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Shenandoah River facts for kids

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Shenandoah River
Crossing the Shenandoah River.jpg
Crossing the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Country United States
States Virginia, West Virginia
Tributaries
 - left North Fork
 - right South Fork
Towns Harper's Ferry, WV, Front Royal, VA, Luray, VA
Primary source North Fork
 - location Shenandoah Mountain
Secondary source South Fork
 - location Port Republic
Source confluence
 - location Front Royal, VA
Mouth Potomac River
 - location Harpers Ferry
 - elevation 250 ft (76 m)
 - coordinates 39°19′21″N 77°43′40″W / 39.3225°N 77.727778°W / 39.3225; -77.727778
Length 56 mi (90 km)
Basin 2,937 sq mi (7,607 km²)
Discharge for Millville, WV
 - average 2,755 cu ft/s (78 /s)

The Shenandoah River is a tributary of the Potomac River, 55.6 miles (89.5 km) long with two forks approximately 100 miles (160 km) long each. One is in the U.S. states of Virginia while the other in West Virginia.

The river and its tributaries drain the central and lower Shenandoah River valley. They also drain the Page Valley in the Appalachians on the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in northwestern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Geology

Reflecting cavern lake
Dream Lake, inside Luray Caverns

The Shenandoah Valley sits on limestone. The fertile soil made it an attractive place for early settlement. It continues to be a major agricultural area of Virginia and West Virginia.

Some karst topography is evident, and the limestone has a great number of caves. Several have been developed as commercial tourist attractions. These include Luray Caverns, Shenandoah Caverns, and the Skyline Caverns.

On the riverbank a few miles above Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is said to be a cave with an opening just large enough for a rider on horseback to squeeze through. It widened in the interior to a spacious room where hundreds of Col. John Mosby's raiding troops are said to have hidden from pursuing Union cavalry.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Río Shenandoah para niños

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