The mate presented to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by letter of boint does strean 4. Scope of report. The scope of this report is limited by the tert of the authorizing resolution to determining if improvement of Chest nut Creek, Va., with a view to flood control, is advisable at this time. Is sted ically quentl PRIOR REPORTS 5. Other than the report under review, no reports by the United States Engineer Department or other agencies bearing directly indirectly on flood control or other developments of the water resources of Chestnut Creek are known to exist. banks approx palf oc he for tream DESCRIPTION OF CHESTNUT CREEK BASIN 6. General description.-The Chestnut Creek drainage basin lies in the New River headwater area in southwestern Virginia and northen North Carolina, on the northwestern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains (see map of drainage area, exhibit No. 1). The total area is approximately 60 square miles, of which about 40 square miles are in Carroll County, Va., 19 square miles in Grayson County, Va., approx mately 1 square mile in Alleghany County, N. C., and a fraction of square mile in Surry County, N. C. In shape, the basin is an irregular oblong, narrow in the lower reaches and comparatively wide in the upper areas. Its greatest length from north to south is about 16 miles, and the maximum width 6.6 miles. 7. The topography of the basin is hilly to mountainous with rolling hills and moderately wide valleys predominating. Elevations range from 2,075 feet mean sea level (approximate low water) at the mouth of Chestnut Creek to a maximum of 3,565 feet mean sea level on Fishers Peak, on the border between Virginia and North Carolina The larger valleys of the basin lie generally below elevation 2,800 and the main stream valley below its East and West Forks does not exceed 2,500 feet in elevation. There are no natural or important artificial bodies of water in the basin except Chestnut Creek and its tributaries. There are no existing or prior flood-control projects for the watershed. the Bl 8. Description of Chestnut Creek.-Chestnut Creek is formed by the 10. Geo a distance of 22.8 miles to its confluence with the New River, 2004 9. In f Ches M Mil table host im East Fork stat Cree Mill Creek estant Cree evaller ide for st of constrictions at Cox Mill and McKnights Mill, 3.7 and 6.6 miles, schists level, eous roo though t es parall Not printe The town of Galax lies in the largest of these basins, an area approximately 1 mile long and with a maximum width of about one-half mile. This basin in which Galax is situated is comparable to a natural reservoir, and the flooded area is more extensive than at any other point along the stream. Immediately below Galax the valley is constricted, and downstream, with the exception of two short reaches where maximum widths of 500 to 600 feet are obtained, the valley does not exceed 250 feet in width. Along the lower 8 miles of the stream, approximately two-thirds of its length below Galax, the valley is steep-walled and gorgelike, with the hill slopes beginning practically at water's edge in many places. Rock outcrops occur frequently in the stream bed for most of the length of Chestnut Creek. Channel widths vary roughly from 25 to 100 feet, and the heights of banks vary up to about 10 feet. The total fall of the main stream is approximately 385 feet, or 17 feet per mile. Of this fall, almost onehalf occurs in the lower one-third of the length of the stream. From the forks through Galax to a point 8.5 miles above the mouth, the stream slope is remarkably uniform, being about 13 feet per mile, while for the remainder of the distance to the mouth the slope is more irregular and much steeper, averaging 24 feet per mile. A profile of Chestnut Creek is shown on exhibit No. 2.1 9. In addition to the East and West Forks, the prinicpal tributaries of Chestnut Creek are Glady Fork, Coal Creek, Wards Mill Branch, and Mill Creek. The drainage areas of all of these streams are shown in table I and profiles of East and West Forks and Coal Creek, the most important of the tributaries, are shown on exhibit No. 2,1 TABLE I.-Drainage areas of Chestnut Creek and its principal tributaries 10. Geology.-Geologically, the Chestnut Creek Basin is a portion of the Blue Ridge province. Physically it is a portion of a deeply dissected plateau formed by the division of the Blue Ridge Mountains Southwestward from Roanoke. The elevations of the ridges above the valleys range from 500 to 700 feet. The valleys are unusually wide for such elevations, almost wholly above 2,500 feet, and isolated peaks are characteristic. The bedrocks are pre-Cambrian gneises. and schists, probably sedimentary in origin, with some intrusions of #igneous rocks. There are no fault lines of importance in the basin, although to the northwest beyond the New River, numerous fault lines parallel the mountain ranges. 'Not printed. 11. Available maps.-The entire area of the Chestnut Creek Basa 14. Gala 16. P Gala Song th alt, anufac ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHESTNUT CREEK BASIN stock Elly far 12. History of economic development.-Settlement of the Blue Ride strea ited St The road enters on C ove Gala 13. Population. The population of the Chestnut Creek Basin is peta Ession n 17. Tro tershed by y t High ove Gal about 2 18. Wat Fources ermitter area a Population: 1910_ 1920_ 1930 1940_ 755 1,250 2, 544 3, 195 Percent increase: 1920-30. 1930 40. 66 104 26 14. Resources and industry.-The principal economic pursuits of the basin at the present time are manufacturing, farming, dairying, and stock raising. The timber resources of the basin, though not Exceptional in the area, form the basis of the furniture-manufacturing ndustry, largest of the basin industries. The timber is chiefly second-growth hardwood although there are still some small stands of virgin forest in the mountainous headwa 'ers. The comparatively wide level bottom lands are well suited for farming, and the rolling ill lands provide excellent pasture for stock raising and dairying. An iron mine of moderate size has been worked at Iron Ridge, 6 miles below Galax, for a number of years. A deposit of cyanite suitable or the manufacture of porcelain was discovered in the western edge of Galax, but it has not been developed. 15. Practically all manufacturing activities in the basin are located n Galax, where the wide level bottom lands, served by a railroad along the left bank of the creek, together with an adequate supply of lectric power transmitted in from outside the basin, have provided attractive sites for industrial developments. In addition to five furniture-manufacturing plants there are a large evaporated milk plant, a hosiery mill, a yard-goods textile mill, and other smaller manufacturing plants in Galax. There are no power plants of importance in the basin, power requirements being served by transmission from large hydroelectric power plants near by on New River. 16. Although the value of manufac ured products exceeds somewhat that of the products of the basin's farms, agriculture in its various forms is, from the standpoint of employment, the major economic activity. The crops grown are of a wide variety though potatoes, wheat, and rye lead in quantities and value. The value of the livestock is approximately equivalent to that of other farm products. Dairy farming has been of increasing importance in recent years and is the basis of the dairy products industry. 17. Transportation. The only railroad in the Chestnut Creek watershed is the branch line of the Norfolk & Western which parallels the stream from its mouth to Galax, a distance of about 13 miles. United States Highways Nos. 58 and 221 cross the basin over the same roadway through Galax from east to west. State Highway No. 96 enters the basin from the south and intersects United States Highways Nos. 58 and 221 in Galax. State Highway No. 97 enters the basin by way of Pipers Gap and follows Wards Mill Branch to intersect Highway No. 96 on the left bank of Chestnut Creek 11⁄2 miles above Galax. The total length of improved highways in the basin is about 25 miles. 18. Water resources.-There are no known developments of water resources in the Chestnut Creek Basin other than McKnights Mill, an intermittently operated grist mill powered by the flow from a low dam on Chestnut Creek, 6.6 miles above Galax. A second similar project existed at one time at Cox Mill on Chestnut Creek, 3.7 miles above Galax but only the 10-foot high dam remains. The small drainage area and correspondingly low stream flows make hydroelectric TABLE projects of commercial importance impracticable. Only the town of Galar Statoes DOT 19. Stream pollution. The only material source of stream pollution Max M Sta METEOROLOGY AND HYDROLOGY 20. Climate. The climate of the Chestnut Creek Basin is typical Jeferson Taghte Floyd... Mount Pinnacles stations, The maxin e 21. Precipitation.-There is only one precipitation station in the the annua 23. The the six sta Basin, toge nch at Iva over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the station at Pinnacles being notable III. far from the crest. Jefferson. Kanaw station |