Introduction The peat wetlands and coniferous forest of West Virginia's Canaan Valley have been referred to as "a bit of Canada gone astray" (Fortney 1977). Canaan Valley is a small bowl-shaped valley in the Allegheny Highlands Section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains (fig. 1). The valley contains the largest wetlands complex in West Virginia and ia a mosaic of bogs, marshes, and streams. Extensive forests of both hardwoods and softwood species border the wetland areas. Broad grasslands are also scattered throughout the valley. This complex mixture of habitat types is home to many plant and animal species typically found further to the north. The unique environment of Canaan Valley is the result of its geology, location, natural history, and, more recently, the effects of human alterations. Canaan Valley was formed by a breached anticline and the erosion of the crest of a ridge of upward folded rocks. The erosion of the rocks in the center of the breach formed the valley floor. In Canaan Valley, the rocks of the valley floor are eroding more quickly than the rocks that form the valley outlet, or water gap. This has resulted in the ponding of waters in Canaan Valley, creating conditions favorable to peat accumulation and wetland formation. The location of Canaan Valley along the Allegheny Front is key to the formation and maintenance of the extensive wetlands. Westerly air masses carrying Gulf and Atlantic moisture move across the front. These air masses rise and cool, releasing moisture as precipitation along the Allegheny Highlands. This precipitation, approximately 135 cm per year, provides the water necessary to form and maintain the wetlands found in Canaan Valley and other locations along the Allegheny Front. These interactions of geology and location resulted in Canaan Valley and its extensive wetlands. The wetlands receive waters from runoff from the surrounding hillsides and from ground water discharge. Numerous small springs and seeps issue from contact points of the alternating sandstone and shale layers (fig. 2). This water flows to the poorly drained soils derived from eroded limestone that blanket the valley floor (Little and Waldron 1996). Land use in Canaan Valley, the largest intermontane valley east of the Mississippi, has changed significantly over the last 125 years. Once covered in dense forest, the valley was heavily logged starting in the 1890's and continuing into the early 1900's (Clarkson 1964). After most wetland forests were removed, the extensive sphagnum bogs have caught fire several times, with some fires burning into the peat to depths of 1 to 1.3 m. In more recent years recreation and tourism have played a significant role in the Canaan Valley economy. Although the northern half of the valley still contains large tracts of undeveloped wetlands, much of the southern half has been developed for tourism, recreation, and homes. State parks and ski resorts attract 1.2 million visitors to Canaan Valley each year (Chris MaClay, Tucker County Information Center, oral communication, 1993). The area has been a popular site for vacation and retirement homes, with the population of Tucker County increasing 16 percent between 2 1980 and 1990, but declining 5.3 percent between 1990 and 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau 1991, 2001). Past Investigations The USGS has conducted several studies in Canaan Valley and adjacent areas to investigate aspects of surface and ground water hydrology, geology, and wetlands ecology. These studies have been conducted in cooperation with State and federal agencies, including West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection, the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. These investigations have been spurred by the need to characterize resources in the Valley and in response to changes in population and land use. Investigations of Canaan Valley geology, peat resources and wetland processes have provided basic information on the Valley's environment. Increases in population and commercial development could affect the availability and quality of water resources in Canaan Valley. The consequences of increased water demands on ground-and surface-water resources were unknown. The first step toward predicting future effects of increased withdrawals on the hydrologic system is to understand the current conditions of the system. Surface-Water Hydrology and Quality Investigations of surface-water hydrology in Canaan Valley have included both water quantity and water quality. Water-quantity investigations used a network of streamflow-gaging stations to determine the volume and temporal characteristics of surface water moving through the streams of the valley. Water-quality investigations examined the chemical characteristics of the Valley's streams and have focused on dissolved oxygen and processes that affect dissolved oxygen.