Green River (Kentucky)

Green River

History 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 km ².

The river runs exclusively in the U.S. state of Kentucky, the catchment area also covers a small part of south to Tennessee. The Green River originates near Danville, runs in a generally westerly direction with a slight curve to the north until it empties into the Ohio River at Owensboro. He overcomes a difference in altitude of about 385 m.

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

Course

The headwaters of the Green River is located in the Karst region of the Interior Low Plateau, its main tributaries of the section originate in karst caves, especially in the Mammoth Cave National Park through which the river runs at about 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 used today as Green River Lake State Park for recreational purposes.

The lower reaches flowing through the coal districts of Kentucky, the landscape is dominated by massive mining complexes. The river here is water structurally strong focus in seven locks and dams that make it to transport the coal navigable.

History

In prehistoric times, the lower Green River was an important settlement area. Hunter- gatherer cultures are detected since paläoindianischer time. In the middle Archaic period around 3000 BC people were living in all seasons by the river. They subsisted on weigh of fish and freshwater mollusks from the shells of mussels and snails came to the repeatedly sought places enormous pile that have been extended for unknown reasons later targeted. The most important archaeological site this time is Indian Knoll.

The area was explored in the 17th century by predominantly French-born fur traders and preferably populated by veterans because of its good agricultural soils after the Revolutionary War. 1842, the first locks were built to make the lower reaches navigable, and 1901 more were built, so that the river could be used commercially until the later National Park. After the establishment of Mammoth Cave National Park in 1941 two locks and dams were demolished in the following years and the natural course of the river restored. The lock # 6 whose storage range is just below the national parks, up to the reserve, is controversial. A demolition was planned but had not been implemented. 1969 was dammed at the headwaters of the Green River Lake.

Ecology

The headwaters of the Green River is ecologically extremely diverse with 151 species of fish and 71 different types of freshwater mollusks. Several fish, mussels, snails and crayfish are endemic to the headwaters of the Green River. However, the quality of habitats deteriorated below the Green River Lakes by the construction of the dam. The congestion delayed the process in the spring and although the course of the fluctuations in the drain in the other seasons approximately followed the natural water regime, was run-off, particularly in the fall, the water much colder than naturally in the shallow river from the dam. This resulted in negative consequences for the spawning success of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Since 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers controls the outflow of the dam at the instigation of the conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy so that the harmful consequences are minimized. Since then, particularly the most vulnerable species of mussels proliferate significantly better. The organization called the Green River " as Kentucky's crown jewel of river systems and a national treasure chest of biodiversity " and operates a program to purchase especially valuable land at the headwaters of the Green River, which are permanently dedicated to conservation.

Middle and lower reaches of the river are impacted by the entry of acidic waste water from mines, shipping, and the massive hydraulic engineering.