| Cumberland River | |
|---|---|
 Canoers on the Cumberland River upstream fromCumberland Falls | |
 Cumberland River watershed (Interactive map) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky, Tennessee |
| Cities | Barbourville, KY Williamsburg, KY Burkesville, KY Carthage, TN Nashville, TN Clarksville, TN Dover, TN |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of the Poor Fork, Clover Fork andMartins Fork |
| • location | Harlan,Kentucky |
| • coordinates | 36°50′42″N83°19′26″W / 36.84500°N 83.32389°W /36.84500; -83.32389[1] |
| • elevation | 1,158 ft (353 m) |
| Mouth | Ohio River |
• location | Livingston County,Kentucky |
• coordinates | 37°08′36″N88°24′27″W / 37.14333°N 88.40750°W /37.14333; -88.40750[1] |
• elevation | 302 ft (92 m) |
| Length | 688 mi (1,107 km)[2] |
| Basin size | 17,728 sq mi (45,920 km2)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | belowBarkley Dam, about 31 mi (50 km) from the mouth[4] |
| • average | 37,250 cu ft/s (1,055 m3/s)[4] |
| • minimum | 6,085 cu ft/s (172.3 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 209,000 cu ft/s (5,900 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Martins Fork,Clear Fork,Big South Fork,Obey River,Caney Fork River,Stones River, Harpeth River |
| • right | Clover Fork,Poor Fork, Laurel River, Rockcastle River,Red River,Little River |
TheCumberland River is a majorwaterway of theSouthern United States. The 688-mile-long (1,107 km)[2] river drains almost 18,000 square miles (47,000 km2) of southernKentucky and north-centralTennessee. The river flows generally west from a source in theAppalachian Mountains to its confluence with theOhio River nearPaducah, Kentucky, and the mouth of theTennessee River. Major tributaries include theObey,Caney Fork,Stones, andRed Rivers.
Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river, includingNashville andClarksville, both in Tennessee.
The river system has been extensively altered forflood control. Major dams impound areas of both themain stem and many of its important tributaries.
Its headwaters are three separate forks that begin inKentucky and converge inBaxter, KY, located inHarlan County.Martin's Fork starts nearHensley Settlement on Brush Mountain inBell County and snakes its way north through the mountains to Baxter.Clover Fork starts onBlack Mountain in Holmes Mill, near the Virginia border, and flows west in parallel withKentucky Route 38 until it reachesHarlan.
Clover Fork once flowed through downtown Harlan and merged with Martins Fork at what is now the intersection ofKentucky Route 38 andUS 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 onPine Mountain inLetcher County near Flat Gap, Virginia. It flows southwest in parallel with Pine Mountain until it merges with the other two forks in Baxter.
From there, the wider river, now named Cumberland, continues flowing west through the mountains of Kentucky before turning northward towardCumberland 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 amoonbow 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 theLaurel andRockcastle rivers from the northeast, followed by theBig South Fork of the Cumberland River from the south. From here it flows into the man-madeLake Cumberland, formed byWolf Creek Dam. The more than 100-mile (160 km) reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the eastern US.
NearCelina, Tennessee, the river crosses south into that state, where it is joined by theObey River andCaney Fork. Northeast ofNashville, the river is dammed twice more, formingCordell Hull Lake andOld Hickory Lake. After flowing through Nashville and picking up theStones River, the river is dammed to formCheatham Lake. The river turns northwest towardClarksville, where it is joined by theRed River.
It flows back into Kentucky at theLand Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a section of land nestled betweenLake Barkley, which is fed by the Cumberland River, andKentucky Lake. Finally, the river flows north and merges with theOhio River atSmithland, northeast ofPaducah.
The explorerThomas Walker of Virginia in 1758 named the river, but whether for theDuke of Cumberland or the English county ofCumberland is not known.[6]
The Cumberland River was calledWasioto by theShawneeNative Americans, who lived in this area. French traders called it theRiviere des Chaouanons, or "River of the Shawnee" for this association. The river was also known as theShawnee River (orShawanoe 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 andMississippi 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.
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 theMartins 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 inLoyall, Kentucky.
In late April and early May 2010, due to the2010 Tennessee floods, the river overflowed its banks and floodedNashville andClarksville, Tennessee. The downtown area was ordered to evacuate.[7]
Major flooding occurred along the Cumberland River atPineville,Barbourville, andWilliamsburg in early February 2020.[8]
Notes
Bibliography
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromMajor Flooding Inundates Southeast Kentucky Followed by Light Snow From February 6–7, 2020.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
