1.
Downtown Louisville
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Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, as of 2000, the population of Downtown Louisville was 2,575. The five main areas of the Central Business District consist of, of the 16 buildings in Kentucky over 300 feet,12 are in Downtown Louisville. In addition, it is the center of local and regional government, a glassed-in skywalk called the Louie Link stretches six city blocks and links together the Kentucky International Convention Center, Fourth Street Live. Three hotels, and 2,300 hotel rooms, Downtown Louisville is the oldest part of the city of Louisville, whose initial development was closely tied to the Ohio River. The largest early fort, Fort Nelson, was built in 1781 near what is today the corner of 7th, many early residents lived nearby after moving out of the forts by the mid-1780s, although little remains of the earliest structures. Early plans of the city, such as William Popes original plan in 1783, the earliest streets, Main, Market and Jefferson retain their original names from the plan, while the smaller Green Street is now known as Liberty. Main Street was the initial commercial hub for nearly a century. By 1830 Louisville passed Lexington as Kentuckys largest city, with a population over 10,000, the steamboat era saw the opening of the Louisville and Portland Canal just west of downtown, and local commerce picked up further with the founding of banks and manufacturing. Most of Louisvilles population was packed into downtown, which by this time stretched as far south as Prather Street, many still-remaining buildings reveal what the area was like at this time, with narrow, two to four-story buildings packing the streets. The area and the city continued to grow during the railroad era, railroads lead to a diminished role for the river in transportation, further reducing the importance of downtown in favor of areas on what was then the edge of the city, along rail lines. In 1886, the first skyscraper, the Kenyon Building, was completed on Fifth Street, the development of three large suburban parks and the electrified streetcar lead to the first true movement to the suburbs at this time. Some of downtowns business and industry followed people toward these areas, but by the 1920s the commercial center of Louisville was still nearby, at 4th and Broadway, dubbed the magic corner by the Herald-Post. The riverfront area of downtown was still being improved, such as with the building of what is now George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge across the Ohio at Second Street in 1929. After World War II, suburbanization increased and downtown began to decline as interstate highways further reduced the importance of its central location, since the 1970s, downtown has been the subject of both urban renewal and historic preservation efforts. While many new buildings have built, it has sometimes been at the expense of older landmarks. Many buildings sat totally or mostly vacant at this time, many riverfront industrial sites were abandoned or saw limited use, many were eventually redeveloped into Louisville Waterfront Park. Other issues in the 1970s through the early 1990s included a theater district on Jefferson Street that had become dubbed the porno district
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
4.
Ohio
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Ohio /oʊˈhaɪ. oʊ/ is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Ohio is the 34th largest by area, the 7th most populous, the states capital and largest city is Columbus. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, the name originated from the Iroquois word ohi-yo’, meaning great river or large creek. Partitioned from the Northwest Territory, the state was admitted to the Union as the 17th state on March 1,1803, Ohio is historically known as the Buckeye State after its Ohio buckeye trees, and Ohioans are also known as Buckeyes. Ohio occupies 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives, Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections. Six Presidents of the United States have been elected who had Ohio as their home state, Ohios geographic location has proven to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo, Ohio has the nations 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North Americas population and 70% of North Americas manufacturing capacity. To the north, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles of coastline, Ohios southern border is defined by the Ohio River, and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. Ohios neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario Canada, to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. Ohio has only that portion of the river between the rivers 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark, the border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of the Toledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River. Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with a flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills, in 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, at attempt to address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region. This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia, the worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the entire Miami River watershed flooded, as a result, the Miami Conservancy District was created as the first major flood plain engineering project in Ohio and the United States. Grand Lake St. Marys in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles, was the largest artificial lake in the world and it should be noted that Ohios canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their emergence to location on canals. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold, precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round
5.
West Virginia
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West Virginia /ˌwɛst vərˈdʒɪnjə/ is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the north, West Virginia is the 9th smallest by area, is ranked 38th in population, and has the second lowest household income of the 50 United States. The capital and largest city is Charleston, West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20,1863, and was a key Civil War border state. The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States, the unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the state that is entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries and it is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world, making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research. The karst lands contribute to much of the states cool trout waters and it is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and hunting. Many ancient man-made earthen mounds from various mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of Moundsville, South Charleston. The artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of village societies and they had a tribal trade system culture that crafted cold-worked copper pieces. The Iroquois drove out other American Indian tribes from the region to reserve the upper Ohio Valley as a ground in the 1670s. Siouan language tribes such as the Moneton had also recorded in the area previously. West Virginia was originally part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776, residents of the western and northern counties set up a separate government under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the restored government. Most voted to separate from Virginia and the new state was admitted to the Union in 1863, in 1864 a state constitutional convention drafted a constitution, which was ratified by the legislature without putting it to popular vote. West Virginia abolished slavery and temporarily disfranchised men who had held Confederate office or fought for the Confederacy, West Virginias history has been profoundly affected by its mountainous terrain, numerous and vast river valleys, and rich natural resources. These were all factors driving its economy and the lifestyles of its residents, a 2010 analysis of a local stalagmite revealed that Native Americans were burning forests to clear land as early as 100 BC. Some regional late-prehistoric Eastern Woodland tribes were involved in hunting and fishing, practicing the slash. Another group progressed to the more time-consuming, advanced companion crop fields method of gardening, also continuing from ancient indigenous people of the state, field space and time was given to tobacco growing through to early historic. Maize did not make a contribution to the diet until after 1150 BP
6.
Kentucky
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Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U. S. states constituted as a commonwealth, originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States, Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State, a nickname based on the bluegrass found in many of its pastures due to the fertile soil. One of the regions in Kentucky is the Bluegrass Region in central Kentucky. In 1776, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County, the precise etymology of the name is uncertain, but likely based on an Iroquoian name meaning the meadow or the prairie. Kentucky is situated in the Upland South, a significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia. Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast, West Virginia lies to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois and Indiana to the northwest, and Ohio to the north and northeast. Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more, Kentuckys northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River. The official state borders are based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792, for instance, northbound travelers on U. S.41 from Henderson, after crossing the Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about two miles. Ellis Park, a racetrack, is located in this small piece of Kentucky. Waterworks Road is part of the land border between Indiana and Kentucky. Kentucky has a part known as Kentucky Bend, at the far west corner of the state. It exists as an exclave surrounded completely by Missouri and Tennessee, Road access to this small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River requires a trip through Tennessee. The epicenter of the powerful 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes was near this area, much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. The Jackson Purchase and western Pennyrile are home to several bald cypress/tupelo swamps, located within the southeastern interior portion of North America, Kentucky has a climate that can best be described as a humid subtropical climate. Temperatures in Kentucky usually range from daytime summer highs of 87 °F to the low of 23 °F. The average precipitation is 46 inches a year, Kentucky experiences four distinct seasons, with substantial variations in the severity of summer and winter. The highest recorded temperature was 114 °F at Greensburg on July 28,1930 while the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F at Shelbyville on January 19,1994, due to its location, Kentucky has a moderate humid subtropical climate, with abundant rainfall
7.
Indiana
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Indiana /ɪndiˈænə/ is a U. S. state located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th U. S. state on December 11,1816, before becoming a territory, varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic Native Americans inhabited Indiana for thousands of years. Indiana has an economy with a gross state product of $298 billion in 2012. Indiana has several areas with populations greater than 100,000. The states name means Land of the Indians, or simply Indian Land and it also stems from Indianas territorial history. On May 7,1800, the United States Congress passed legislation to divide the Northwest Territory into two areas and named the section the Indiana Territory. In 1816, when Congress passed an Enabling Act to begin the process of establishing statehood for Indiana, a resident of Indiana is officially known as a Hoosier. The first inhabitants in what is now Indiana were the Paleo-Indians, divided into small groups, the Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted large game such as mastodons. They created stone tools made out of chert by chipping, knapping and flaking, the Archaic period, which began between 5000 and 4000 BC, covered the next phase of indigenous culture. The people developed new tools as well as techniques to cook food, such new tools included different types of spear points and knives, with various forms of notches. They made ground-stone tools such as axes, woodworking tools. During the latter part of the period, they built mounds and middens. The Archaic period ended at about 1500 BC, although some Archaic people lived until 700 BC, afterward, the Woodland period took place in Indiana, where various new cultural attributes appeared. During this period, the people created ceramics and pottery, an early Woodland period group named the Adena people had elegant burial rituals, featuring log tombs beneath earth mounds. In the middle portion of the Woodland period, the Hopewell people began developing long-range trade of goods, nearing the end of the stage, the people developed highly productive cultivation and adaptation of agriculture, growing such crops as corn and squash. The Woodland period ended around 1000 AD, the Mississippian culture emerged, lasting from 1000 until the 15th century, shortly before the arrival of Europeans. During this stage, the people created large urban settlements designed according to their cosmology, with mounds and plazas defining ceremonial
8.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
9.
Kanawha River
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The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U. S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century. It is formed at the town of Gauley Bridge in northwestern Fayette County, approximately 35 mi SE of Charleston, by the confluence of the New and it joins the Ohio at Point Pleasant. Paleo-Indians, the earliest indigenous peoples, lived in the valley, a succession of prehistoric cultures developed, with the Adena culture beginning the construction of numerous skilled earthwork mounds and enclosures more than 2000 years ago. Some of the villages of the Fort Ancient culture survived into the times of European contact, the area was a place of competition among historical American Indian nations. Invading from their base in present-day New York, the Iroquois drove out or conquered Fort Ancient culture peoples, as well as such tribes as the Huron, by right of conquest, the Iroquois, Lenape, and Shawnee reserved the area as a hunting ground. They resisted European-American settlement during the colonial years, the river valley contains significant deposits of coal and natural gas. In colonial times, the fluctuating level of the river prevented its use for transportation. The removal of boulders and snags on the river in the 1840s allowed navigation. The river is now navigable to Deepwater, a community about 20 miles upriver from Charleston. A thriving chemical industry along its banks provides a significant part of the local economy. In addition to the New and Gauley River, the Kanawha is joined at Charleston by the Elk River, at St. Albans by the Coal River, and at Poca by the Pocatalico River. Kanawha derives from the regions Iroquoian dialects meaning water way or canoe way implying the metaphor, transport way, the Glottal consonant of the ih dropped out as settlers and homesteaders arrive. Peoples of later cultures continued to live along the valley and heights and those of the Adena culture built at least 50 earthwork mounds and 10 enclosures in the area between Charleston and Dunbar, as identified by an 1882 to 1884 survey by the Bureau of Ethnology. Three of their mounds survive in the valley, including Criel Mound at present-day South Charleston, evidence has been found of the Fort Ancient culture peoples, who had villages that survived to the time of European contact, such as Buffalo and Marmet. They were driven out by Iroquois from present-day New York, according to French missionary reports, by the late 16th century, several thousand Huron, originally of the Great Lakes region, lived in central West Virginia. They were partially exterminated and their remnant driven out in the 17th century by the Iroquois invading from western present-day New York, the Iroquois and other tribes, such as the Shawnee and Delaware, maintained central West Virginia as a hunting ground. It was essentially unpopulated when the English and Europeans began to move into the area
10.
Guyandotte River
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The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans and it drains an area of the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau south of the Ohio between the watersheds of the Kanawha River to the northeast and Twelvepole Creek and the Big Sandy River to the southwest. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed and it turns briefly northward in Mingo County and enters Logan County, where it turns north-northwestwardly for the remainder of its highly meandering course through Logan, Lincoln and Cabell counties. It enters the Ohio River from the south at Huntington, about 5 mi east of the citys downtown, a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers dam in Mingo County causes the river to widen as R. D. Bailey Lake in Mingo and western Wyoming Counties. The Mud River joins the Guyandotte at Barboursville in Cabell County, the Slab Fork joins the Guyandotte in downtown Mullens in Wyoming County. Big Ugly Creek joins the Guyandotte in Lincoln County, in Mullens, an active watershed organization is working to reduce pollution in the headwaters of the Guyandotte River. UGWA has garnered much support and produced results in partnering with numerous local, state
11.
Big Sandy River (Ohio River)
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The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 29 miles long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course, via the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. It is formed between Louisa, Kentucky, and Fort Gay, West Virginia, by the confluence of the Tug Fork and it flows generally northwardly in a highly meandering course, between Lawrence and Boyd counties in Kentucky and Wayne County in West Virginia. It joins the Ohio between Catlettsburg, Kentucky and Kenova, West Virginia,8 miles west of Huntington, West Virginia, the river is navigable and carries commercial shipping, primarily coal mined in the immediate region. The name of the river comes from the presence of sand bars. The Native American names for the river included Tatteroa, Chatteroi and it was known to the Lenape as Sikeacepe, meaning Salt River, from the presence of salt licks on the river. The name Big Sandy was in use no later than February,1789, the tombstone of David White, an early settler along the river in Kentucky, marks his passing in 1817 with the note that he lived many years near the Mouth of the Big Sandy. Two well-known fiddle tunes take their name from the Big Sandy River, Sandy River Belle, loretta Lynns Van Lear Rose and Dwight Yoakams Bury Me also mention the river. On October 11,2000, the Martin County sludge spill polluted hundreds of miles of the Ohio River, the accident was caused when whats known as a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Kentucky broke into an abandoned underground mine below. Toxic pollutants including heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, copper, the river also plays a major role in the Hatfield-McCoy feud. Some Indian Tribes have links to the area and region, like the Tutelo, Issa, Cherokee, List of Kentucky rivers List of West Virginia rivers Little Sandy River University of Kentucky, Big Sandy Basin assessment
12.
Little Sandy River (Kentucky)
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The Little Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. It is 85.4 miles long drains an area of 724.2 square miles, via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. It joins the Ohio River at Greenup, a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers dam in Carter County causes the river to widen as Grayson Lake in southern Carter and northern Elliott Counties. Grayson Lake State Park is located along this impoundment, the East Fork Little Sandy River,48.3 miles long, joins the main stream in Greenup County. It rises in northern Lawrence County and initially flows eastwardly before turning north-northwestwardly through Boyd and it flows past the Ashland suburb of Cannonsburg. Big Sandy River List of Kentucky rivers Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry Grayson Lake website
13.
Licking River (Kentucky)
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The Licking River is a partly navigable, 303-mile-long tributary of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of the region of northeastern Kentucky between the watersheds of the Kentucky River to the west and the Big Sandy River to the east, the Native Americans of the area called the river Nepernine. When the explorer Dr. Thomas Walker first saw it in 1750, an earlier name given by hunters and frontiersmen, Great Salt Lick Creek, makes reference to the many saline springs near the river that attracted animals to its salt licks. The origin of the present name is unclear, though related to the previous name. Other, older settlements of unnamed groups in Bath County on Slate Creek are also known, the river served as an important transportation and trade route for both Native Americans and, from the mid-18th Century on, colonists of European descent who began pushing into the area. In 1782, the river was the site of the Battle of Blue Licks, the Newport Barracks in Newport guarded its mouth from 1803 to 1894. The Licking River is now used extensively for recreation, including boating, canoeing and fishing. It is used for rowing practice by the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, the North Fork of the Licking River between Mouth of Cedar and Crooked creeks is known as sacred ground for the Chagoner tribe and Jethro the Jeep. This group has been known to be the source of spontaneous rebel yells, beer drinking, campfires, the Licking River rises in the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky, in southeastern Magoffin County. It flows northwest in a meandering course past Salyersville and West Liberty. In Rowan County in the Daniel Boone National Forest it is impounded to form the large Cave Run Lake reservoir, northwest of the reservoir it receives Fleming Creek approximately 8 miles northwest of Carlisle and flows across the Bluegrass region of northern Kentucky. It receives the North Fork from the east approximately 10 miles northwest of Mount Olivet and it joins the Ohio opposite Cincinnati, where it separates the cities of Covington and Newport. The river was used as the border of the original Mason County and is the southwest border of Fleming. The river is considered by ecologists to provide a unique ecosystem in the region, the lower river is considered to be a habitat for the relatively rare native muskellunge. The river basin supports several fish species, including, redside dace, mimic shiner, streamline chub, slender madtom, blue sucker, paddlefish. There are more than 50 species of mussels, of which 11 are endangered. The watershed provides wetland stopover habitats for about 250 species of migratory birds, several state and federal agencies, as well as private organizations such as The Nature Conservancy work to protect the diversity of this important habitat. The largest common carp taken in the state of Kentucky was caught in the South Fork of the Licking River
14.
Kentucky River
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The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River,260 miles long, in the U. S. Its watershed encompasses about 7,000 square miles and it supplies drinking water to about one-sixth of the population of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river is no longer navigable above Lock 4 at Frankfort, concrete bulkheads have been poured behind the upper lock gates of Locks 5-14 to strengthen the weakest link in the dam structures. All 14 dams are now under the management of the state-run Kentucky River Authority, the primary importance of the locks today is to maintain a pool that allows the city of Lexington to draw its drinking water from the river. Winchester, Beattyville, Irvine, Richmond, Lancaster, Nicholasville, Harrodsburg, Wilmore, Versailles, Lawrenceburg and it is estimated that over 700,000 people depend on the river for water. It joins the Ohio at Carrollton, approximately 15 miles southwest of Boonesborough it is joined by the Red River. Approximately 20 miles southwest of Boonesborough it is joined by Silver Creek, at High Bridge, it is joined by the Dix River. At Frankfort, it is joined by Benson Creek, approximately 10 miles north of Frankfort, it is joined by Elkhorn Creek. Between Clays Ferry in Madison County and Frankfort, the passes through the Kentucky River Palisades. It continues on until it flows into the Ohio River at Carrollton in Carroll County, the North Fork Kentucky River is approximately 168 miles long. It flows generally northwest, in a course through the mountainous Cumberland Plateau, past Whitesburg, Hazard. It receives Rockhouse Creek at Blackey near its source, approximately 8 miles southeast of Hazard, it receives the Carr Fork. It receives Troublesome Creek at Haddix, southeast of Jackson, three miles upstream from its confluence with the South Fork, it receives the Middle Fork. It joins the South Fork to form the Kentucky at Beattyville, the Middle Fork Kentucky River is a tributary of the North Fork Kentucky River, approximately 105 miles long, in southeastern Kentucky. It rises in the Appalachian Mountains in southernmost Leslie County, approximately 16 miles from the Virginia state line, at Buckhorn, it is impounded to form the Buckhorn Lake reservoir. North of the reservoir it flows generally northwest and joins the North Fork in Lee County, the South Fork Kentucky River is approximately 45 miles long. It is formed in Clay County, at the town of Oneida in the Daniel Boone National Forest, approximately 10 miles northeast of Manchester, by the confluence of Goose Creek and it flows generally north in a highly meandering course through the mountainous Cumberland Plateau region. It joins the North Fork to form the Kentucky at Beattyville, the largest goldeye ever taken in the state of Kentucky was caught in the Kentucky River
15.
Salt River (Kentucky)
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The Salt River is a 150-mile-long river in the U. S. state of Kentucky that drains 2,920 square miles. It begins near Parksville, Kentucky, rising from the slope of Persimmon Knob south of KY300 between Alum Springs and Wilsonville, and ends at the Ohio River near West Point. Taylorsville Lake is formed from the Salt River, and Guist Creek Lake is also in its drainage basin via Breshears Creek, annual flooding swells the normally quiet waters to a rapidly flooding torrent. The Taylorsville Lake Dam, built in the early 1970s, has tamed the worst of the floods, some flooding still occurs, especially near the Brashears Creek juncture at Taylorsville, but it is primarily back flow from the Ohio. The river receives the most rain in the month of May, the Salt River is a part of a Nature Conservancy because of several rare creatures and plants. The flood waters created rich bottom lands and support a variety of wetland habitats, turtles, fish, waterfowl abound, deer, river otters and beaver are some of the typical animals living in the area. However some not so common animals live in the area like the Indiana bat, Gray bat, Fanshell, in addition to the animals, there are several rare or unique plants that live in the area. These include Carex crawei, Cypripedium candidum, Leavenworthia exigua var. laciniata, Sporobolus heterolepis, Symphyotrichum pratense, the river has a 2, 920-square-mile drainage area and is the fifth largest watershed in the state. The terrain around the river is deeply ridged until it nears its outlet at the Ohio, the river itself is roughly 480 to 500 feet above sea level. This creates areas of flat topped ridges separated by narrow valleys or hollows, flash floods are common in these narrow valleys, and they complicate travel between ridges, often requiring a circuitous path. It was not uncommon for folks in the valley and folks on the ridge-tops to see each other infrequently, the Salt River in Bullitt County contains class I rapids and is 11.5 miles. On cool mornings, fog fills the valley floor, stabilizing and cooling the temperature, while on the ridge, it may be hot, tobacco, corn and soybeans do well in the lower fields, even while droughts parched the drier, hotter ridges. The river received its name from the Bullitts Lick facility that was founded in 1779 by Henry Crist, the river has been used for navigation and sustenance since humans occupied the area. Old Indian artifacts are found along the length of the valley by farmers. Log cabins and settlements grew on the banks, using it as a source of water, power, the river bank flats and water made travel over through the ridged terrain easier. During the American Civil War, a fort was established on a tall hill overlooking the Ohio. It guarded passage through Louisville and south on the road along the Ohio River and it also protected against Southern forces attacking from the Ohio River and up the Salt River. Fort Duffield may be the best-preserved earthen Civil War fort in America and illustrates how important river access via the Salt River, in 1983 a dam was built just east of Taylorsville, forming Taylorsville Lake
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Green River (Kentucky)
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The Green River is a 384-mile-long 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, 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 Rogues Harbor. In 1842, the Green River was canalized, with a series of locks and dams being built to create a channel as far inland as Bowling Green. 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, 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 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, in 1969, the United States Army Corps of Engineers impounded a section of the river, forming 8, 200-acre Green River Lake. The lake is now the primary feature of Green River Lake State Park, there is still one Native American tribe living on the Green River, the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. In 1893 Governor John Y. Brown recognized the Southern Cherokee Nation as an Indian tribe, the Green River flows through Mammoth Cave National Park, located along river miles 190 to 205. The 384-mile-long Green River, an important transportation artery for the industry, is open to traffic up to the closed Lock. Muhlenberg County, once the largest coal-producing county in the nation, benefits greatly from access to the river, in 2002, more than 10 million short tons were shipped on the river, primarily sub-bituminous coal, petroleum coke, and aluminum ore. The Green River is home to more than 150 fish species and this includes some of Kentuckys largest fish and some of the worlds rarest species of mussels. B. Cunningham wrote a series of 22 detective stories, all but one of which are set in a county through which the Green River flows and which feature Jess Roden, in 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival released the album Green River. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Green River Green River
17.
Cumberland River
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The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The 688-mile-long river drains almost 18,000 square miles of southern Kentucky, 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, 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 system has been extensively developed for flood control. Its headwaters are three separate forks that begin in Kentucky and converge in its Harlan County, Martins 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, 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 two forks in Baxter. From there, the river continues flowing west through the mountains of Kentucky. The 68-foot 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. Beyond Cumberland Falls, the river turns abruptly west once again and continues to grow as it converges with other creeks and it receives the Laurel and Rockcastle Rivers from the northeast and then 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 reservoir is one of the largest artificial lakes in the eastern US. Near Celina, the river crosses south into Tennessee, where it is joined by the Obey River, 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, finally, the river flows north and merges with the Ohio River at Smithland, northeast of Paducah. The explorer Thomas Walker of Virginia in 1758 named the river, 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 for years after Walkers trip. Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade, 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 transportation routes for trading. In more recent history, a number of floods have struck various regions that the river flows through
18.
Tennessee River
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The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once known as the Cherokee River, among other names, as many of the Cherokee had their territory along its banks, especially in eastern Tennessee. Its current name is derived from the Cherokee village Tanasi, the Tennessee River is formed at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers on the east side of present-day Knoxville, Tennessee. From Knoxville, it flows southwest through East Tennessee toward Chattanooga before crossing into Alabama and it loops through northern Alabama and eventually forms a small part of the states border with Mississippi, before returning to Tennessee. At this point, it defines the boundary between two of Tennessees Grand Divisions, Middle and West Tennessee and this waterway reduces the navigation distance from Tennessee, north Alabama, and northern Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico by hundreds of miles. The final part of the Tennessees run is in Kentucky, where it separates the Jackson Purchase from the rest of the state and it flows into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. The river has been dammed numerous times, primarily in the 20th century by Tennessee Valley Authority projects since the 1930s, a navigation canal located at Grand Rivers, Kentucky, links Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The canal allows for a trip for river traffic going from the Tennessee to most of the Ohio River. Maps from the early 18th century call it Cussate, Hogohegee, Callamaco, a 1755 British map showed the Tennessee River as the River of the Cherakees. By the late 18th century, it had come to be called Tennessee, the river was a major highway to transport goods and explorers in the years when Tennessee was not yet settled. Some major towns that still exist today, and major ports at them were established by those who rode down the river, and settled along it. The Tennessee River begins at mile post 652, where the French Broad River meets the Holston River, in the late 18th century, the mouth of the Little Tennessee River was considered to be the beginning of the Tennessee River. Through much of the 19th century, the Tennessee River was considered to start at the mouth of Clinch River, at various points since the early 19th century, Georgia has disputed its northern border with Tennessee. Georgia made several attempts to correct what Georgia felt was an erroneous survey line in the 1890s,1905,1915,1922,1941,1947 and 1971 to resolve the dispute. Crews Townsend, Joseph McCoin, Robert F. Parsley, Alison Martin and Zachary H. Greene, writing for the Tennessee Bar Journal, a publication of the Tennessee Bar Association, appearing on May 12,2008. In 2008, as a result of a drought and resulting water shortage. In a two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly by the senate, Georgia declared that it, not its neighbor to the north
19.
Beaver River (Pennsylvania)
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The Beaver River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States with a length of approximately 21 mi. It flows through a historically important coal-producing region north of Pittsburgh, the Beaver River is formed in Lawrence County by the confluence of the Mahoning and Shenango rivers at a point approximately 3 mi southwest of New Castle. It flows generally south, past West Pittsburg and Homewood and it receives Connoquenessing Creek west of Ellwood City and flows past Beaver Falls and New Brighton. It joins the Ohio at Bridgewater and Rochester at the end of a sharp bend in the Ohio approximately 20 mi northwest of Pittsburgh. In the lower reaches near the Ohio River, the Beaver cuts through a gorge of underlying sandstone, the river is roughly parallel to the border with the state of Ohio, with both Interstate 376 and Pennsylvania Route 18 running parallel to the river itself. The river, which throughout the northern half of Beaver County. The river itself was named for King Beaver of the Delaware tribe that was native to the area. Geological Survey, PA stream gaging stations Penn State Univ. Geography of Beaver County Pennsylvania
20.
Little Muskingum River
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The Little Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 65 mi long, in southeast Ohio in the United States. It rises in the country of Monroe County, approximately 5 mi northwest of the Ohio River and 8 mi southeast of Woodsfield. It flows southwest, in a meandering course, roughly parallel to. It passes Rinard Mills and Dart, and joins the Ohio approximately 5 mi southeast of Marietta, Ohio and the mouth of the Muskingum River, duck Creek enters the Ohio between the mouth of the Muskingum and Little Muskingum. All except the last 2 mi of the river are within Wayne National Forest
21.
Muskingum River
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The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio. Via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed, the river is navigable for much of its length through a series of locks and dams. The Muskingum is formed at Coshocton in east-central Ohio by the confluence of the Walhonding and it joins the Ohio at Marietta. Along its course the Muskingum collects Wills Creek near Conesville, Wakatomika Creek at Dresden, the Licking River at Zanesville, Moxahala Creek at South Zanesville, the name Muskingum derives from the Shawnee word mshkikwam swampy ground, taken to mean elks eye in Lenape by folk etymology. Historically, it was also the name of a large Wyandot town along the river, noted frontier explorer, Christopher Gist, reached the Big Sandy Creek tributary of the river on December 4,1751. Traveling downriver, he recorded arriving on December 14 at the western Wyandot town of Muskingum, there he remained for the following month. Marietta was founded in 1788 as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory, the Big Bottom Massacre occurred along its banks in 1791. Zanesville was settled by European Americans in 1799 at the site where Zanes Trace crossed the Muskingum at the mouth of the Licking River. In the mid-19th century the Muskingum was an important commercial shipping route, with dams and locks controlling the level to allow boats to travel up. With the decrease in use of water-based transportation in Ohio by the 1920s, since the 1960s, the locks have been repaired to enable pleasure craft to travel the entire navigable length of the river. The Muskingum waterway is one of the few remaining systems in the US to use hand-operated river locks, the navigation system has been designated a national Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2006, it was designated An Ohio Water Trail, this provides for increased canoe access on the river. The Friends of the Lower Muskingum River is a 501 nonprofit land trust based in Marietta, Ohio, concerned with protection of the Muskingum River, in addition, the Muskingum River Conservation District is a quasi-governmental entity concerned with flood control on the river
22.
Little Hocking River
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The Little Hocking River is a small tributary of the Ohio River,18.4 miles long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, the river flows for its entire length in southwestern Washington County, its tributaries also drain a small area of southeastern Athens County. Downstream of Veto Lake, the river flows southwestward into Belpre Township, near its mouth it turns eastward and it is 6.8 miles long and drains an area of 13 square miles. The Little West Branch Little Hocking River rises at 39°21′28″N 81°43′06″W in Fairfield Township and it is 6 miles long and drains an area of 9.46 square miles. It is 18 miles long and drains an area of 39.4 square miles, according to the Geographic Names Information System, the Little Hocking River has also been known historically as Little Hockhocken River, Little Hockhockin River, and Little Hockhocking River. List of rivers of Ohio Root Covered Bridge
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Hocking River
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The Hocking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio in the United States. The Hocking flows mostly on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, but its headwaters are in a glaciated region and it joins the Ohio River at Hockingport. The Hockings tributaries also drain parts of Perry, Morgan, the river begins as a small stream, then immediately goes over a water fall into a wide gorge. When viewed from above this feature looks like a bottle, which led to its name, the river was known as the Hockhocking River until the late 19th century. The Hocking Canal once linked Athens to Lancaster and the Ohio and Erie Canal, due to frequent flooding of Ohio Universitys campus, the Army Corps of Engineers re-channelized a section of the Hocking River in Athens during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between Nelsonville and Athens, the Hocking today is roughly paralleled by a rail trail, the path serves as a major source of recreation for the residents of the area, especially the students of Ohio University and Hocking College. Major tributaries to the Hocking include Federal Creek, Margaret Creek, Sunday Creek, Monday Creek, Scott Creek, Oldtown Creek, Clear Creek, Rush Creek, Pleasant Run, Baldwin Run, many of these tributaries are affected by acid mine drainage. Canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and tubing are very popular activities on the Hocking River, Hocking Hills Adventures and Hocking Hills Canoe Livery each operate trips suitable for all skill levels on the mid and upper sections of the river. The mid and upper portions of the Hocking River serve as an above-average smallmouth bass fishery, typical species of midwestern warmwater streams are generally found throughout the river. The Hocking River Water Trail is now under development, friends of the Hocking River in conjunction with Hocking Hills Adventures sponsor an annual river cleanup. The event is held during the second Saturday in June and it concludes with a BBQ. The Shawnee language name is Withakakkwathiipi, flooding on the Hocking used to be a yearly occurrence for the residents of Athens, Ohio. The floods determined many aspects of the lives, for example where to build a house. Most of the houses in Athens are built up on the hills and it wasn’t until the university needed to expand, due to an influx of students during the 1950s that anything was even built into the flood plain. Some mentionable floods were the 1907 flood, in seven people died. Another notable flood took place in 1968 which was labeled The worst flood in fifty five years, the 1968 flood is also of interest due to the fact that the re-routing of the Hocking River project began in 1969. The re-routing of the Hocking was undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the project was completed by 1971 and reverted five miles of the river along the West Green. This flood took place on March 14,1907 and caused damage throughout Athens
24.
Shade River
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The Shade River is a tributary of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, the Shade River is 17.4 miles long, or 38.2 miles including its west branch. The Shade River flows predominantly as three streams, its east, middle, and west branches, the West Branch is 20.8 miles long and drains an area of 71.3 square miles. The Middle Branch is 28.5 miles long and drains an area of 57.6 square miles, the East Branch is 21.9 miles long and drains an area of 54.9 square miles. From the confluence of the middle and west branches in Chester Township and it collects its east branch from the north at the community of Keno, and enters the Ohio River in Olive Township, approximately one mile south of the community of Long Bottom. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Shade River has also known historically as Shade Creek. At the United States Geological Surveys stream gauge downstream of Chester, the highest recorded flow during the period was 15,600 cfs on March 2,1997. The lowest recorded flow was 0.00 cfs on September 5,2007, list of rivers of Ohio Shade River State Forest
25.
Scioto River
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The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, too small for modern commercial shipping, its primary economic importance is for recreation and drinking water. The lower Scioto River valley is large compared to the width of the river and is extensively farmed, meltwaters from retreating glaciers carved the valley exceptionally wide. Valley bottoms are smooth, and flood deposits created during and since the most recent Glacial period cause floodplain soils to be very productive, as a result, farms line much of the lower Scioto where it flows through low, rolling hills covered in hardwood trees. The geologic history of the Scioto River is tied to the destruction of the Teays River network during the Ice Ages, the north flowing Teays River was dammed by glaciers, and damming of other rivers led to a series of floods as lakes overflowed into adjacent valleys. Glacial Lake Tight is estimated to have been two-thirds the size of modern Lake Erie, valleys beyond the reach of glaciers were reorganized to create the Ohio River, and the Scioto River replaced the Teays River. The Scioto River flows through segments of the Teays River valley, in the cities of Columbus and Dublin, the river has cut a gorge in fossil-bearing Devonian limestone, and many tributary streams have waterfalls, such as Hayden Falls. The Scioto River valley was home to many Native American cultures, the best known group is the Mound Builders of the Hopewell tradition. Numerous burial mounds can be seen near Chillicothe at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, the former strength of these cultures is demonstrated in settler accounts from as far east as Virginia. The name Scioto is derived from the Wyandot word skɛnǫ·tǫ’ deer (compare Shenandoah, during the antebellum years, the Scioto River provided a route to freedom for many slaves escaping from the South, as they continued north after crossing the Ohio River. Towns such as Chillicothe became important stops on the Underground Railroad, a traditional fiddle tune in the Appalachian repertoire, “Big Scioty”, takes its name from the river. The melody is attributed to the Hammons family of West Virginia, in 2012, the river dropped to record- or near-record-low water levels as a result of the acute effects of the 2012 North American drought in Ohio. Threats facing the river include agricultural pollutants from upstream and urban-generated pollutants such as contaminated street runoff, rapid residential and commercial development in the watershed is increasing stormwater runoff. There are two dams on the river. Griggs Dam in Columbus was built in 1904–1908 to impound a water supply for the city, farther upstream, at Shawnee Hills, the OShaughnessy Dam was built in 1922–1925 creating a larger reservoir which was billed at the time as the finest inland waterway in the United States. Both dams are operated by the city of Columbus, the removal of the Main Street Dam in downtown Columbus, which was built in 1921, began in November 2013. The removal was proposed in the 2010 Strategic Plan for downtown Columbus. Environmental Protection Agency, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Metro Parks, The Columbus Foundation, and Battelle
26.
Little Miami River
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The Little Miami River is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows 111 miles through five counties in southwestern Ohio in the United States. The Little Miami joins the Ohio River east of Cincinnati and it forms parts of the borders between Hamilton and Clermont counties and between Hamilton and Warren counties. The Little Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River. It is part of a watershed that drains a 1,757 square miles area in 11 southwestern Ohio counties, Clark, Montgomery, Madison, Greene, Warren, Butler, Clinton, Clermont, Brown, and Highland. The river discharges on average 1,737 cubic feet per second into the Ohio River, an average of 1,280 cubic feet per second flow through the river proper, after heavy rains, the river flow may rise to 84,100 cubic feet per second. Tributaries of the Little Miami include Beaver Creek, Sugar Creek, the East Fork Little Miami, North Fork, Todds Fork, Duck Creek, Caesar Creek, Massie Creek, and Turtle Creek. The rivers main tributary, the East Fork of the Little Miami, was dammed in 1977 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to create Harsha Lake, located in East Fork State Park. Similarly, in 1973, the Army Corps dammed Caesar Creek to create Caesar Creek Lake, the rivers headwaters, considered part of the North Fork, are located about 5 miles from South Charleston in Clark County, near Plattsburgh. The river empties into the Ohio River at California, a neighborhood of Cincinnati in Hamilton County, between the headwaters and the mouth, there is a 705-foot decrease in elevation. The Little Miami River is named for the Miami, an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who lived in the region during the days of white settlement. Historically, the formed the eastern boundary of the Symmes Purchase. In 1967 The Ohio University Development Planning Institute published The Little Miami of Ohio, A Study of a Wild and this 56-page booklet, illustrated with maps and black and white photographs, first presented the idea of a corridor of parks and natural areas along the river. Mr. Thompson was the editor of the Dayton Journal-Herald in the late 1950s, the 1968 Wild and Scenic River Act designated portions of the Little Miami National Scenic River as Ohios first National Wild and Scenic River. The remainder of the river was added to the State Scenic River in 1971, hydropower of the Little Miami River was developed into the largest privately owned ammunition manufacturing center between New England and the Mississippi River. Company towns for the Miami Powder Company and Peters Cartridge Company were built at Goes Station and Kings Mills, since then, studies by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency have established that the site no longer poses an environmental hazard to the nearby river. The Little Miami River is home to at least 87 species of fish, as well as species of turtles, frogs, water snakes, birds, mammals. The river contains 36 species of mussels, including two threatened species, one of which is endangered, Ohio considers five of the species to be endangered. Recently, zebra mussels and Asiatic clams have crowded out native species, the river is protected by a number of nature preserves owned by Little Miami Inc. as well as by state and local parks
27.
Great Miami River
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The Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 160 miles long, in southwestern Ohio and Indiana in the United States. The Great Miami flows through Dayton, Piqua, Troy, Hamilton, the river is named for the Miami, an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who lived in the region during the early days of European settlement. They were forced to relocate to the west to escape European-American settlement pressure, the region surrounding the Great Miami River is known as the Miami Valley. This term is used in the portions of the valley as a moniker for the economic-cultural region centered primarily on the Greater Dayton area. As the lower portions of the Miami Valley fall under the influence of Cincinnati, the main course of the Great Miami River rises from the outflow of Indian Lake in Logan County, about 1 mile southeast of the village of Russells Point, approximately 15 miles southeast of Lima. Indian Lake is a reservoir which receives the flow from the North and South forks of the Great Miami River. It flows south and southwest, past Sidney, and is joined by Loramie Creek in northern Miami County and it flows south past Piqua and Troy, and through Taylorsville Dam near Tipp City and Vandalia. It continues through Dayton, where it is joined by the Stillwater, from Dayton it flows southwest past Miamisburg, Franklin, Middletown and Hamilton in the southwest corner of Ohio. The river meanders across the line near Lawrenceburg, Indiana in the last two miles before reaching its mouth approximately ¼ mile east of the border in Ohio. In the 1700s, the French called the river Riviere a la Roche, the Miami and Erie Canal, which connected the Ohio River with Lake Erie, was built through the Great Miami watershed. The first portion of the canal, from Cincinnati to Middletown, was operational in 1828, water from the Great Miami fed into the canal. A later extension to the canal, the Sidney Feeder, drew water from the reaches of the Great Miami from near Port Jefferson. The canal served as the principal route of transportation from Toledo to Cincinnati for western Ohio until being supplanted in the 1850s by railroads. Heightened attention to pollution in the late 1950s and 1960s has led to significant improvements in waste disposal
28.
Wabash River
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From the dam near Huntington, Indiana, to its terminus at the Ohio River, the Wabash flows freely for 411 miles. Its watershed drains most of Indiana, the Wabash is the state river of Indiana, and subject of the state song On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away by Paul Dresser. As the Laurentide ice sheet began to retreat from present day Northern Indiana, the eastern or Erie Lobe sat atop and behind the Fort Wayne Moraine. Meltwater from the glacier fed into two streams, which became the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers. Their combined discharge was probably the source of water for the proglacial Wabash River system. Around 11,000 years ago the waters of Lake Maumee became deep enough that it breached a sag or weak spot in the Fort Wayne Moraine. This caused a catastrophic draining of the lake which in turn scoured a 1 to 2 mi wide valley known as the Wabash-Erie Channel or sluiceway, the Little River flows through this channel and U. S.24 traverses it between Fort Wayne and Huntington. The valley is the largest topographical feature in Allen County, Indiana, when the ice melted completely from the region, new outlets for Lake Maumees water opened up at elevations lower than the Wabash-Erie Channel. While the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers continued to flow through the channel, now a low-lying, probably marshy bit of terrain lay in between. It is not known for certain when, but at some point in the distant past the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers jumped their banks and flooded the marshy ground of the Fort Wayne Outlet. The discharge of this flood was enough to cut across the outlet. This meant that when the waters receded, the sluiceway was permanently abandoned by the two rivers. As a result of capturing both, the Maumee was converted from a minor creek to a large river. Once again, river waters flowed through the Fort Wayne Outlet, following this event, the branch of the Wabash River that originates along the Wabash Moraine near Bluffton became the systems main course and source. For part of its course the Wabash follows the path of the pre-glacial Teays River, the name Wabash is an English spelling of the French name for the river, Ouabache. French traders named the river after the Miami-Illinois word for the river, waapaahšiiki, meaning it shines white, pure white, the Miami name reflected the clarity of the river in Huntington County, Indiana where the river bottom is limestone. The Wabash was first mapped by French explorers to the Mississippi, although the Wabash is today considered a tributary of the Ohio, the Ohio was considered a tributary of the Wabash until the mid-18th century. This is because the French traders traveled north and south from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico via the Wabash, it served as a vital trade route for North American-French trade
29.
Pittsburgh
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Pittsburgh is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and is the county seat of Allegheny County. The city proper has a population of 304,391. The metropolitan population of 2,353,045 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 26th-largest in the U. S. The city features 30 skyscrapers, two inclines, a fortification and the Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers. Aside from steel, Pittsburgh has led in manufacturing of aluminum, glass, shipbuilding, petroleum, foods, sports, transportation, computing, autos, and electronics. For part of the 20th century, Pittsburgh was behind only New York and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment, Americas 1980s deindustrialization laid off area blue-collar workers and thousands of downtown white-collar workers when the longtime Pittsburgh-based world headquarters moved out. The area has served also as the federal agency headquarters for cyber defense, software engineering, robotics, energy research. The area is home to 68 colleges and universities, including research and development leaders Carnegie Mellon University, the region is a hub for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, sustainable energy, and energy extraction. Pittsburgh was named in 1758 by General John Forbes, in honor of British statesman William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. The current pronunciation, which is unusual in English speaking countries, is almost certainly a result of a printing error in some copies of the City Charter of March 18,1816. The error was repeated commonly enough throughout the rest of the 19th century that the pronunciation was lost. After a public campaign the original spelling was restored by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1911. The area of the Ohio headwaters was long inhabited by the Shawnee, the first known European to enter the region was the French explorer/trader Robert de La Salle from Quebec during his 1669 expedition down the Ohio River. European pioneers, primarily Dutch, followed in the early 18th century, Michael Bezallion was the first to describe the forks of the Ohio in a 1717 manuscript, and later that year European fur traders established area posts and settlements. In 1749, French soldiers from Quebec launched an expedition to the forks to unite Canada with French Louisiana via the rivers, during 1753–54, the British hastily built Fort Prince George before a larger French force drove them off. The French built Fort Duquesne based on LaSalles 1669 claims, the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years War, began with the future Pittsburgh as its center. British General Edward Braddock was dispatched with Major George Washington as his aide to take Fort Duquesne, the British and colonial force were defeated at Braddocks Field. General John Forbes finally took the forks in 1758, Forbes began construction on Fort Pitt, named after William Pitt the Elder while the settlement was named Pittsborough
30.
East Liverpool, Ohio
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East Liverpool is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,195 at the time of the 2010 census and it is located along the Ohio River and borders the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. East Liverpool is a city in the Salem, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area. Historically, it was referred to as the Pottery Capital of the World due to the number of potteries in the city, due to changes in the industry. The city is known as the hometown of former University of Notre Dame. It was the destination for the body of bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd, the Beginning Point of the U. S. Public Land Survey is just east of the city center, on the Ohio–Pennsylvania border, East Liverpool traces its European-American settlement to 1798 when Thomas Fawcett purchased 1,100 acres of land along the Ohio River in what was then Jefferson County. In 1802 he platted the town of St. Clair, named for Arthur St. Clair and it was called Fawcettstown for a time by the residents. In 1816, they changed the name to Liverpool and it was incorporated as East Liverpool in 1834 when Liverpool Township in Medina County objected to possible confusion. James Bennett, an English potter, established the industry in East Liverpool. East Liverpool became known as The Crockery City, from 1870 through 1890, the US Census showed that the city more than doubled in population each decade, as it attracted new industrial workers with the growth of the pottery industry. By 1910, it had more than 20,000 people, East Liverpool once produced more than half of the United Statess annual ceramics output. Throughout East Liverpools ceramics history, there were more than 300 potteries, of these potteries, three continue to operate in this area, The Hall China Company, the Homer Laughlin China Company, and Pioneer Pottery. In the mid-19th century, East Liverpool also produced most of the pottery used in the United States. Among the most famous of East Liverpools ceramics was the known as Lotus Ware. Produced by Knowles, Taylor & Knowles in the 1890s, this Moorish- and it is generally considered to be the finest porcelain ever produced in the US. The Museum of Ceramics in downtown East Liverpool has the worlds largest public display of Lotus Ware, as of 1914, East Liverpool was served by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. The city reached its population of more than 26,000 in 1970
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Wheeling, West Virginia
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Wheeling is a city in Ohio County in the U. S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British colony of Virginia and later an important city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Wheeling was the first state capital of West Virginia, due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad, Wheeling became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century. Wheeling is the city of the Wheeling, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 147,950, the origins of the name Wheeling are disputed. One of the more credible explanations is that the word comes from the Lenni-Lenape phrase wih link and this supposedly referred to a white settler who was scalped and decapitated. His severed head was displayed at the confluence of Wheeling Creek, the area had been inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. In the 17th century, the Iroquois from present-day New York state conquered the upper Ohio Valley, pushing out other tribes and maintaining the area as their hunting ground. Originally explored by the French, Wheeling still has a lead plate remnant buried by the explorer Céloron de Blainville in 1749 at the mouth of Wheeling Creek to mark their claim, later, Christopher Gist and George Washington surveyed the land, in 1751 and 1770, respectively. During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area, other families joined the settlement, including the Shepherds, the Wetzels, and the McCollochs. In 1787, the United States gave Virginia this portion of lands west of the Appalachians, by the Northwest Ordinance that year, it established the Northwest Territory to cover other lands north of the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi River. Settlers began to move into new areas along the Ohio, in 1793, Ebenezer Zane divided the town into lots, and Wheeling was officially established as a town in 1795 by legislative enactment. The town was incorporated January 16,1805, on March 11,1836, the town of Wheeling was incorporated into the city of Wheeling. By an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 27,1797, originally dubbed Fort Fincastle in 1774, the fort was later renamed Fort Henry in honor of Virginias American governor, Patrick Henry. In 1777, Native Americans of the Shawnee, Wyandot and Mingo tribes joined to attack settlements along the upper Ohio River. They hoped an alliance with the British would drive the settlers out of their territory. Local men, later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd and Fort Holliday, the native force burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock. During the first attack of the year, Major Samuel McColloch led a force of men from Fort Vanmetre along Short Creek to assist the besieged Fort Henry
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Parkersburg, West Virginia
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Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the states third-largest city, the population was 31,492 at the 2010 census. Its peak of population was more than 44,000 in 1960, the city is about 14 miles south of Marietta, Ohio. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Parkersburg in 1857, but lacked a crossing over the Ohio River until after the American Civil War, when the B&O completed the Parkersburg Bridge 1868-1870 to Belpre, it was the longest railroad bridge in the world. The Bureau of the Public Debt, an agency of the U. S. Treasury Department, was relocated from the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area in the late 20th century and headquartered in Parkersburg. In October 2012, it was merged with the Financial Management Service to form the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, White settlers originally named the city Newport when they settled it in the late 18th century following the American Revolutionary War. This was part of a migration of settlers from parts of Virginia to the east. A town section was laid out on land granted to Alexander Parker for his Revolutionary War service, Virginia made grants of land to veterans for their war service. The title conflicts between Parker and the city planners of Newport were settled in 1809 in favor of his heirs, the town was renamed Parkersburg in 1810. It was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1820 and it was rechartered as a city in 1860. The town was the terminus of both the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and the Northwestern Turnpike. In 1857 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built a line south to the town from Wheeling. Travelers wanting to connect with the Ohio Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, one of the east-west lines along the Ohio River, had to take a steamboat 14 miles north to Marietta, jacob Linville designed the railroad bridge planned by the B&O. It was constructed in 1868–1870 between Parkersburg and Belpre, Ohio, as part of the B&Os main line from Baltimore to St. Louis and this drew traffic and trade from Marietta. Today the structure is known as the Parkersburg Bridge, Parkersburg served as a transportation and medical center for Union forces during the American Civil War. It developed further as a hub in the gas and oil boom following that war. Blennerhassett Island is a site located in Parkersburg. In the late 19th century Parkersburg emerged as an oil refining center serving nearby oilfields at Volcano
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Huntington, West Virginia
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Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U. S. state of West Virginia. A historic and bustling city of commerce and heavy industry, Huntington has long-flourished due to its location on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Guyandotte River. It is home to the Port of Huntington Tri-state, the busiest inland port in the United States, surrounded by extensive natural resources, the industrial sector is based in coal, oil, chemicals and steel all of which support Huntingtons diversified economy. The city is a vital transfer point for the marine transportation industry. Also, it is considered a scenic locale in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The railroad founded Huntington as one of the nations first planned communities to facilitate the railroad, the first identifiable permanent settlement, Holderbys Landing, was founded in 1775 in the Colony of Virginia although the site had been sparsely settled by the French as early as 1609. With the exception of the neighborhoods of Westmoreland and Spring Valley, as of the 2010 census, the metropolitan area is the largest in West Virginia. It spans 7 counties across 3 states, with a population of 365,419, Huntington is the second largest city in West Virginia, with a population of 49,138 at the 2010 census. The Huntington–Charleston TV market is the 64th-largest in the nation, the city is the home of Marshall University as well as the Huntington Museum of Art, the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Collis P. The largest employers are Marshall University, Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center, CSX Transportation, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Amazon, DirecTV, and the City of Huntington. The 2006 Warner Bros. motion picture We Are Marshall and the 2010 ABC series Jamie Olivers Food Revolution were filmed in Huntington. Huntington is in the corner of West Virginia, on the border with Ohio, on the southern bank of the Ohio River. The city lies within the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau, most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County, Huntington is commonly divided into four main sections. The north/south divider is the CSX railroad tracks, while the east/west divider is First Street, residents of Huntington are called Huntingtonians. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 18.46 square miles. The Guyandotte River joins the Ohio River about 5 miles east of downtown, Huntington fills the roughly three-mile wide flood plain of the south bank of the Ohio River for eighty square blocks and portions of the hills to the immediate south and southeast. Huntington was founded on lightly populated lands near Guyandotte as a C&O Railroad hub, on the bank of the Ohio River
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Ashland, Kentucky
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Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, in the United States. Ashland, the largest city in Boyd County, is located upon the bank of the Ohio River. The population was 21,684 at the 2010 census, Ashland is a part of the Huntington, West Virginia metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, this metropolitan area had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28,2013 placed the population at 363,000, Ashland is the second-largest city within the MSA, after Huntington, West Virginia. Ashland serves as an important economic and medical center for northeast Kentucky and is part of the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Kentucky, Ashland dates back to the migration of the Poage family from the Shenandoah Valley via the Cumberland Gap in 1786. They erected a homestead along the Ohio River and named it Poages Landing, also called Poage Settlement, the community that developed around it remained an extended-family affair until the mid-19th century. In 1854, the city name was changed to Ashland, after Henry Clays Lexington estate and to reflect the citys growing industrial base. The citys early growth was a result of Ohios pig iron industry and, particularly, the 1854 charter of the Kentucky Iron, Coal. The city was incorporated by the General Assembly two years later in 1856. Major industrial employers in the first half of the 20th Century included Armco, Ashland Oil and Refining Company, the C&O Railroad, Allied Chemical & Dye Companys Semet Solvay, Ashland is located at 38°27′50″N 82°38′30″W. It lies within the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 10.8 square miles, of which 10.7 square miles is land and 0.039 square miles. Ashlands central business district extends from 12th Street to 18th Street, Ashland is in the humid continental climate zone, and distinctly experiences all four seasons, with vivid fall foliage and snow in the winter. Average high is 88 °F in July, the warmest month, with the lows of 19 °F occurring in January. The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F in July 1954, the lowest recorded temperature was −25 °F in January 1994. Average annual precipitation is 42.8 inches, with the wettest month being July, as of the census of 2000, there were 21,981 people,9,675 households, and 6,192 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,984.4 inhabitants per square mile, there were 10,763 housing units at an average density of 971.7 per square mile
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Cincinnati
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Cincinnati is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio that serves as county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the side of the confluence of the Licking with the Ohio River. With a population of 298,550, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and its metropolitan statistical area is the 28th-largest in the United States and the largest centered in Ohio. The city is part of the larger Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area. In the 19th century, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country, it rivaled the larger cities in size. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was listed among the top 10 U. S and it was by far the largest city in the west. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads drawing off freight shipping, trade patterns had altered and Cincinnatis growth slowed considerably. Cincinnati is home to two sports teams, the Cincinnati Reds, the oldest franchise in Major League Baseball. The University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819, is one of the 50 largest in the United States, Cincinnati is known for its historic architecture. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as Paris of America, due mainly to such ambitious projects as the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it Losantiville, in 1790, Arthur St. Ethnic Germans were among the early settlers, migrating from Pennsylvania and the backcountry of Virginia and Tennessee. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington, after the conclusion of the Northwest Indian Wars and removal of Native Americans to the west, he was elected as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1802. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819, exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830 its population tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1827 to Middletown, Ohio further stimulated businesses, the city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the two decades, reaching 115,000 persons by 1850. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21,1825, the first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown, by 1840, during this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City
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Louisville, Kentucky
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Louisville is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 30th-most populous city in the United States. It is one of two cities in Kentucky designated as first-class, the other being the states second-largest city of Lexington, Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County. Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and is named after King Louis XVI of France, making Louisville one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains. Sited beside the Falls of the Ohio, the major obstruction to river traffic between the upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico, the settlement first grew as a portage site. It was the city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Its main airport is also the site of United Parcel Services worldwide air hub, since 2003, Louisvilles borders have been the same as those of Jefferson County because of a city-county merger. The official name of this consolidated city-county government is the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, the citys total consolidated population as of the 2014 census estimate was 760,026. However, the total of 612,780 excludes other incorporated places and semiautonomous towns within the county and is the population listed in most sources. As of 2014, the MSA had a population of 1,269,702, the history of Louisville spans hundreds of years, and has been influenced by the areas geography and location. The rapids at the Falls of the Ohio created a barrier to river travel, the first European settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville was on Corn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark, credited as the founder of Louisville. Several landmarks in the community are named after him, two years later, in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly approved the town charter of Louisville. The city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, early residents lived in forts to protect themselves from Indian raids, but moved out by the late 1780s. In 1803, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark organized their expedition across America in the town of Clarksville, Indiana at the present-day Falls of the Ohio opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The citys early growth was influenced by the fact river boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching the falls. By 1828, the population had swelled to 7,000, the city grew rapidly in its formative years. Louisville was a shipping port and slaves worked in a variety of associated trades. The city was often a point of escape for slaves to the north, during the Civil War, Louisville was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting, and transportation for numerous campaigns, by the end of the war, Louisville had not been attacked, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon, took place nearby
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Owensboro, Kentucky
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Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population and it is located on U. S. Route 60 about 107 miles southwest of Louisville, and is the principal city of the Owensboro metropolitan area. The metropolitan population was estimated at 116,506, evidence of American Indian settlement in the area dates back 12,000 years. Following a series of failed uprisings with British support, however, the first European descendant to settle in Owensboro was frontiersman William Smeathers or Smothers in 1797, for whom the riverfront park is named. The settlement was known as Yellow Banks from the color of the land beside the Ohio River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at what is todays Owensboro prior to departing on their famous travels, in 1817, Yellow Banks was formally established under the name Owensborough, named after Col. Abraham Owen. In 1893, the spelling of the name was shortened to its current Owensboro, in August 1864, Owensboro was subject to a raid by a band of Confederate guerrillas from Tennessee led by Captain Jack Bennett, an officer in Stovepipe Johnsons Partisan Rangers. Another major battle occurred 8 miles south of Owensboro and is signified by a monument marking the battle located beside US Highway 431. Several distillers, mainly of bourbon whiskey, have been in, the major distillery still in operation is the Glenmore Distillery Company, now owned by the Sazerac Company. On August 14,1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States, rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The execution was presided over by a sheriff, Florence Shoemaker Thompson. The end of the Second World War brought civil engineering projects which helped turn Owensboro from an industrial town into a modern. The Owensboro Wagon Company, established in 1884, was one of the largest and most influential companies in the nation. With eight styles or sizes of wagons, the set the standard of quality at the turn of the 20th century. Frederick A. Ames came to Owensboro from Washington, Pennsylvania and he started the Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages. In 1910, he began to manufacture a line of automobiles under the Ames brand name, Ames hired industrialist Vincent Bendix in 1912, and the company became the Ames Motor Car Company. Despite its product being called the best $1500 car by a Texas car dealer, the company then began manufacturing replacement bodies for the more widely sold Ford Model T. In 1922, the company itself and started to manufacture furniture under the name Ames Corporation
38.
Evansville, Indiana
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Evansville is a city in and the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 117,429 at the 2010 census, the 38th parallel crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69. Situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, the city is referred to as the Crescent Valley or River City. As testament to the Ohios grandeur, early French explorers named it La Belle Riviere, the area has been inhabited by various cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years. Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of the Mississippian culture from 1000 AD to around 1400 AD, the city itself was founded in 1812. The broad economic base of the region has helped build an economy which is known for its stability, diversity, Four NYSE companies are headquartered in Evansville, along with the global operations center for NYSE company Mead Johnson. Three other companies traded on the NASDAQ are also headquartered in Evansville, the city is home to public and private enterprise in many areas, as Evansville serves as the economic hub of the region. The city has well known educational institutions. Other local educational institutions have also garnered praise and attention, including nationally ranked Signature School, in 2008, Evansville was voted the best city in the country in which to live, work, and play by the readers of Kiplinger, and in 2009 the 11th best. See main article, History of Evansville, Indiana, there was a continuous human presence in the area that became Evansville from at least 8,000 BC by Paleo-Indians. Following the abandonment of Angel Mounds between the years 1400 and 1450, tribes of Miami, Shawnee, Piankeshaw, Wyandot, Delaware, the land encompassing Evansville was formally relinquished by the Delaware in 1805 to General William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indiana Territory. French hunters and trappers were among the first Europeans to come to the area, on March 27,1812, Hugh McGary Jr. purchased about 441 acres and named it McGarys Landing. In 1814, to more people, McGary renamed his village Evansville in honor of Colonel Robert Morgan Evans. Evansville incorporated in 1817 and became a county seat on January 7,1818, the county was named for Henry Vanderburgh, a deceased chief judge of the Indiana territorial supreme court. Evansville soon became a commercial town with an extensive river trade. The west side of Evansville was for many years cut off from the part of the city by Pigeon Creek. The land comprising the town of Lamasco was platted in 1837 and was ultimately annexed in 1870. The project was intended to open Indiana to commerce and improve transportation from New Orleans to New York City, unfortunately the project bankrupted the state and was so poorly engineered that it would not hold water
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Henderson, Kentucky
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Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River in Henderson County in western Kentucky in the United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U. S. census and it is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the Kentuckiana or the Tri-State Area. Notable residents have included the ornithologist, naturalist, and painter John James Audubon, for more than 100 years the city has been home to the Southern Cherokee Nation. The city was named after Col. Richard Henderson, a pioneer and land speculator, by his associates Gen. Samuel Hopkins. The Henderson County also shares this namesake, Henderson has its roots in a small, block-wide strip of land high above the Ohio River, the site of the present Audubon Mill Park directly south of the citys riverfront boat dock. A village on site was called Red Banks by the local Cherokee on account of its reddish clay soil. By the early 1790s, Red Banks had a tavern and several European-American families along with the Cherokee, during this period, the Red Banks settlement had gained notoriety as a frontier haven for westward moving, outlaws and their families. One such family was that of Squire Samuel Mason, by that time, excluding the Cherokee, the free male inhabitants of Red Bank totaled 62. On March 17,1775, North Carolina judge Col. Known as the Transylvania Purchase, however, the commonwealth granted Henderson and his company an area of 200,000 acres to develop. It was located at the confluence of the Green and Ohio rivers, Henderson hired Daniel Boone to survey the country and select favorable sites, but Henderson died before the town was developed. Gen. Samuel Hopkins and the surveyor Thomas Allin visited Red Banks in 1797 and it was formally established by the Kentucky legislature the same year. A distinguishing characteristic of the new plan was unusually wide streets. By October 29,1799, a census for the city of Henderson showed a population of 183, the county had 423 residents,207 slaves, and 412 horses. A post office was established in the town in 1801, the city was incorporated on Jan. By mid-century, Henderson County had become a producer of tobacco. The area was reported to be the largest dark tobacco producer in the world, postcards from the era show long lines of horse- and mule-drawn wagons piled high with tobacco, waiting their turn to unload for shipment downriver. Some tobacco processors accumulated considerable fortunes, shortly before World War I, Henderson was said to have more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world. Great Britain, however, imposed a tariff on imported tobacco after the war, wrecking the county
40.
Paducah, Kentucky
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Paducah is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 24,864 in 2015, down from 25,024 during the 2010 U. S. Census, twenty blocks of the citys downtown have been designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Paducah is the hub of its area, which includes McCracken, Ballard and Livingston counties in Kentucky. Paducah was first settled as Pekin by James and William Pore c. 1821, the community – favorably located at the confluence of several waterways – occupied a site previously noted as a Chickasaw trading center. The town was out by William Clark in 1827 and renamed Paducah. Instead, it is probable that Clark named the town for the Comanches, Paducah was formally established as a town in 1830 and incorporated as a city by the state legislature in 1838. By this time, steam boats traversed the river system and its facilities were important to trade. In addition, railroads began to be developed that entered the region, a factory for making red bricks, and a foundry for making rail and locomotive components became the nucleus of a thriving River and Rail economy. It became the site of dry dock facilities for steamboats and towboats, because of its proximity to coalfields further to the east in Kentucky and north in Illinois, Paducah also became an important railway hub for the Illinois Central Railroad. This was the primary north-south railway connecting the cities of Chicago and East St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico at Gulfport, Mississippi and New Orleans. The Illinois Central system also provided east-west links to the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka, the Illinois Central Railroad began construction of their largest locomotive workshop at Paducah in 1924. Over a period of 190 days, a ravine between Washington and Jones Streets was filled with 44,560 carloads of dirt to enlarge the site to include 23 buildings. The eleven million dollar project was completed in 1927 as the fourth largest industrial plant in Kentucky and it became the largest employer in Paducah with 1,075 employees in 1938. The shops became part of the Paducah and Louisville Railway in 1986, at the outset of the Civil War, Kentucky attempted to take a neutral position. However, when a Confederate force occupied Columbus, a Union force under General Ulysses S. Grant responded by occupying Paducah. Throughout most of the war, Col. Stephen G. Hicks was in charge of Paducah, on December 17,1862, under the terms of General Order No. 11, US forces required thirty Jewish families to leave their long-established homes, Grant was trying to break up a black market in cotton, in which he suspected Jewish traders were involved. Cesar Kaskel, a prominent local Jewish businessman, dispatched a telegram of complaint to Pres, lincoln and met with him, together with similar actions by other Jewish businessmen and loud complaints by Congress, he succeeded in seeing the order revoked within a few weeks
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Cairo, Illinois
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Cairo is the southernmost city in the U. S. state of Illinois, and is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, the rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, a Civil War fort that was built in 1862 by Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinois city surrounded by levees and it is in the area known as Little Egypt. Several blocks in the town comprise the Cairo Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Old Customs House is also on the NRHP. The city is part of the Cape Girardeau−Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, the population at the 2010 census was 2,831, a significant decline from its peak population of 15,203 in 1920. The entire city was evacuated during the 2011 Mississippi River Floods, after the Ohio River rose higher than the 1937 flood levels, the first municipal charter for Cairo and for the Bank of Cairo were issued in 1818, bit without any settlement and without any depositors. A second and successful effort to establish a town was made by the Cairo City and Canal Company in 1836-37, however, this effort collapsed in 1840, with few settlers remaining. Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842, and was unimpressed, the city would serve as his prototype for the nightmare City of Eden in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit. A new city charter was written in 1857, and Cairo flourished as trade with Chicago spurred development, by 1860, the population had exceeded 2,000. In January 1862, during the Civil War, however, General Ulysses S. Grant occupied the city, Cairo would become an important supply base and training center for the rest of the war. Grants military occupation caused much of the trade to be diverted to Chicago. Instead, agriculture, lumber, and sawmills now dominated the economy, the strategic importance of Cairos geographic location during the Civil War did spark prosperity. Several banks were founded during the war years, and the growth in banking, even before that, Cairo had been becoming an important steamboat port, and the city had been designated as a port of delivery by Act of Congress in 1854. In 1869 construction began on the United States Custom House and Post Office, the custom house was completed in 1872. It served as a house, post office, and United States Court. The U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois met at the building until 1905, from 1905 to 1942, the building housed the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. The building also housed the U. S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Illinois from 1905 to 1912, the post office in the building was the third busiest in the United States at the height of Cairos prosperity. One of only seven of Mullets Victorian structures remaining in the nation and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
42.
Allegheny River
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The Allegheny River /ælᵻˈɡeɪni/ is a principal tributary of the Ohio River, it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the Point of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River is, by volume, the main headstream of the Ohio River. The river is approximately 325 miles long, running through the U. S. states of New York and it drains a rural dissected plateau of 11,580 square miles in the northern Allegheny Plateau, providing the northeastern most drainage in the watershed of the Mississippi River. Its tributaries reach to within 8 miles of Lake Erie in southwestern New York, the Allegheny Valley has been one of the most productive areas of fossil fuel extraction in U. S. history, with its extensive deposits of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The name Allegheny probably comes from Lenape welhik hane or oolikhanna, there is a Lenape legend of a tribe called Allegewi who used to live along the river. The river itself, however, is called Alligewi Sipo, the whites have made Alleghene out of this, the Six Nations calling the river the Ohio. The Geographic Names Information System lists O-hee-yo and O-hi-o as variant names, the river is called Ohi, i, o in the Seneca language. In New York, areas around the river are named with the alternate spelling Allegany in reference to the river, for example. Port Allegany, located along the river in Pennsylvania near the border with New York, the Allegheny River rises in north central Pennsylvania, on Cobb Hill in central Potter County, approximately 10 miles south of the New York border. South of Franklin it turns southeast across Clarion County in a course, then turns again southwest across Armstrong County, flowing past Kittanning, Ford City, Clinton. The river enters both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, the Pittsburgh suburbs, and the City of Pittsburgh from the northeast, the Allegheny joins with the Monongahela River at the Point in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to form the Ohio River. Water from the Allegheny River eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In its upper reaches, the Allegheny River is joined from the south by Potato Creek 1.7 miles downstream of Coryville, Pennsylvania and from the north by Olean Creek at Olean, many additional streams enter or join with the Allegheny River along its course. The Allegheny River has eight locks and dams, which form corresponding pools, the Seneca Pumped Storage Generating Station is associated with Kinzua Dam. Numerous bridges and tunnels span the river throughout its course, the Allegheny River Tunnel, utilized by Pittsburgh Light Rail, went into service in 2012. In the 16th century, control of the river valley passed back-and-forth between Algonquian-speaking Shawnee and the Iroquois, the conflict over the expansion of British settlement into the Allegheny Valley and the surrounding Ohio Country was a primary cause of the French and Indian War in the 1750s. During the war, the village of Kittanning – the principal Shawnee settlement on the river – was completely destroyed by British reprisal raids from Central Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, the British, after gaining control of the area in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, kept the area closed to settlement, in part to repair
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Allegany Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania
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Allegany Township is a township in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 402 at the 2000 census, allegany Township is unusual in that it uses a variant spelling of the word Allegheny more commonly associated with the state of New York in its name. Other entities in Pennsylvania use the Allegheny spelling. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has an area of 40.3 square miles. Allegany Township is bordered by Genesee Township to the north, Ulysses Township to the east, Sweden Township to the south, Cobb Hill, located in this township, is part of the St. Lawrence River Divide. Its north slope is the headwaters of the West Branch of the Genesee River while the slope contains the headwaters of the Allegheny River. West-northwest of Cobb Hill is Rose Lake, which through the first half of the 20th century fed tributaries of rivers, and therefore drained into both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. As of the census of 2000, there were 402 people,161 households, the population density was 10.0 people per square mile. There were 253 housing units at a density of 6. 3/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 99. 00% White, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 25% of the population. 23. 6% of all households were made up of individuals, the average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94. In the township the population was out, with 23. 6% under the age of 18,4. 2% from 18 to 24,24. 9% from 25 to 44,29. 1% from 45 to 64. The median age was 43 years, for every 100 females there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males, the median income for a household in the township was $37,917, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had an income of $37,031 versus $17,917 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,391, about 2. 5% of families and 7. 1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9. 7% of those under age 18 and 13. 7% of those age 65 or over
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Potter County, Pennsylvania
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Potter County is a county located in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,457, the county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1836. It is named after James Potter, who was a general from Pennsylvania in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, though it is named for him, James Potter never actually lived in Potter County and may have never even visited the area. Potter County is located in the Allegheny Plateau region, Major Isaac Lyman, an American Revolutionary war veteran was one of the first permanent settlers in Potter County. Major Lyman is recognized as the founder of Potter County and he was paid ten dollars for each settler he convinced to move to Potter County. He built his home in 1809 in nearby Lymansville, now known as Ladonna, Major Lyman also built the first road to cross Potter County and Potter Countys first sawmill and gristmill. Lyman had a personal history. After the death in childbirth of his first wife, Sally Edgecombe, he remarried, later he left his second wife, the second Mrs. Lyman was determined not to suffer on her own. She sought out the Major, travelling from Bolton Landing, New York to Potter County with the help of their son, Burrell, Major Lyman lived with these two families in Potter County. Historical accounts of the living situation vary, some say that Lyman kept both wives under one roof. Others state that there were two log homes for the families on the piece of property. Descendants of Major Isaac Lymans three families live and work in Potter County. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,082 square miles. Three major watersheds meet in Potter County, the watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay, St. Lawrence River, moreover, the main stem by volume of the entire Mississippi river system, the Allegheny River, has its source in central Potter County, near Cobb Hill. The population density was 17 people per square mile, there were 12,159 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98. 06% White,0. 29% Black or African American,0. 22% Native American,0. 50% Asian,0. 03% Pacific Islander,0. 19% from other races, and 0. 71% from two or more races. 0. 57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,27. 3% were of English,26. 9% were of German,9. 9% Irish and 5. 8% Italian ancestry according to the 2012 American Community Survey. 24. 70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.02
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Monongahela River
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The Monongahela joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River at Pittsburgh. The Native American word Monongahela means falling banks, in reference to the instability of the rivers banks. The Lenape Language Project renders the word as Mënaonkihëla, translated where banks cave in or erode, from the verbs mënaonkihële the dirt caves off and mënaonke, it has a loose bank. Monongalia County and the town of Monongah, both in West Virginia, are named for the river, as is Monongahela in Pennsylvania, the river is navigable its entire length with a series of locks and dams that maintain a minimum depth of 9 feet to accommodate coal-laden barges. In Pennsylvania, the Monongahela is met by two tributaries, the Cheat River, which joins at Point Marion, and the Youghiogheny River. The upper drainage area of the basin is renowned for its whitewater kayaking opportunities. The land here is of a rugged plateau type which allows streams to gather sufficient water volume before they fall off the plateau. An ice dam created a vast lake—known as Lake Monongahela—stretching from its outlet at present-day Beaver, Pennsylvania for 200 miles south to at least Weston, West Virginia. It was as much as 100 miles wide at its maximum, hundreds of feet deep in places, its western and southern overflow gradually created the present-day upper Ohio River Valley. The Monongahela River valley was the site of a famous, if small, battle that was one of the first in the French and it resulted in a sharp defeat for British and Colonial forces against those of the French and their Native American allies. Originally planned to run as far south as the Cheat River, the system was extended to Fairmont, in 1897, the federal government took possession of the Monongahela Navigation through condemnation proceedings. Later, the combinations were increased in size and reduced in number. In 2006, the system, operated by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, had nine dam-locks along 128.7 miles of waterway. The locks overcame a change in elevation of about 147 feet, briefly linked to the Monongahela Navigation was the Youghiogheny Navigation, a slack water system of 18.5 miles between McKeesport and West Newton. It had two dam-locks overcoming a change in elevation of about 27 feet, opening in 1850, it was destroyed by a flood in 1865. During the 19th century, the Monongahela was heavily used by industry, three ships in the United States Navy have been named Monongahela after the river. In the 1930s, severe drought caused the river to run dry, the river was the site of a famous airplane crash that has become the subject of numerous urban legends and conspiracy theories. All six crewmen survived the crash, but two later succumbed to exposure and drowned, despite the relative shallowness of the water, the aircraft was never recovered
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Fairmont, West Virginia
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Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,704 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Marion County. Prior to the founding of Fairmont, the land that would become Marion County was part of Monongalia, in the 1700s, the earliest development of this area consisted of subsistence farming settlements. In 1789, Boaz Fleming, a Revolutionary War veteran, migrated to this area, oral history indicates that in 1808, Fleming made his annual trek to Clarksburg to pay his brothers Harrison County taxes. While in Clarksburg, Fleming attended a gathering that included his cousin, Dolly Madison. Fleming complained to Mrs. Madison about having to travel over a hundred each year from his home to pay his Monongalia County taxes. Mrs. Madison supposedly suggested that he create his own county to him all that travel. In 1814, Fleming circulated a petition to do precisely that, naming the proposed county Madison County, in honor of Dolly, Milford was the only town within the borders of Flemings proposed county, so Fleming decided to make Milford the seat of Madison County. However, Milfords citizens preferred to remain part of Monongalia County, as a result, Flemings petition failed to gain sufficient support to be presented to the Virginia General Assembly. Fleming then focused on creating a new town near his farm, in 1817, Flemings sons—William and David—began to clear land on part of their fathers farm to make way for the new town, this part of the farm would later become downtown Fairmont. In 1819, a road was built from Clarksburg to Morgantown, Flemings new town was about halfway between the two cities, making it a good resting point. The town was incorporated as Middletown on January 19,1820, the current borders of Marion County were established in 1842, and Middletown was named the countys seat. At that time, William Haymond, Jr. suggested that the name be changed to Fairmont because the town had a beautiful overlook of the Monongahela River. The Borough of Fairmont was incorporated in 1843 by the Virginia General Assembly, many of the first buildings in Fairmont were poorly constructed. By 1852—little more than 30 years after the citys founding—a large portion of Fairmont was reported to be run-down, reports from 1873 indicate that these buildings had continued to fall into disrepair. On April 2,1876, a fire destroyed a portion of the citys business district. The continuing dilapidation of the buildings may have contributed to the fire. Between 1891 and 1901—in a span of only 10 years—Fairmonts population had increased from 1,000 to 7,000, the City of Fairmont was chartered in 1899, as a result of the charter, the city absorbed the surrounding towns of Palatine and West Fairmont
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Mississippi River
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The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage system on the North American continent. Flowing entirely in the United States, it rises in northern Minnesota, with its many tributaries, the Mississippis watershed drains all or parts of 31 U. S. states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and fifteenth largest river in the world by discharge, the river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Native Americans long lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, most were hunter-gatherers, but some, such as the Mound Builders, formed prolific agricultural societies. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the way of life as first explorers, then settlers. The river served first as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States, and then as a vital transportation artery and communications link. Formed from thick layers of the silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile agricultural regions of the country. In recent years, the river has shown a shift towards the Atchafalaya River channel in the Delta. The word itself comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name for the river, see below in the History section for additional information. In addition to historical traditions shown by names, there are at least two measures of a rivers identity, one being the largest branch, and the other being the longest branch. Using the largest-branch criterion, the Ohio would be the branch of the Lower Mississippi. Using the longest-branch criterion, the Middle Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson-Beaverhead-Red Rock-Hellroaring Creek River would be the main branch and its length of at least 3,745 mi is exceeded only by the Nile, the Amazon, and perhaps the Yangtze River among the longest rivers in the world. The source of this waterway is at Browers Spring,8,800 feet above sea level in southwestern Montana and this is exemplified by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the phrase Trans-Mississippi as used in the name of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. It is common to qualify a regionally superlative landmark in relation to it, the New Madrid Seismic Zone along the river is also noteworthy. These various basic geographical aspects of the river in turn underlie its human history and present uses of the waterway, the Upper Mississippi runs from its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri. The source of the Upper Mississippi branch is traditionally accepted as Lake Itasca,1,475 feet above sea level in Itasca State Park in Clearwater County, however, the lake is in turn fed by a number of smaller streams. From its origin at Lake Itasca to St. Louis, Missouri, fourteen of these dams are located above Minneapolis in the headwaters region and serve multiple purposes, including power generation and recreation. The remaining 29 dams, beginning in downtown Minneapolis, all locks and were constructed to improve commercial navigation of the upper river
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Ballard County, Kentucky
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Ballard County is a county located in the U. S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,249, the county was created by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1842 and is named for Captain Bland Ballard, a soldier, statesman, and member of the Kentucky General Assembly. Ballard is a prohibition or dry county, Ballard County is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Ballard County was formed from portions of Hickman County and McCracken County, on February 17,1880, the courthouse was destroyed by a fire, which also destroyed most of the countys early records. The county seat was transferred from Blandville to Wickliffe in 1882, Ballard County had documented incidents of racial violence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Journalist and civil rights leader Ida B, wells, in her 1895 pamphlet A Red Record, details the gruesome death of C. J. Miller, an African American traveling near Ballard County. On Wednesday, July 5,1893, two girls, Mary and Ruby Ray, were murdered outside their home near Wickliffe. Few clues were left except a blue coat at the crime scene, as news of the murders spread, search parties saw a white man hiding in a nearby cornfield. They fired at him, and he ran, a bloodhound picked up the scent, and tracked him to a ferry that ran between Wickliffe and Birds Point, Missouri. The ferry operator, Frank Gordon, told them he had just one passenger that evening, the bloodhound picked up the scent on the Missouri shore, but was not able to track him inland. The next day, C. J. Miller, an African American traveler from Springfield, Illinois, had a verbal and physical altercation with a train brakeman at the Sikeston, Missouri, Miller was arrested in Sikeston later that morning. Noticing that Miller was wearing a blue vest without a coat, they searched him, the Sikeston town marshall telegraphed the sheriff of Ballard County. However, Miller protested his innocence, claiming he had never even been to Kentucky, also, no such rings were presented as evidence. Without waiting for an arrest warrant, the Ballard County sheriff chartered a train, on Friday morning, the sheriff brought Gordon to identify Miller as the man he had ferried to Missouri on the evening of the murders. Gordon told him that it was not the same man, the sheriff became angry and threatened Gordon with arrest on charges of complicity. Only then did Gordon say that Miller was the killer, Gordon and the search parties that spotted the murder suspect all described him as being white. However, the Cairo Evening Telegram reported that Miller was a brown skinned man, with kinky hair. The Ballard County sheriff released Miller to the mob, who prepared to lynch him, the father of the murdered girls strongly protested, knowing that their killer was a white man
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
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