Green River (Kentucky)

Green River
Green River near Mammoth Cave National Park
Green River Watershed
Country	United States
Basin features
Main source	Lincoln and Casey counties in Kentucky 205 m (673 ft)
River mouth	Ohio River 110 m (360 ft)
Basin size	25,400 km2 (9,800 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	384 mi (618 km)
Discharge	Average rate: 5,260 cu ft/s (149 m3/s)

The Green River is a 384-mile-long (618 km) tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River. The river was named after Nathanael Greene, a general of the American Revolutionary War.

Following the Revolutionary War, many veterans staked claims along the Green River as payment for their military service. The river valley also attracted a number of vagrants, earning it the dubious nickname Rogue's Harbor.

In 1842, the Green River was canalized, with a series of locks and dams being built to create a navigable channel as far inland as Bowling Green, Kentucky. Four locks and dams were constructed on the Green River, and one lock and dam was built on the Barren River, a tributary that passed through Bowling Green.

During the American Civil War, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan conducted daring raids through the Green River country, from which he reached into southern Indiana and Ohio.

In 1901, two additional locks and dams were opened on the Green River, which allowed river traffic to Mammoth Cave. In 1941, Mammoth Cave National Park was established, and the two upper locks and dams closed in 1950. In 1965, Lock and Dam #4 at Woodbury failed; this was the dam that locked both the Green and Barren rivers.