Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river, including Nashville and Clarksville, both in Tennessee.
The river system has been extensively altered for flood control. Major dams impound areas of both the main stem and many of its important tributaries.
Clover Fork once flowed through downtown Harlan and merged with Martins Fork at what is now the intersection of Kentucky Route 38 and US Route 421. A flood control project begun in 1992 diverted it through a tunnel under Little Black Mountain, from which it emerges in Baxter and converges with Martins Fork. Poor Fork begins as a small stream on Pine Mountain in Letcher County near Flat Gap, Virginia. It flows southwest in parallel with Pine Mountain until it merges with the other two forks in Baxter.
Confluence of the Cumberland River headwater forks at Baxter
From there, the wider, now named Cumberland River continues flowing west through the mountains of Kentucky before turning northward toward Cumberland Falls. The 68-foot (21 m) falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the southeastern United States and is one of the few places in the Western Hemisphere where a moonbow can be seen.[5]
Beyond Cumberland Falls, the river turns abruptly west once again and continues to expand as other creeks and streams feed into it. It receives the Laurel and Rockcastle rivers from the northeast, followed by the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River from the south. From here it flows into the man-made Lake Cumberland, formed by Wolf Creek Dam. The more than 100-mile (160 km) reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the eastern US.
The Cumberland River was called Wasioto by the ShawneeNative Americans, who lived in this area. French traders called it the Riviere des Chaouanons, or "River of the Shawnee" for this association. The river was also known as the Shawnee River (or Shawanoe River) for years after Walker's trip.[1]
Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade, which traveled to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Villages, towns, and cities were located at landing points along its banks. Through the middle of the 19th century, settlers depended on rivers as the primary transportation routes for trading and travel.
Floods
In more recent history, a number of severe floods have struck various regions that the river flows through. In April 1977, Harlan, Kentucky, and many surrounding communities were inundated with floodwaters, destroying most of the homes and businesses within the floodplain of the river. This event led to the building of the Martins Fork Dam for flood control and the diversion of the Clover Fork around the city of Harlan. In addition, the river was diverted through a mountain cut in Loyall, Kentucky.
^ abU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 8, 2011
^"Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
^ ab"USGS Gage #03438220 on the Cumberland River near Grand Rivers, KY". National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1965–1997. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
^The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 35.
^"At least 3 dead in Ky., hundreds of roads flooded". Retrieved May 3, 2010.
^NOAA, US Department of Commerce (2020). "Major Flooding Inundates Southeast Kentucky Followed by Light Snow From February 6-7, 2020". www.weather.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
Bibliography
Albright, Edward (1908) Early History of Middle Tennessee
Benke, Arthur and Cushing, Colbert (2005) Rivers of North America. Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN0-12-088253-1
Duthie, Bob and Duthie, Mavis (2008) What to Expect Cruising the Cumberland River, CD-ROM
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cumberland River
This article incorporates public domain material from Major Flooding Inundates Southeast Kentucky Followed by Light Snow From February 6–7, 2020. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumberland River.
"Cumberland River" . The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.
May 10, 2023
cumberland, river, other, uses, disambiguation, major, waterway, southern, united, states, mile, long, river, drains, almost, square, miles, southern, kentucky, north, central, tennessee, river, flows, generally, west, from, source, appalachian, mountains, con. For other uses see Cumberland River disambiguation The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States The 688 mile long 1 107 km 2 river drains almost 18 000 square miles 47 000 km2 of southern Kentucky and north central Tennessee The river flows generally west from a source in the Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio River near Paducah Kentucky and the mouth of the Tennessee River Major tributaries include the Obey Caney Fork Stones and Red rivers Cumberland RiverCanoers on the Cumberland River upstream from Cumberland FallsMap of the Cumberland River WatershedLocationCountryUnited StatesStateKentucky TennesseeCitiesWilliamsburg KY Burkesville KY Carthage TN Nashville TN Clarksville TN Dover TNPhysical characteristicsSourceConfluence of the Poor Fork Clover Fork and Martins Fork locationHarlan Kentucky coordinates36 50 42 N 83 19 26 W 36 84500 N 83 32389 W 36 84500 83 32389 1 elevation1 158 ft 353 m MouthOhio River locationLivingston County Kentucky coordinates37 08 36 N 88 24 27 W 37 14333 N 88 40750 W 37 14333 88 40750 Coordinates 37 08 36 N 88 24 27 W 37 14333 N 88 40750 W 37 14333 88 40750 1 elevation302 ft 92 m Length688 mi 1 107 km 2 Basin size17 728 sq mi 45 920 km2 3 Discharge locationbelow Barkley Dam about 31 mi 50 km from the mouth 4 average37 250 cu ft s 1 055 m3 s 4 minimum6 085 cu ft s 172 3 m3 s maximum209 000 cu ft s 5 900 m3 s Basin featuresTributaries leftMartins Fork Clear Fork Big South Fork Obed River Caney Fork Stones River Harpeth River rightClover Fork Poor Fork Laurel River Rockcastle River Red River Little RiverAlthough the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural there are also some large cities on the river including Nashville and Clarksville both in Tennessee The river system has been extensively altered for flood control Major dams impound areas of both the main stem and many of its important tributaries Contents 1 Geography 2 History 2 1 Floods 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksGeography EditIts headwaters are three separate forks that begin in Kentucky and converge in Baxter KY located in Harlan County Martin s Fork starts near Hensley Settlement on Brush Mountain in Bell County and snakes its way north through the mountains to Baxter Clover Fork starts on Black Mountain in Holmes Mill near the Virginia border and flows west in parallel with Kentucky Route 38 until it reaches Harlan Clover Fork once flowed through downtown Harlan and merged with Martins Fork at what is now the intersection of Kentucky Route 38 and US Route 421 A flood control project begun in 1992 diverted it through a tunnel under Little Black Mountain from which it emerges in Baxter and converges with Martins Fork Poor Fork begins as a small stream on Pine Mountain in Letcher County near Flat Gap Virginia It flows southwest in parallel with Pine Mountain until it merges with the other two forks in Baxter Confluence of the Cumberland River headwater forks at Baxter From there the wider now named Cumberland River continues flowing west through the mountains of Kentucky before turning northward toward Cumberland Falls The 68 foot 21 m falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the southeastern United States and is one of the few places in the Western Hemisphere where a moonbow can be seen 5 Beyond Cumberland Falls the river turns abruptly west once again and continues to expand as other creeks and streams feed into it It receives the Laurel and Rockcastle rivers from the northeast followed by the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River from the south From here it flows into the man made Lake Cumberland formed by Wolf Creek Dam The more than 100 mile 160 km reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the eastern US Near Celina Tennessee the river crosses south into that state where it is joined by the Obey River and Caney Fork Northeast of Nashville the river is dammed twice more forming Cordell Hull Lake and Old Hickory Lake After flowing through Nashville and picking up the Stones River the river is dammed to form Cheatham Lake The river turns northwest toward Clarksville where it is joined by the Red River It flows back into Kentucky at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area a section of land nestled between Lake Barkley which is fed by the Cumberland River and Kentucky Lake Finally the river flows north and merges with the Ohio River at Smithland northeast of Paducah History Edit Barge traffic on the Cumberland River The U S Army Corps of Engineers maintains the river for tug and barge navigation The explorer Thomas Walker of Virginia in 1758 named the river but whether for the Duke of Cumberland or the English county of Cumberland is not known 6 The Cumberland River was called Wasioto by the Shawnee Native Americans who lived in this area French traders called it the Riviere des Chaouanons or River of the Shawnee for this association The river was also known as the Shawnee River or Shawanoe River for years after Walker s trip 1 Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade which traveled to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers Villages towns and cities were located at landing points along its banks Through the middle of the 19th century settlers depended on rivers as the primary transportation routes for trading and travel Floods Edit In more recent history a number of severe floods have struck various regions that the river flows through In April 1977 Harlan Kentucky and many surrounding communities were inundated with floodwaters destroying most of the homes and businesses within the floodplain of the river This event led to the building of the Martins Fork Dam for flood control and the diversion of the Clover Fork around the city of Harlan In addition the river was diverted through a mountain cut in Loyall Kentucky In late April and early May 2010 due to the 2010 Tennessee floods the river overflowed its banks and flooded Nashville and Clarksville Tennessee The downtown area was ordered to evacuate 7 Major flooding occurred along the Cumberland River at Pineville Barbourville and Williamsburg in early February 2020 8 See also Edit Kentucky portalQuadrula tuberosa Cumberland River endemic Rough rockshell freshwater mussel List of crossings of the Cumberland River List of longest rivers of the United States by main stem List of rivers of Kentucky List of rivers of TennesseeReferences EditNotes a b c Cumberland River Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior September 20 1979 Retrieved November 9 2013 a b U S Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset high resolution flowline data The National Map Archived 2012 03 29 at the Wayback Machine accessed June 8 2011 Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions Subregions Accounting Units and Cataloging Units United States Geological Survey Retrieved November 9 2013 a b USGS Gage 03438220 on the Cumberland River near Grand Rivers KY National Water Information System U S Geological Survey 1965 1997 Retrieved November 9 2013 Cumberland Falls Moonbow Retrieved on 2010 05 29 The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society Volume 1 Kentucky State Historical Society 1903 pp 35 At least 3 dead in Ky hundreds of roads flooded Retrieved May 3 2010 NOAA US Department of Commerce 2020 Major Flooding Inundates Southeast Kentucky Followed by Light Snow From February 6 7 2020 www weather gov Retrieved February 24 2020 Bibliography Albright Edward 1908 Early History of Middle Tennessee Benke Arthur and Cushing Colbert 2005 Rivers of North America Elsevier Academic Press ISBN 0 12 088253 1 Duthie Bob and Duthie Mavis 2008 What to Expect Cruising the Cumberland River CD ROM Hay Jerry 2010 Cumberland River Guidebook ISBN 978 1 4507 2458 6 Kohrs Randy 2009 Cumberland on Quicksand album ASIN B002N1AEI2 Myers Fred 2004 Cumberland River CruiseGuide ISBN 0 9704962 3 0 Stewart George R 1967 Names on the Land Boston U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Cumberland River This article incorporates public domain material from Major Flooding Inundates Southeast Kentucky Followed by Light Snow From February 6 7 2020 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumberland River Cumberland River The American Cyclopaedia 1879 Cumberland River The New Student s Reference Work 1914 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cumberland River amp oldid 1138993929, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
