Pocatalico

The Pocatalico River winds southwest through the wooded hills of the Allegheny Plateau to meet the Kanawha. Its waters join the larger river on its course toward the Ohio and the Mississippi beyond. The Kanawha valley was home to Indigenous communities for many generations, including villages of the Fort Ancient tradition that survived into the period of European contact. Later, the Shawnee and other peoples used the wider valley as a hunting ground.