Cumberland
Cumberland is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 36.70°, -85.57°
About Cumberland
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The 688-mile-long (1,107 km) river drains almost 18,000 square miles (47,000 km2) of southern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. The river flows generally west from a source in the Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky, and the mouth of the Tennessee River. Major tributaries include the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, and Red Rivers.
Although the Cumberland River basin is predominantly rural, there are also some large cities on the river, including Nashville and Clarksville, both in Tennessee.
The river system has been extensively altered for flood control. Major dams impound areas of both the main stem and many of its important tributaries.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Cumberland River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Cumberland in Depth
Geography
Its headwaters are three separate forks that begin in Kentucky and converge in Baxter, Kentucky, located in Harlan County. Martin's Fork starts near Hensley Settlement on Brush Mountain in Bell County and snakes its way north through the mountains to Baxter. Clover Fork starts on Black Mountain in Holmes Mill, near the Virginia border, and flows west in parallel with Kentucky Route 38 until it reaches Harlan.
Clover Fork once flowed through downtown Harlan and merged with Martins Fork at what is now the intersection of Kentucky Route 38 and U.S. Route 421. A flood control project begun in 1992, which diverted the river through a tunnel under Little Black Mountain, from which it emerges in Baxter and converges with Martins Fork.
History
The explorer Thomas Walker of Virginia in 1758 named the river, but whether for the Duke of Cumberland or the English county of Cumberland is not known.
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 (or Shawanoe River) for years after Walker's trip.
Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported later riverboat trade, which traveled to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Villages, towns, and cities were located at landing points along its banks.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Cumberland River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Cumberland: Key Facts
| Length | 1,107 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 862 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 46,830 km² |
| Source | Clover Fork Cumberland River |
| Mouth | Ohio River |
| Drainage system | Cumberland River drainage basin |
| Tributaries | Caney Fork, Clear Fork, Harpeth River, Mill Creek, Obey River, Plunkett Creek, Red River, Roaring River |
Facts from Wikidata Q1143718 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Cumberland: Quick Answers
- Where is Cumberland?
- Cumberland is located in United States, at 36.6993° N, 85.5696° W.
- Are there dams on the Cumberland?
- No dam on the Cumberland is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.