Monongahela River. The Monongahela River, sometimes referred to locally as the Mon, is a 130-mile-long river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.
The Unami word Monongahela means falling banks, in reference to the geological instability of the river's banks. Moravian missionary David Zeisberger gave this account of the naming: In the Indian tongue the name of this river was Mechmenawungihilla, which signifies a high bank, which is ever washed out and therefore collapses.
The Lenape Language Project renders the word as Mėnaonkihėla, translated where banks cave in or erode, from the verbs mėnaonkihėle the dirt caves off and mėnaonke, it has a loose bank. Monongalia County and the town of Monongah, both in West Virginia, are named for the river, as is the city of Monongahela in Pennsylvania.
The USGS name for the river is the Monongahela River; there have been numerous alternate names, alternate spellings and misspellings in historical texts. The Monongahela is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and its east fork, the Tygart Valley Riv
The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.
The Unami word Monongahela means falling banks, in reference to the geological instability of the river's banks. Moravian missionary David Zeisberger gave this account of the naming: In the Indian tongue the name of this river was Mechmenawungihilla, which signifies a high bank, which is ever washed out and therefore collapses.
The Lenape Language Project renders the word as Mėnaonkihėla, translated where banks cave in or erode, from the verbs mėnaonkihėle the dirt caves off and mėnaonke, it has a loose bank. Monongalia County and the town of Monongah, both in West Virginia, are named for the river, as is the city of Monongahela in Pennsylvania.
The USGS name for the river is the Monongahela River; there have been numerous alternate names, alternate spellings and misspellings in historical texts. The Monongahela is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and its east fork, the Tygart Valley Riv
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