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ALLEGHENY RIVER
The Allegheny River begins as a spring in a farmer's field off of State Route 49, a couple of miles east of the little town of Colesburg, Pennsylvania, and nine miles from Coudersport, Pennsylvania, in the upper Appalachian Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. A roadside marker erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marks the spot.
The river starts its long journey flowing from Colesburg, then west to Couderspot, before turning north, making a large U-shape loop and entering the state of New York. It flows passed the city of Olean, New York, the town of Allegany, New York and continues west to Salamanca, New York. Just west of Salamanca, the river again makes a loop, and eventually flows into the Allegheny Reservoir formed by Kinzua Dam near Warren, Pennsylvania.
From there it turns southward through second-growth forests. On its way south the river drains most of the highland streams north and east of Pittsburgh. It runs through scenic open country and woods with few towns, down to its urbanized last 20 miles. The river joins the Monongahela at Pittsburgh's Point State Park to form the 981-mile-long Ohio River. At Cairo, Ill. it flows into the mighty Mississippi River.
Many explorers and settlers traveled the Allegheny during the colonial period. The French named the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, which they considered as one river, La Belle Riviere -- The Beautiful River.
Following the American Revolution, the Allegheny carried an extensive downriver trade, especially timber from the northern forests. After Edwin Drake's first well near Titusville on Oil Creek began the oil boom in 1859, most of the nation's petroleum came downriver until that industry's decline in the 1880s.
The logging industry suffered from irresponsible cutting some years later. However, it is making a significant return in northern Pennsylvania.
During all this time travelers and shippers had used the stream as nature had made it: shallow, and subject to drought, floods and ice jams. During some spring thaws the massive ice jams pushed so far down the Ohio that noticeable chunks reached the Mississippi River.
The government originally built two locks and dams near the mouth of the river from 1898-1908. However, lengthy quarrels about who should pay to raise the bridges, which were obstructing traffic on the Allegheny, delayed completion of the work until after the passage of legislation in 1917.
The Corps constructed eight locks and dams on the Allegheny in the 1920s and 1930s. They guarantee a minimum 9-foot navigation channel for 72 miles from Pittsburgh to East Brady, Pennsylvania, and cost about $5 million annually to operate and maintain.
Several flood control projects lie farther upstream on the river and its tributaries. One of these flood control projects is the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir near Warren, Pennsylvania. Another is Conemaugh River Lake located below Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on the Conemaugh River, a tributary of the Allegheny. A unique problem occurs in the winter and spring along the river at Oil City, Pennsylvania. that required a unique solution in the form of local flood protection ice control structures.
The valley, for the most part, supports only limited industry. The river has become cleaner in recent years due to environmental control monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and supporting efforts by other federal and state agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
During good weather more pleasure boats use the Allegheny River compared to its neighboring industrial rivers -- the Monongahela and Ohio -- since it flows through open country with postcard scenery and good fishing.
Updated: 01-Dec-2011