Green River (Kentucky)

This article is about the river in Kentucky. For other uses, see Green River.

Green River
Green River near Mammoth Cave National Park
Green River Watershed
Origin	Lincoln and Casey counties in Kentucky
Basin countries	United States
Length	384 mi (618 km)
Source elevation	65
Mouth elevation	56
Basin area	25,400 km² (9,807 mi²)

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

History

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

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

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

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

In 1969, the United States Army Corps of Engineers impounded a section of the river, forming 8,200-acre (33 km²) 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 (1835–1904) recognized the Southern Cherokee Nation as an Indian tribe.

Route

The Green River flows through Mammoth Cave National Park, located along river miles 190 to 205. The river drains the cave and controls the master base level of the Mammoth Cave system: the construction of a 9-foot (2.7 m) dam at Brownsville in 1906 has raised the water level in some parts of the cave system by as much as 6 feet (1.8 m) above its natural value.

The 384-mile-long (618 km) Green River, an important transportation artery for the coal industry, is open to traffic up to the closed Lock and Dam #3 (known as the Rochester Dam) at mile 108.5. Muhlenberg County, once the largest coal-producing county in the nation, benefits greatly from access to the river, as does the aluminum industry in Henderson County. In 2002, more than 10 million short tons were shipped on the river, primarily sub-bituminous coal, petroleum coke and aluminum ore.

Biology

The Green River is home to more than 150 fish species and more than 70 mussel species. This includes some of Kentucky's largest fish, and some of the world's rarest species of mussels.

Mussels

Endangered species:

• Ring Pink Obovaria retusa
• Rough Pigtoe Pleurobema plenum
• Northern riffleshell Epioblasma torulosa rangiana

Threatened species:

• Long solid Mussel Fusconaia subrotunda
• Pink Mucket Lampsilis abrupta
• Pyramid Pigtoe Pleurobema rubrum

In popular culture

From 1939 to 1952 A. 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, the local sheriff.

In 1969 the Everly Brothers co-wrote and recorded the song 'Green River' released in 1972 as an album track on 'Stories We Could Tell'

In 1971, the Green River was mentioned in the song "Paradise" by John Prine.

See also

• Green River Lake State Park
• List of Kentucky rivers
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky

Further reading

• The Ohio River - In American History and Voyaging on Today's River, with a section on the Green River; Heron Island Guides, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9665866-3-3

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Green River
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