ALLEGHENY RIVER FACTS
The Allegheny River (325 m; 523k) begins in the Appalachian Mountains of northern Pennsylvania and runs south into Pennsylvania and New York. It joins the Monongahela at Point State Park to form the Ohio River.

•  The river most likely got its name from the Allegawes, an Indian tribe that lived along its shores before other tribes like the Iriqois and Delawares were documented

•  The Allegheny is one of the easternmost rivers of the Mississippi River system

•  Before the railroad era, the river was an important commercial route, particularly timber, and is still used to transport coal, fuel and other sizeable freight

•  Kinzua Dam (completed 1965), a federal flood-control project on the river, forms the Allegheny Reservoir near the PA & NY border

•  The Allegheny River is navigable through 9 locks and dams that keep the navigation channel at 9ft

•  The Allegheny's basin contains coal, oil, and natural gas

•  At the height of steel production in Pittsburgh, 62 mills operated along the Allegheny River

•  Although the Allegheny is considered the "cleanest" of Pittsburgh's three rivers, suburban sprawl, mounting impervious surfaces, river dredging, sewage infiltration, and acid mine drainage are increasing threats to the health of its ecosystem

•  There have been considerable efforts to reforest and protect the existing riparian habitat of the Allegheny River. Focusing on the Allegheny's north shore, Friends of the Riverfront reintroduces native plants, trees and shrubs to the riverbanks in an effort to slow the spread of invasive plants and filter pollutants that are prevalent along the Lower Allegheny.