Laurel Fork is a 37.8 miles (60.8 km) river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in eastern West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, USA. It is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Dry Fork

Dry Fork (Cheat River)

The Dry Fork is a tributary of the Black Fork of the Cheat River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Black Fork, the Cheat, and the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Dry Fork flows for much of its...

; via the Dry Fork, the Black Fork

Black Fork (Cheat River)

The Black Fork is a principal tributary of the Cheat River in eastern West Virginia in the United States. It is a short stream, about four miles in length,The American Rivers Outstanding Rivers List, Second Edition, May 1991. Compiled and edited by Matthew H. Huntington and John D. Echeverria. ...

, and the Cheat

Cheat River

The Cheat River is a tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed, ultimately draining into the Gulf of Mexico.-Geography:The Cheat is formed at...

, Monongahela

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

 and Ohio

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 rivers, it is part of the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, draining an area of 60 square miles (155.4 km²) in the Allegheny Mountains

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...

. With the Dry Fork, the Glady Fork

Glady Fork

Glady Fork is a river in eastern West Virginia in the United States. It is considered one of the five principal headwaters tributaries of the Cheat River.-Geography:...

, the Shavers Fork and the Blackwater River

Blackwater River (West Virginia)

The Blackwater River is a river in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Via the Black Fork, it is a principal tributary of the Cheat River. Via the Cheat, the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River and drains an area of...

, it is considered to be one of the five principal headwaters tributaries of the Cheat River.

Geography

The Laurel Fork flows for its entire length in eastern Randolph County

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

. It rises on a divide on the Randolph-Pocahontas

Pocahontas County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...

 county border separating the watershed of the Cheat River from that of the Greenbrier

Greenbrier River

The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...

, and flows north-northeastwardly in a meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

ing course between Middle Mountain and Rich Mountain, through the Monongahela National Forest

Monongahela National Forest

The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...

, to its mouth at the Dry Fork just south of the Tucker County

Tucker County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,321 people, 3,052 households, and 2,121 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 4,634 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...

 border, approximately four miles (6 km) northwest of Harman

Harman, West Virginia

Harman is a small town in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 126 at the 2000 census.-History:The Day-Vandevander Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.-Geography:...

. The lowermost seven miles (11 km) of the river are characterized by continuous Class 3

International Scale of River Difficulty

The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river...

 rapids.

Two adjacent wilderness areas of the Monongahela National Forest (separated only by a road), the north and south units of the Laurel Fork Wilderness

Laurel Fork Wilderness

Laurel Fork Wilderness may refer to two Wilderness areas in Monongahela National Forest:*Laurel Fork North Wilderness*Laurel Fork South Wilderness...

, are located along the river. These areas of the watershed were logged

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 of all virgin timber by 1921, by a company known as the Laurel River Lumber Company, which also constructed a railroad along the river. According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, nearly 87% of the Laurel Fork watershed is forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

ed, primarily deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

.