Bluestone River


The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. An 11 mi portion of its lower course in West Virginia is designated as the Bluestone National Scenic River.

Course

The Bluestone rises on East River Mountain in Tazewell County, Virginia and flows generally northeastwardly through Mercer and Summers counties in West Virginia, passing the towns of Bluefield in Virginia and Bramwell and Montcalm in West Virginia. It joins the New River about 4 mi south of Hinton as part of Bluestone Lake, which is formed by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam on the New. The Bluestone's National Scenic River segment is located mostly in Summers County, as is Pipestem Resort State Park, which lies along a gorge formed by the river.

Pollution

The Bluestone has been compromised by PCB contamination, largely left over from former coal mining activities. As a result of this contamination, Virginia does not recommend eating any carp in the upstream vicinity of Bluefield, Virginia. West Virginia recommends eating no more than one meal of carp per month.
In Virginia, the state Department of Environmental Quality does not recommend any contact recreation in the Bluestone due to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria.

Little Bluestone River

The Little Bluestone River is a minor tributary of the Bluestone in Summers County, fewer than 10 mi in length from its formation by the confluence of two streams, White Oak Branch and Jumping Branch.

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Bluestone River has also been known as:
Native American names have included the following: