| Big Sandy River | |
| River | |
 Confluence of Levisa Fork and Tug Fork, forming the Big Sandy River
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| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| States |  Kentucky,  West Virginia |
| Counties | Lawrence KY, Wayne WV, Boyd KY |
| Source | Tug Fork |
| - location | Big Stone Ridge, McDowell County, WV |
| - elevation | 2,604 ft (794 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | 37°16′38″N 81°26′06″W / 37.27722°N 81.435°W [2] |
| Secondary source | Levisa Fork [3] |
| - location | Gap of Sandy, Buchanan County, VA |
| - elevation | 2,657 ft (810 m) [4] |
| - coordinates | 37°09′06″N 81°54′04″W / 37.15167°N 81.90111°W |
| Source confluence | [3] |
| - location | Louisa, KY |
| - elevation | 545 ft (166 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°07′05″N 82°36′06″W / 38.11806°N 82.60167°W |
| Mouth | Ohio River [5] |
| - location | Catlettsburg, KY |
| - elevation | 525 ft (160 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°24′58″N 82°35′45″W / 38.41611°N 82.59583°W |
 Map of the Big Sandy River watershed, with its Levisa Fork (left) and Tug Fork (right) tributaties shown
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The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 29 mi (43 km) long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
It is formed between Louisa, Kentucky and Fort Gay, West Virginia by the confluence of the Tug Fork and Levisa Fork. It flows generally northwardly in a highly meandering course, between Lawrence and Boyd Counties in Kentucky and Wayne County in West Virginia. It joins the Ohio between Catlettsburg, Kentucky and Kenova, West Virginia, 8 mi (13 km) west of Huntington, West Virginia, at the common boundary between West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
The river is navigable and carries commercial shipping, primarily coal mined in the immediate region.
The name of the river comes from the presence of extensive sand bars. The Native American names for the river included Tatteroa, Chatteroi, and Chatterwha[6] which had similar meaning to the English name.[citation needed] It was known to the Lenape as Sikeacepe,[citation needed] meaning "Salt River", from the presence of salt licks on the river (see: Licking River).
Two well-known fiddle tunes take their name from the Big Sandy River: "Sandy River Belle" and the "Big Sandy River". Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" also mentions the river.
See also
References
- ^ "Tug Fork Source". Elevation Query. U.S. Geological Survey. http://gisdata.usgs.gov/XMLWebServices/TNM_Elevation_Service.asmx/getElevation?X_Value=-81.435&Y_Value=37.277222&Elevation_Units=FEET&Source_Layer=-1&Elevation_Only=FALSE. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ "Tug Fork". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1548311. Retrieved 2004-04-24.
- ^ a b "Levisa Fork". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1979-09-20. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:496312. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Levisa Fork Source". Elevation Query. U.S. Geological Survey. http://gisdata.usgs.gov/xmlwebservices2/elevation_service.asmx/getElevation?X_Value=-81.901111&Y_Value=37.151667&Elevation_Units=FEET&source1_Layer=-1&Elevation_Only=FALSE. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Big Sandy River". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1979-09-20. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:487249. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 89. ISBN 0806135980. http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_view.aspx?pub=100&p=314&i=images/publications/SL_edwardsillustrated/directory.djvu.
External links
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