Big South Fork of the Cumberland River
Template:Use American English Template:Infobox river The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River is a Template:Convert<ref name=NHD>U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Template:Webarchive, accessed June 8, 2011</ref> river in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Kentucky. It is a major drainage feature of the Cumberland Plateau, a major tributary of the Cumberland River system, and the major feature of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
Physical geography
The Big South Fork begins at the confluence of the New River and the Clear Fork in Scott County, Tennessee,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn and flows northwest, northeast, and north until ending at Lake Cumberland in McCreary County, Kentucky, near the town of Burnside.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="usgs1"/> It is the third largest tributary of the Cumberland River,<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp and is free flowing for a distance of approximately Template:Convert before being affected by the headwaters of the lake.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
The terrain furthest upstream near the confluence is the most rugged, with reliefs of as much as Template:Convert. This area is characterized by dendritic draining patterns and narrow gorges, with valleys strewn with large boulders fallen from cliffs above. Major formations include natural arches, mesas, chimneys, cracks and rock shelters.<ref name="gmp">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The terrain becomes less rugged as the river travels northward, with reliefs of between Template:Convert and Template:Convert.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
Soil in the area is divided between two groups. The first is primarily made up of Ramsey, Hartsells, Grimsley, and Gilpin soils and is located adjacent to the river gorge. The second consists of Hartsells, Lonewood, Ramsey, and Gilpin soils and is found on the nearby plateau.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
Hydrology
The river draws water from a drainage basin of Carboniferous rock in the Cumberland Plateau.<ref name="corps">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Taken together, the Big South Fork and its tributaries drain between Template:Convert<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp and Template:Convert,<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp of which about 17% is covered by the associated National Recreation Area.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
The maximum recorded water flow on the Big South Fork was Template:Convert, the minimum recorded was Template:Convert, and the river averages a flow of Template:Convert.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn Around half of the Big South Fork's annual streamflow occurs during the months of January through March, and the lowest streamflow typically occurs during September and October.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
Along the river basin, water drops from a maximum original elevation of Template:Convert above sea level at Peter's Bridge on the Clear Fork, to Template:Convert where the waters meet the Cumberland.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Between the confluence of the New River and Clear Fork, and Leatherwood FordTemplate:Efn the river has an average gradient across Template:Convert of 20 feet per mile (fpm), and a maximum gradient of 40 fpm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Major tributaries of the Big South Fork include:<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
- New River
- Clear Fork River
- North Whiteoak Creek
- Pine Creek
- Station Camp Creek
- Parch Corn Creek
- No Business Creek
- Williams Creek
- Troublesome Creek
- Bear Creek
- Roaring Paunch Creek
- Rock Creek
- Wolf Creek
- Kogar Creek
Water quality is generally good, but may be negatively affected by mine drainage, logging, poor road quality, and ground disturbances. The river contains about two times as much suspended and dissolved solids at a comparable river basin which does not have a history of mining.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp Both Tennessee and Kentucky have designated their respective portions of the Big South Fork as Outstanding National Resource Waters, and cleanup and reclamation efforts by a number of organizations have been made.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
History
It is likely that the area surrounding the Big South Fork was frequented by Paleo-Indians, which continued up until early colonial times, although it is not clear that the area was permanently inhabited by prehistoric peoples.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp No intensive surveys of archaeological sites had been conducted as of 1977, when the Army Corps of Engineers published their comprehensive study of the area, although one study from the University of Tennessee along with one inter-agency governmental report had identified 21 total sites.<ref name="corps"/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn A 2005 report by the National Park Service however estimated a total of 10,000 archaeological sites, evenly split between pre and post European contact.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
The first permanent European settlement was likely in 1769 in modern-day Wayne County, Kentucky. By 1798, the Treaty of Tellico had officially expelled the native Cherokee peoples from the river basin, although the land, which was not well suited to agriculture, was mostly passed over by settlers until the founding of the ultimately failed colony of Rugby, Tennessee, by Thomas Hughes in the 1880s.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
Blue Heron
The mining community of modern-day Blue Heron, Kentucky, was established in 1937 along the banks of the Big South Fork, and operated until 1962 when it was abandoned by the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp<ref name="gnis">Template:Cite gnis Retrieved on 2017-11-29</ref><ref name="blue">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn The site was later recreated in the 1980s and reopened as an outdoor museum.<ref name="blue"/>
National River and Recreation Area
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area was established by the United States Congress as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the text of the act, the purpose of the establishment was for:
conserving and interpreting an area containing unique cultural, historic, geologic, fish and wildlife, archeologic, scenic, and recreational values, preserving as a natural, free-flowing stream the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, major portions of its Clear Fork and New River stems, and portions of their various tributaries for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the preservation of the natural integrity of the scenic gorges and valleys, and the development of the area’s potential for healthful outdoor recreation.<ref name="act">Template:Cite web</ref>
The legislation granted authority for land acquisition to the Army Corps of Engineers, and for managing the area to the United States Secretary of the Interior once established.<ref name="act"/><ref name="guide">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Congress authorized final transfer of the land to the National Park ServiceTemplate:Efn in 1990, and the official dedication of the park occurred on August 25, 1991.<ref name="guide"/>Template:Rp
Ecology
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The Big South Fork and its watershed is home to a large variety of plant and animal species, and has likely been continuously vegetated since before the last glacial period, ending approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Habitats range from floodplains, to coves, as well as ravines, moist slopes, and sandstone caprock.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp The area is home to between 68 and 81 species of fish, 23 species of mussels, and up to 215 individual taxa of macro invertebrates.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
Animal life
Fish species include Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish), Stizostedion vitreum (walleye), Esox masquinongy (muskellunge), Morone chrysops (white bass), Ambloplites rupestris (rock bass), and Lepomis megalotis (longear sunfish).<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
The availability of “seeds, berries, nuts, buds, flowers, fleshy roots and twigs” encourages the presence of species such as the Bonasa umbellus (ruffed grouse), Meleagris gallopavo (turkey), Sciurus carolinensis (eastern gray squirrel). Food available in canopy vegetation supports Vireo olivaceus (red-eyed vireo), Wilsonia citrina (hooded warbler), Setophaga ruticilla (American redstart), Sorex fumeus (smoky shrew), Scalopus aquaticus (eastern mole), Neotoma floridana (eastern woodrat), and Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse). These species in turn provide food for predatory birds such as Strix varia (barred owl) and Buteo lineatus (red-shouldered hawk).<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
During the 1990s, 14 adult female and 16 black bear cubs were reintroduced to the river basin, relocated from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As of 2013, genetic analysis estimated the bear population in the area to be at 245.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Plant life
The plant life along the river and in the surrounding basin can be divided into plateau and ravine communities consisting of mixed oak forests along with areas of mixed mesophytic vegetation.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp Forests of sugar maple, along with beech and yellow birch are found in low moist slopes,<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp and Tsuga canadensis (Canadian hemlock) along with undergrowth of Rhododendron maximum grow in coves along streams.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp Communities of various species of pine may also be found.<ref name="corps"/>Template:Rp
As the result of logging in the mid 20th century, most of the areas consists of 2nd or 3rd growth forest.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
Whitewater
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Whitewater rafting and kayaking occur on the Big South Fork mostly in the Spring season.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp Available runs range in distance from Template:Convert to Template:Convert, and vary in difficulty between classes I and IV according to the international scale of river difficulty.<ref name="run">Template:Cite web</ref> The most popular runs are those upstream from Leatherwood Ford, ranging from Template:Convert to Template:Convert in distance and between class I and IV in difficulty depending on put-in.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:RpTemplate:Efn The minimum water flow recommended by the National Park Service for rafting is 800 cfs, with a maximum flow of 10,000 cfs for safe rafting.<ref name="gmp"/>Template:Rp
Moving downstream from the confluence to Lake Cumberland, named rapids according to the National Park Service are:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Double Falls
- Washing Machine
- The Ell
- Rion's Eddy
- Jake's Hold
- O&W Rapid
- Angel FallsTemplate:Efn
- Big Shoals
- Devil's JumpTemplate:Efn
See also
- Cumberland Falls, located on the border of McCreary and Whitley County in Kentucky
- Daniel Boone National Forest, covering parts of 21 Kentucky counties
- List of areas in the United States National Park System
- List of rivers of Kentucky
- List of rivers of Tennessee
- Yahoo Falls, located in the National Recreation Area, and which flows into the Big South Fork