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145:. The river's upper valley falls off gradually enough that the terrain forms a natural transportation corridor navigable by muscle-powered vehicles such as Indian travois and Conestoga wagons. Consequently, when the earliest settlers pushed west from the Susquehanna basin, the waters falling or rising on the eastern side of the drainage divide ran down through valleys
164:. Several major dams were constructed on the rivers of the Conemaugh drainage system in order to impound reservoirs which could be used as permanent canals and towpaths, including one on the South Fork Little Conemaugh in the mountains upstream of Johnstown. The river was paralleled by the western inclines of the
192:. As the canal system was gradually made obsolete by faster and cheaper rail transport, the impoundments in the valley were drained or sold to private interests. The reservoir on the South Fork Little Conemaugh was repurposed as a recreational property for use by members of a private fishing and hunting club.
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holding back this reservoir failed during a period of extremely heavy rainfall, sending a wall of water up to 60 ft (18 m) high down the Little
Conemaugh at 40 mph (64 km/h), causing massive flooding in the towns along its banks, including Johnstown, and resulting in the loss of
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The Little
Conemaugh River runs through a channel in Johnstown, just a few hundred feet from where its confluence with the Stonycreek River forms the Conemaugh.
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188:. Thereafter, the banks of the Conemaugh and Little Conemaugh hosted one of the most important rail transport corridors running east–west across the
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in this part of the United States, one of which leads to the
Conemaugh Valley. The headwaters of the Little Conemaugh form on the western side of
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The river flows through scenic mountainous areas but is considered severely degraded by abandoned mine drainage, most notably the
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2,209 lives in the worst civilian disaster of the 19th century in the United States. The event is remembered to history as the
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In the early 19th century, when
Pennsylvania made a bid to connect to new business opportunities in the rapidly growing
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resources. The recovery of the river is an ongoing project of federal, state, and private agencies.
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had used for centuries to cross between the west and east sides of the mountains.
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rivers. It flows west-southwest through the mountains, past
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39:, approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, in western
289:"Allegheny Portage Railroad of the Pennsylvania Canal"
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USGS: Stonycreek and Little
Conemaugh Acid Mine Study
264:"Stonycreek - Conemaugh River Improvement Project"
321:U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
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82:. It then follows a west-northwest course to
293:National Historic Landmark summary listing
219:List of tributaries of the Allegheny River
138:, which is transited by the line of the
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295:. National Park Service. Archived from
58:ridge separating the watersheds of the
16:River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
383:Rivers of Cambria County, Pennsylvania
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178:Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works
118:Only four navigable passes pierce the
378:Tributaries of the Kiskiminetas River
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176:at Johnstown. Created as part of the
168:, connecting the two branches of the
224:South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club
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172:with the western terminus of the
80:South Fork Little Conemaugh River
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50:The main branch rises in eastern
244:"AMD & ART Hughes Bore hole"
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214:List of rivers of Pennsylvania
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170:Pennsylvania Main Line Canals
78:, where it is joined by the
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166:Allegheny Portage Railroad
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158:Pennsylvania Canal System
128:Tunnelhill, Pennsylvania
373:Rivers of Pennsylvania
184:, which took over its
29:Little Conemaugh River
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349:40.40728°N 78.65369°W
195:On May 31, 1889, the
190:Appalachian Mountains
182:Pennsylvania Railroad
124:Appalachian Mountains
86:, where it joins the
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354:40.40728; -78.65369
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140:Eastern Continental
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174:portage railroad
104:Hughes bore hole
88:Stonycreek River
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202:Johnstown Flood
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92:Conemaugh River
37:Conemaugh River
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315:External links
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136:Cambria County
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301:. Retrieved
297:the original
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272:. Retrieved
268:the original
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134:in northern
132:Cresson Pass
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90:to form the
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41:Pennsylvania
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352: /
154:Ohio Valley
147:Amerindians
64:Susquehanna
56:Appalachian
367:Categories
340:78°39′13″W
337:40°24′26″N
303:2008-07-01
274:2008-05-08
249:2008-05-08
230:References
76:Summerhill
162:Johnstown
84:Johnstown
68:Cassandra
33:tributary
208:See also
122:of the
114:History
72:Portage
43:in the
35:of the
74:, and
130:, at
31:is a
108:coal
62:and
60:Ohio
27:The
197:dam
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