Cumberland River
| Cumberland River | |
Canoers on the Cumberland River upstream from Cumberland Falls
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Kentucky, Tennessee |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Martin's Fork, Clear Fork, Big South Fork, Obey River, Caney Fork, Stones River, Harpeth River |
| - right | Clover Fork, Poor Fork, Laurel River, Rockcastle River, Red River, Little River |
| Cities | Williamsburg, KY, Burkesville, KY, Carthage, TN, Nashville, TN, Clarksville, TN, Dover, TN |
| Source | Confluence of Clover Fork and Martins Fork |
| - location | Baxter, Kentucky |
| - elevation | 1,158 ft (353 m) |
| - coordinates | 36°50′42″N 83°19′26″W / 36.84500°N 83.32389°W |
| Mouth | Ohio River |
| - location | Livingston County, Kentucky |
| - elevation | 302 ft (92 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°08′36″N 88°24′27″W / 37.14333°N 88.40750°WCoordinates: 37°08′36″N 88°24′27″W / 37.14333°N 88.40750°W |
| Length | 688 mi (1,107 km) |
| Basin | 17,728 sq mi (45,915 km2) |
| Discharge | for below Barkley Dam, about 31 mi (50 km) from the mouth |
| - average | 37,250 cu ft/s (1,055 m3/s) |
| - max | 209,000 cu ft/s (5,918 m3/s) |
| - min | 6,085 cu ft/s (172 m3/s) |
 Map of the Cumberland River Watershed
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The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The 688-mile-long (1,107 km) 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.
Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river, including Nashville and Clarksville, both in Tennessee. In addition, the river system has been extensively developed for flood control, with major dams impounding both the main stem and many of its important tributaries.
Its headwaters are three separate forks that begin in Kentucky and converge in its Harlan County. Martin's Fork starts in 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 Martin's Fork at the intersection of Kentucky Route 38 and US Route 421, until a flood control project in 1992 diverted it through a tunnel under Little Black Mountain, from which it emerges in Baxter and converges with Martin's 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.
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Wikipedia