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29-716: The Big South Fork begins at the confluence of the New River and the Clear Fork in Scott County, Tennessee , and flows northwest, northeast, and north until ending at Lake Cumberland in McCreary County, Kentucky , near the town of Burnside . It is the third largest tributary of the Cumberland River , and is free flowing for a distance of approximately 37 miles (60 km) before being affected by

58-545: A drainage basin of Carboniferous rock in the Cumberland Plateau . Taken together, the Big South Fork and its tributaries drain between 1,123 square miles (2,910 km) and 1,382 square miles (3,580 km), of which about 17% is covered by the associated National Recreation Area. The maximum recorded water flow on the Big South Fork was 93,200 cu ft/s (2,640 m/s), the minimum recorded

87-602: A tripoint . Various examples are found in the list below. A number of major cities, such as Chongqing , St. Louis , and Khartoum , arose at confluences; further examples appear in the list. Within a city, a confluence often forms a visually prominent point, so that confluences are sometimes chosen as the site of prominent public buildings or monuments, as in Koblenz , Lyon , and Winnipeg . Cities also often build parks at confluences, sometimes as projects of municipal improvement, as at Portland and Pittsburgh . In other cases,

116-435: A comparable river basin which does not have a history of mining. 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. 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

145-414: A confluence can be divided into six distinct features which are commonly called confluence flow zones (CFZ). These include The broader field of engineering encompasses a vast assortment of subjects which concern confluences. In hydraulic civil engineering , where two or more underground culverted / artificially buried watercourses intersect, great attention should be paid to the hydrodynamic aspects of

174-630: A confluence is an industrial site, as in Philadelphia or Mannheim . Often a confluence lies in the shared floodplain of the two rivers and nothing is built on it, for example at Manaus , described below. One other way that confluences may be exploited by humans is as sacred places in religions . Rogers suggests that for the ancient peoples of the Iron Age in northwest Europe, watery locations were often sacred, especially sources and confluences. Pre-Christian Slavic peoples chose confluences as

203-482: A corresponding shift in habitat characteristics." Another science relevant to the study of confluences is chemistry , because sometimes the mixing of the waters of two streams triggers a chemical reaction, particularly in a polluted stream. The United States Geological Survey gives an example: "chemical changes occur when a stream contaminated with acid mine drainage combines with a stream with near-neutral pH water; these reactions happen very rapidly and influence

232-457: A total of 10,000 archaeological sites, evenly split between pre and post European contact. 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

261-479: Is home to between 68 and 81 species of fish, 23 species of mussels , and up to 215 individual taxa of macro invertebrates . 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). The availability of “seeds, berries, nuts, buds, flowers, fleshy roots and twigs” encourages

290-621: Is not clear that the area was permanently inhabited by prehistoric peoples. 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. A 2005 report by the National Park Service however estimated

319-774: Is used to describe the meeting of tidal or other non-riverine bodies of water, such as two canals or a canal and a lake. A one-mile (1.6 km) portion of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans accommodates the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal ; therefore those three waterways are confluent there. The term confluence can also apply to the process of merging or flowing together of other substance. For example, it may refer to

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348-491: The river mouth . Confluences are studied in a variety of sciences. Hydrology studies the characteristic flow patterns of confluences and how they give rise to patterns of erosion, bars, and scour pools. The water flows and their consequences are often studied with mathematical models . Confluences are relevant to the distribution of living organisms (i.e., ecology ) as well; "the general pattern [downstream of confluences] of increasing stream flow and decreasing slopes drives

377-806: 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. 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. Forests of sugar maple , along with beech and yellow birch are found in low moist slopes, and Tsuga canadensis (Canadian hemlock) along with undergrowth of Rhododendron maximum grow in coves along streams. Communities of various species of pine may also be found. As

406-726: The Clear Fork, to 723 feet (220 m) where the waters meet the Cumberland. Between the confluence of the New River and Clear Fork, and Leatherwood Ford the river has an average gradient across 6.2 miles (10.0 km) of 20 feet per mile (fpm), and a maximum gradient of 40 fpm. Major tributaries of the Big South Fork include: 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

435-567: 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. The legislation granted authority for land acquisition to the Army Corps of Engineers, and for managing

464-497: The National Park Service for rafting is 800 cfs, with a maximum flow of 10,000 cfs for safe rafting. Moving downstream from the confluence to Lake Cumberland , named rapids according to the National Park Service are: Confluence In geography , a confluence (also: conflux ) occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel . A confluence can occur in several configurations: at

493-704: The area to the United States Secretary of the Interior once established. Congress authorized final transfer of the land to the National Park Service in 1990, and the official dedication of the park occurred on August 25, 1991. 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 . The area

522-587: The form of structural bracing. The velocities and hydraulic efficiencies should be meticulously calculated and can be altered by integrating different combinations of geometries, components such a gradients, cascades and an adequate junction angle which is sympathetic to the direction of the watercourse’s flow to minimise turbulent flow, maximise evacuation velocity and to ultimately maximise hydraulic efficiency. Since rivers often serve as political boundaries, confluences sometimes demarcate three abutting political entities, such as nations, states, or provinces, forming

551-504: The founding of the ultimately failed colony of Rugby, Tennessee , by Thomas Hughes in the 1880s. 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. The site was later recreated in the 1980s and reopened as an outdoor museum. The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

580-421: The headwaters of the lake. The terrain furthest upstream near the confluence is the most rugged, with reliefs of as much as 1,900 feet (580 m). 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. The terrain becomes less rugged as

609-545: The point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem ); or where two streams meet to become the source of a river of a new name (such as the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, forming the Ohio River ); or where two separated channels of a river (forming a river island ) rejoin at the downstream end. The point of confluence where the channel flows into a larger body of water may be called

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638-687: 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). During

667-691: The result of logging in the mid 20th century, most of the areas consists of 2nd or 3rd growth forest. Whitewater rafting and kayaking occur on the Big South Fork mostly in the Spring season. Available runs range in distance from 4.8 miles (7.7 km) to 27 miles (43 km), and vary in difficulty between classes I and IV according to the international scale of river difficulty . The most popular runs are those upstream from Leatherwood Ford, ranging from 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to 15.5 miles (24.9 km) in distance and between class I and IV in difficulty depending on put-in. The minimum water flow recommended by

696-407: The river travels northward, with reliefs of between 200 feet (61 m) and 300 feet (91 m). 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. The river draws water from

725-453: The sites for fortified triangular temples, where they practiced human sacrifice and other sacred rites. In Hinduism , the confluence of two sacred rivers often is a pilgrimage site for ritual bathing. In Pittsburgh, a number of adherents to Mayanism consider their city's confluence to be sacred. Mississippi basin Atlantic watersheds Pacific watersheds Occasionally, "confluence"

754-613: The subsequent transport of metals downstream of the mixing zone." A natural phenomenon at confluences that is obvious even to casual observers is a difference in color between the two streams; see images in this article for several examples. According to Lynch, "the color of each river is determined by many things: type and amount of vegetation in the watershed, geological properties, dissolved chemicals, sediments and biologic content – usually algae ." Lynch also notes that color differences can persist for miles downstream before they finally blend completely. Hydrodynamic behaviour of flow in

783-401: The system to ensure the longevity and efficiency of the structure. Engineers have to design these systems whilst considering a list of factors that ensure the discharge point is structurally stable as the entrance of the lateral culvert into the main structure may compromise the stability of the structure due to the lack of support at the discharge, this often constitutes additional supports in

812-429: Was 11 cu ft/s (0.31 m/s), and the river averages a flow of 1,760 cu ft/s (50 m/s). 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. Along the river basin, water drops from an maximum original elevation of 1,250 feet (380 m) above sea level at Peter's Bridge on

841-559: Was established by the United States Congress as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 . 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

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