Green River (Kentucky)

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Green River
Green River

Green River

Data
Water code US493284
location Kentucky (USA)
River system Mississippi River
Drain over Ohio  → Mississippi  → Gulf of Mexico
source Lincoln County near Danville
37 ° 26 ′ 44 "  N , 84 ° 38 ′ 14"  W.
muzzle south of Evansville in the Ohio River Coordinates: 37 ° 54'9 "  N , 87 ° 29'59"  W 37 ° 54'9 "  N , 87 ° 29'59"  W
Height difference 385 m
Bottom slope 0.64 ‰
length 600 km
Catchment area 23,850 km²
Left tributaries Barren River , Pond River
Right tributaries Rough River , Nolin River
Reservoirs flowed through Green River Lake
Small towns Livermore , Brownsville
Navigable Lower course
Course and catchment area of ​​the Green River

Course and catchment area of ​​the Green River

The Green River ( English for "Green River") is a left tributary of the Ohio River with a length of about 600 km and a catchment area of ​​23,850 km².

The river runs exclusively in the US state of Kentucky , the catchment area also extends to a small part south to Tennessee . The Green River has its source near Danville , runs in a generally westerly direction with a slight curve to the north until it flows into the Ohio River at Owensboro . He overcomes a height difference of around 385 m.

The river takes its name from the color of the water in the unusually deep sections for the region. According to other sources, he is named after General Nathanael Greene .

course

The upper reaches of the Green River lies in the karst area of ​​the Interior Low Plateau , its main tributaries of the section arise in karst caves, especially in the Mammoth Cave National Park through which the river runs for around 40 km. The region is used intensively for agriculture and is characterized by rolling hills. The Green River Lake is a reservoir on the upper reaches near Greensburg , which was created in 1969 for flood protection by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and is now used as Green River Lake State Park for recreational purposes.

The lower reaches flows through Kentucky's hard coal districts, the landscape is characterized by massive open-cast mining complexes. In terms of hydraulic engineering, the river is strongly enclosed in seven locks and dams, which make it navigable for transporting coal.

history

In prehistoric times, the lower Green River was a significant area of ​​settlement. Hunter and gatherer cultures have been documented since Paleo-Indian times . In the middle archaic period around 3000 BC People lived by the river in all seasons. They mainly fed on fish and freshwater mollusks, the shells of the mussels and snails formed huge piles in the frequently visited places, which were later deliberately expanded for unknown reasons. The most important archaeological site of this time is Indian Knoll .

The area was explored by mainly French-born fur traders from the 17th century onwards and, because of its good arable land, it was preferred to be settled by veterans after the War of Independence . The first locks were built in 1842 to make the lower reaches navigable, and more were built by 1901, so that the river could be used commercially until the later national park. After the establishment of the Mammoth Cave National Park in 1941, two locks and dams were demolished and the natural course of the river restored. The lock # 6 directly below the national park, the storage area of ​​which extends into the protected area, is controversial. A demolition was planned, but has not yet been implemented. In 1969 the Green River Lake was dammed on the upper reaches .

ecology

The upper reaches of the Green River is ecologically extremely diverse with 151 species of fish and 71 different species of freshwater mollusks . Several fish, mussels, snails and freshwater crabs are endemic to the upper reaches of the Green River. However, the quality of the habitats below the Green River Lake deteriorated due to the construction of the dam. The damming delayed the flow in spring and although the course of the fluctuations in the discharge in the other seasons followed the natural water regime, especially in autumn the water from the reservoir was considerably colder than that naturally drained in the shallow river. This had negative consequences for the spawning success of fish, mussels and crustaceans. Since 2002, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been managing the dam's drainage at the instigation of the nature conservation organization The Nature Conservancy in such a way that the harmful consequences are minimized. Since then, the particularly endangered mussel species have been reproducing much better again. The organization describes the Green River as "Kentucky's crown jewel of river systems and a national treasure trove of biodiversity" and operates a program to purchase particularly valuable land on the upper reaches of the Green River that is permanently dedicated to nature conservation.

The middle and lower reaches of the river are polluted by the entry of acidic wastewater from mines, shipping and massive hydraulic engineering.

Web links

Commons : Green River  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Green River , No 1. In: Archie Hobson (Ed.): The Cambridge Gazetteer of the United States and Canada . Cambridge University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-521-41579-9 , p. 259
  2. ^ A b Kentucky - The Green River . ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Nature Conservancy @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nature.org
  3. ^ A b c David White, Karla Johnston, Michael Miller: Ohio River Basin . In: Artur C. Benke, Colbert E. Cushing: Rivers of North America . Elsevier, 2005, ISBN 0-12-088253-1 , pp. 375-424
  4. ^ Green River Lake - Area History and Features. ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. US Army Corps of Engineers @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lrl.usace.army.mil
  5. ^ John Hickey, Andy Warner: Green River Lake and Dam interim plan benefits ecosystem .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 180 kB) In: Corps Environment October 2006@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nature.org  
  6. ^ Conservation Buyer Program - Green River / Timberlake .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Nature Conservancy@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nature.org