Unified Interior Regions
West Virginia
West Virginia is located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States and is the 41st largest by area and the 38th most populous of the 50 United States. The state is noted for its mountains, as well as its historic logging and coal mining industries, It is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world, making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research.
Virginia - West Virginia Water Science Center
11 Dunbar Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 347-5130
Fax: (304) 347-5133
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
West Virginia is located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States and is the 41st largest by area and the 38th most populous of the 50 United States. The state is noted for its mountains, as well as its historic logging and coal mining industries, It is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world, making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research.
News
UPDATED Interagency Statement: USGS and Partners Continue Investigating DC Area Bird Mortality Event
If you are a private individual or entity with a wildlife morbidity and/or mortality event to report, please contact your state department of natural resources or state agency of game and fish.
Assessment of Mercury Bioaccumulation in US National Parks Using Citizen Science
A team of federal, academic, and NGO researchers conducted a national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels.
President Proposes $971.2 Million FY 2021 Budget for USGS
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
Publications
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Upper Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2019
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous mean resources of 1.8 billion barrels of oil and 117.2 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Upper Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province.
Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.; Drake, Ronald M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Le, Phuong A.; Marra, Kristen R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Schenk, Christopher J.
Response of nitrogen loading to the Chesapeake Bay to source reduction and land use change scenarios: A SPARROW‐informed analysis
In response to concerns regarding the health of streams and receiving waters, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established a total maximum daily load for nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for which practices must be in place by 2025 resulting in an expected 25% reduction in load from 2009 levels. The response of total...
Miller, Matthew; Capel, Paul D.; Garcia, Ana M.; Ator, Scott W. Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Understanding trends in stream chemistry is critical to watershed management, and often complicated by multiple contaminant sources and landscape conditions changing over varying time scales. We adapted spatially-referenced regression (SPARROW) to infer causes of recent nutrient trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries by relating observed fluxes...
Ator, Scott; Garcia, Ana M.; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Blomquist, Joel; Sekellick, Andrew
Vernal Pool Inundation Models
Information by Region - West Virginia
Appalachian Basin Geologic Mapping Project
The Appalachian Basin Geologic Mapping Project performs geologic mapping at local and regional scales, and geologic research in The Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateaus physiographic provinces. These provinces include parts of 11 states and mainly borders the Blue Ridge / Piedmont and North Interior Lowlands Provinces. Two states have Valley and Ridge geology only (GA, NJ), two have...
United States Assessments of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources
USGS Energy Resources Program provides periodic assessments of the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States and the World. This website provides access to new, prioritized, assessment results and supporting data for the United States, as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA).
Piedmont and Blue Ridge Project
The Piedmont and Blue Ridge Project is a geologic mapping project supported by the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. The Piedmont Blue Ridge Project aims to understand the geologic framework and tectonic evolution of terranes and basins in the Appalachian Piedmont and Blue Ridge, and their significance for water, mineral and energy resources, natural hazards, and engineering/...
Appalachian Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The USGS has conducted numerous assessments of undiscovered oil and gas in the Appalachian Basin, including studies of the Marcellus Shale. The region extends from Alabama to Maine. The following is an overview of the assessments.
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is a relatively new field of science that incorporates elements of biology and computer science together for the purpose of developing efficient and robust methods for the analyses and interpretation of large amounts of biological data, typically DNA or RNA sequence data.
Disease and Environmental Stress
Disease may be caused by infectious agents, nutritional imbalances, physiological or genetically-based abnormalities, and suboptimal environmental conditions, acting either alone or in combination with other factors. In many instances, environmental stressors may merge forces with an infectious agent or some other non-infectious factor to produce or exacerbate a state of disease. By studying...
Modeling summer month hydrological drought probabilities in the United States using antecedent flow conditions
Climate change raises concern that risks of hydrological drought may be increasing. We estimate hydrological drought probabilities for rivers and streams in the United States (U.S.) using maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR). Streamflow data from winter months are used to estimate the chance of hydrological drought during summer months. Daily streamflow data collected from 9,144...
Improving Time of Concentration Estimates for Small Rural Watersheds in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province, West Virginia
Many culverts and other drainage structures in rural West Virginia are located in small streams or valleys draining 100 acres or less. Design of these structures in West Virginia is generally done using discharge estimates made with widely used and well accepted methods. However, these methods require information including flow-segment length and channel geometry that are poorly characterized...
Appalachian Plateau Groundwater Availablity Study
Pennsylvanian- and Mississippian-age aquifers occupy approximately 86,000 square-miles in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. As one of several USGS Regional Groundwater Studies, the primary goal of this study is to provide a regional understanding of groundwater flow and availability in the...
Nocturnal Bird Migration through the Central Appalachians
The Challenge: Concerns have arisen about the potential impacts of wind power development in the Appalachians on migrating birds, creating a critical need for information on their distribution and flight characteristics as they pass through the region. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution of nocturnally migrating birds in the Central Appalachians (MD, VA, WV). The...
Loads and trends in the Chesapeake Bay nontidal monitoring network: results through Water Year 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the nontidal network mapper to share the short-term (2009-2018) water-year nutrient and suspended-sediment load and trend results for the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) non-tidal network (NTN). The mapper provides the primary findings for nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended-sediment trends, and gives the user tools to further examine the results...
Domestic Wells in the United States
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
USGS National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project - Appalachian Basin Province, Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale Assessment Units and Input Data Forms
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas resources in the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2019. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the...
USGS National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project - Appalachian Basin Province, Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale Assessment Unit Boundaries and Assessment Input Data Forms
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the north slope of Alaska. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the context of the higher-level Total Petroleum...
Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System
Information about scientific data collected through field activities conducted by scientists in the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources program
National Water Information System (NWIS) Mapper
The NWIS mapper provides access to over 1.5 million sites contained in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), including sites where current and historical surface-water, groundwater, springs, and atmospheric data has been collected. Users can search by site type, data type, site number, or place.
USGS Domestic Continuous (Unconventional) Oil & Gas Assessments, 2000-Present
Interactively explore assessment summary information for continuous (unconventional) assessments conducted at the USGS from 2000-2018. The assessment results data used to generate this visualization can be downloaded here in Excel Format. These data represent all assessment results...
National Water Information System web interface (NWISweb)
The National Water Information System (NWIS) web application provides access to real-time and historical surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and water-use data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites across all 50 states.
StreamStats for Virginia and the Nation
Interactively identify a watershed boundary and obtain detailed streamflow statistics.
For an introduction to StreamStats click HERE.
Structures Data
USGS data portray selected structures data, including the location and characteristics of manmade facilities. Characteristics consist of a structure's physical form (footprint), function, name, location, and detailed information about the structure. The types of structures collected are largely determined by the needs of the disaster planning and response and homeland security organizations....
Boundaries Data
Boundaries data or governmental units represent major civil areas including states, counties, Federal, and Native American lands, and incorporated places such as cities and towns.
Hydrography Data
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) are used to portray surface water on The National Map.
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
The Water-Monitoring-Sites Mapper is an interactive map of West Virginia water monitoring-site locations from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). It provides access to surface water, groundwater, and water quality monitoring data for active sites. The functionality includes query, select, tabular display by county, hydrologic unit code (HUC), and exporting spatial and tabular data.
Water Monitoring Sites in Virginia
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Response of nitrogen loading to the Chesapeake Bay to source reduction and land use change scenarios: A SPARROW‐informed analysis
In response to concerns regarding the health of streams and receiving waters, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established a total maximum daily load for nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for which practices must be in place by 2025 resulting in an expected 25% reduction in load from 2009 levels. The response of total...
Miller, Matthew; Capel, Paul D.; Garcia, Ana M.; Ator, Scott W. Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Upper Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2019
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous mean resources of 1.8 billion barrels of oil and 117.2 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Upper Ordovician Point Pleasant Formation and Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province.
Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.; Drake, Ronald M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Le, Phuong A.; Marra, Kristen R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Schenk, Christopher J. Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Understanding trends in stream chemistry is critical to watershed management, and often complicated by multiple contaminant sources and landscape conditions changing over varying time scales. We adapted spatially-referenced regression (SPARROW) to infer causes of recent nutrient trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries by relating observed fluxes...
Ator, Scott; Garcia, Ana M.; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Blomquist, Joel; Sekellick, Andrew
Assessment of hydrogeologic terrains, well-construction characteristics, groundwater hydraulics, and water-quality and microbial data for determination of surface-water-influenced groundwater supplies in West Virginia
In January 2014, a storage tank leaked, spilling a large quantity of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol into the Elk River in West Virginia and contaminating the water supply for more than 300,000 people. In response, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 373, which requires the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR)...
Kozar, Mark D.; Paybins, Katherine S.
Historical files from Federal Government mineral exploration-assistance programs, 1950 to 1974
The Defense Minerals Administration (DMA), Defense Minerals Exploration Administration (DMEA), and Office of Minerals Exploration (OME) mineral exploration programs were active over the period 1950–1974. Under these programs, the Federal Government contributed financial assistance in the exploration for certain strategic and critical minerals. The...
Frank, David G.
U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake science strategy, 2015-2025—Informing ecosystem management of America’s largest estuary
Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has the critical role of providing scientific information to improve the understanding and management of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The USGS works with Federal, State, and academic science partners to provide research and monitoring, and communicate results of these activities to enhance...
Phillips, Scott; Blomquist, Joel D.; Phillips, Scott; Blomquist, Joel D.; Bennett, Mark; Berlin, Alicia; Blazer, Vicki; Claggett, Peter R.; Faulkner, Stephen; Hyer, Kenneth; Ladino, Cassandra; Moyer, Douglas; Muir, Rachel; Noe, Gregory B.; Phillips, Patrick J.
Water quality of groundwater and stream base flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia, 2011-12
The Marcellus Shale gas field underlies portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Development of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology led to extensive development of gas from the Marcellus Shale beginning about 2007. The need to identify and monitor changes in water-quality...
Chambers, Douglas B.; Kozar, Mark D.; Messinger, Terence; Mulder, Michon L.; Pelak, Adam J.; White , Jeremy S.
Correlations of daily flows at streamgages in and near West Virginia, 1930-2011, and streamflow characteristics relevant to the use of index streamgages
Correlation of flows at pairs of streamgages were evaluated using a Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient to better identify gages that can be used as index gages to estimate daily flow at ungaged stream sites in West Virginia. Much of West Virginia (77 percent) is within areas where Spearman’s rho for daily streamflow between streamgages on...
Messinger, Terence; Paybins, Katherine S.
Estimation of traveltime and longitudinal dispersion in streams in West Virginia
Traveltime and dispersion data are important for understanding and responding to spills of contaminants in waterways. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Office of Environmental Health Services, compiled and evaluated traveltime and longitudinal dispersion data representative of many West...
Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Messinger, Terence
Groundwater quality in West Virginia, 1993-2008
Approximately 42 percent of all West Virginians rely on groundwater for their domestic water supply. However, prior to 2008, the quality of the West Virginia’s groundwater resource was largely unknown. The need for a statewide assessment of groundwater quality prompted the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia Department...
Chambers, Douglas B.; Kozar, Mark D.; White , Jeremy S.; Paybins, Katherine S.
Estimation of selected seasonal streamflow statistics representative of 1930–2002 in West Virginia
Regional equations and procedures were developed for estimating seasonal 1-day 10-year, 7-day 10-year, and 30-day 5-year hydrologically based low-flow frequency values for unregulated streams in West Virginia. Regional equations and procedures also were developed for estimating the seasonal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency harmonic-mean flows...
Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Atkins, John T.
Estimation of Flood-Frequency Discharges for Rural, Unregulated Streams in West Virginia
Flood-frequency discharges were determined for 290 streamgage stations having a minimum of 9 years of record in West Virginia and surrounding states through the 2006 or 2007 water year. No trend was determined in the annual peaks used to calculate the flood-frequency discharges. Multiple and simple least-squares regression equations for the 100...
Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Atkins, John T.
Chesapeake Bay Watershed boundary, USA
The Chesapeake Bay watershed, or draingage basin, encompasses six states - New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A drainage basin is a giant system of creeks, streams, and rivers that all flow into a common outlet, which in this case is the Chesapeake Bay.
Earth MRI Funds Critical Minerals Projects in West Virginia
USGS map of Earth MRI projects in West Virginia announced in September 2020.
Karst Hazards Research at USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (AD)
The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center conducts geologic research using digital elevation models to map karst systems and sinkhole hazards in the United States. Understanding these complex geologic systems helps to inform land use planning and development decisions. The
Karst Hazards Research at the USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center conducts geologic research using digital elevation models to map karst systems and sinkhole hazards in the United States. Understanding these complex geologic systems helps to inform land use planning and development decisions. The
National Oil and Gas Assessment Provinces
This is a graphic from the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment Explorer application, which allows user to drill into 70 oil and gas assessment provinces throughout the United States.
Habitat Connectivity: Assessing Threats and IDing Conservation Actions
An important conservation strategy for climate change is to enhance and maintain regional habitat connectivity for the long-term viability of wildlife populations. Modeling habitat connectivity for wildlife species often results in a mapped network of linkages between habitat patches. A critical next step is to determine which of those linkages are priorities for
Multimode, microplate reader used to measure optical density
Multimode, microplate reader
Primary hepatocytes isolated from experimental smallmouth bass
Screen capture of primary hepatocytes isolated from experimental smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) visualized following image-based flow cytometric analysis
USGS scientist preparing plates for yeast bioassay screening
USGS scientists working at laboratory fume hood
Image-based flow cytometer for cell population analysis
Image-based flow cytometer for cell population analysis
nCounter SPRINT† system simultaneously analyzes transcript abundance
The nCounter SPRINT† system simultaneously analyzes transcript abundance of hundreds of genes in a single sample
USGS Leetown Science Center Administration Building
Morning snowfall at the Leetown Science Center's Administration building.
UPDATED Interagency Statement: USGS and Partners Continue Investigating DC Area Bird Mortality Event
If you are a private individual or entity with a wildlife morbidity and/or mortality event to report, please contact your state department of natural resources or state agency of game and fish.
A team of federal, academic, and NGO researchers conducted a national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels.
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
This challenge is now complete!! Thank you to everyone who contributed! Here is a time lapse of our volunteer contributions for this challenge:
This challenge is now finished! Thank you to everyone who participated!
Here is the weekly update for this challenge. West Virginia is nearing completion while Ohio is filling in nicely with more and more counties becoming populated! However, there's still several villages yet to be added for Ohio.
Here is the weekly update for this challenge - it's exciting to see more counties filling in! Keep an eye out for another article on city / town halls in this month's newsletter.
Here is the weekly update for this challenge!
Here is the weekly update for this challenge!
This challenge is coming along nice and steady! Ohio is especially starting to look nice; points are coming in county-by-county with close to another 100 points added since last week's update!
City/Town Halls continue to come in for this challenge! Nice work!
Here's the weekly update for this challenge.
Social Media
Locations
Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
Phone: (804) 261-2600
Fax: (804) 261-2657
Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Leetown Research Laboratory
Contacts
Virginia - West Virginia Water Science Center
11 Dunbar Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 347-5130
Fax: (304) 347-5133