Nonequilibrium bottom-hole temperature data and well depths were obtained from electric logs run on oil and gas wells in several northern West Virginia counties. Geothermal gradients were calculated from the temperature data, the mean surface temperature, and the well depths. These gradients ranged from 0.808°F/100 ft to 1.892°F/100 ft. The mean geothermal gradient was found to be 1.108°F/100 ft. Isothermal maps were developed for the base of the Pennsylvanian and the Mississippian formations in northern West Virginia.

A linear regression analysis of the geotemperature data yields a seventh-degree equation which can be approximated by the following straight line: T_F = 55.0 + 1.11 × 10^-2(D_F), where T_F is temperature in °F, and D_F is well depth below the surface in feet. The gradient as expressed by this equation seems to agree fairly well with published literature for other geologically quiescent regions.