Tygart Creek 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 Little Kanawha River

Little Kanawha River

The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,320 mi² on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau...

, 14.5 miles (23.3 km) long, in western 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...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Via the Little Kanawha 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 51 square miles (132.1 km²) on the unglaciated

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 portion of the Allegheny Plateau

Allegheny Plateau

The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...

.

Tygart Creek flows for its entire length in southern Wood County

Wood County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 87,986 people, 36,275 households, and 24,884 families residing in the county. The population density was 240 people per square mile . There were 39,785 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile...

. It rises south of Rockport

Rockport, Wood County, West Virginia

Rockport is an unincorporated community in Wood County, West Virginia, United States. It lies at an elevation of 705 feet , along Tygart Creek. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 26169....

 and flows generally northward through Rockport and Mineral Wells

Mineral Wells, West Virginia

Mineralwells, also known as Mineral Wells, is a census-designated place in Wood County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. It flows into the Little Kanawha River from the south, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Mineral Wells, and approximately 6.7 miles (10.8 km) upstream of the Little Kanawha River's mouth in Parkersburg

Parkersburg, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...

.

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 71% of the Tygart Creek 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, mostly 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...

. Approximately 28% is used for pasture and agriculture.