley has become the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the nation's 500th National Wildlife Refuge, with Canaan Valley Resort State Park and Blackwater Falls State Park nearby.
  • Associated With: Shale, Article text, rock Shale
    The Valley itself is carved into the low dome of sedimentary rock known as the Blackwater Anticline, exposing the soft shales of the Mauch Chunk Formation.
  • Associated With: Limestone, Article text, rock Limestone
    Tombstone-like outcroppings of Greenbrier Limestone are also exposed at places along the Valley floor.
  • Caused By: Erosion, Article text, process Erosion
    In the Canaan Valley region, the Blackwater River began carving into the underlying sedimentary rock layers of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age (345-270 million years ago) about one million years ago.
View the Source
Wikidata: Canaan Valley
Wikidata Q5029191, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.