South Fork Kentucky River Explained

South Fork Kentucky River is a river in Kentucky in the United States.It is a fork of the Kentucky River that it joins just downstream of Beattyville.

It was not originally named South Fork.Two of its three major tributaries are the forks at its head, the Red Bird River and Goose Creek, whose confluence is at Oneida.Before the 19th century, Goose Creek also incorporated what is today known as South Fork Kentucky River.

Navigability

Several largely ineffective attempts were made in the 19th century to make South Fork navigable all of the way upstream to the Goose Creek Salt Works.An Act of the legislature on 1811-01-10 enabled a lottery to raise towards making this reach of the river navigable, and several times the scheme was allowed more time, but by 1813 still nothing had come of it.Between 1837 and 1845 was spent clearing obstructions from this reach.

One of the biggest impediments was an area known as The Narrows, a 1.2adj=midNaNadj=mid reach of the river 4.5mile downstream of the Goose Creek/Red Bird fork where it descended by 12.5feet.

Basin and hydrology

A survey of the reach between the Salt Works and the Soft Fork mouth was performed in 1836 - 1837.It recorded the entire length as 68.5mile descending 206.7feet in total, with the South Fork portion being 42mile and 131.5feet of that.It recorded the width as varying between 150feetand200feetft (andft).

Floods

The Kentucky River basin, including South Fork and its tributaries, suffered a major flood in January and February 1957, although that did not exceed the highest on record for South Fork specifically, as Goose Creek's record at that point had been the flood of June and July 1947.Peak water levels at Manchester were 2feet lower than those of the 1947 flood.However at Booneville the peak levels were 1.7feet higher than those of 1947.

25 homes and 34 commercial buildings were flooded in Manchester; with an estimate cost of the damage exceeding .20 homes and 10 other buildings were flooded in Oneida, with approximately 80% of the town under water, in some places by as much as 9feet.31 homes and 1 other building were flooded in Booneville.

Tributaries and other locations

• Its major tributaries include:
  • Sexton's Creek 14.375mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 648feet, mouth at 37.3592°N -83.6823°W, whose further tributaries and locations are in its own article
  • Road Run 13.5mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 659feet, mouth at 37.3375°N -83.6878°W headwaters at 37.3096°N -83.7006°W
    • Columbus Bishop Branch 0.75mile upstream, mouth at 37.3223°N -83.6939°W headwaters at 37.3172°N -83.6888°W
  • Rooster Branch 7.5mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 678feet, mouth at 37.3296°N -83.6676°W headwaters at 37.3216°N -83.6837°W
  • Rocky Branch 6.75mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 682feet, mouth at 37.3204°N -83.6638°W headwaters at 37.3168°N -83.6803°W
  • Lower Teges Creek 4.5mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 698feet, mouth at 37.3065°N -83.6689°W headwaters at 37.2889°N -83.7282°W
  • Upper Teges Creek 4mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 715feet, mouth at 37.2928°N -83.6665°W headwaters at 37.2806°N -83.7293°W
  • Crane Creek 2mile downstream of Oneida at altitude 722feet, mouth at 37.2846°N -83.6754°W headwaters at 37.268°N -83.7493°W
  • Red Bird River, mouth at 37.2696°N -83.6434°W, whose further tributaries and locations are in its own article
  • Goose Creek, mouth at 37.2697°N -83.6433°W, whose further tributaries and locations are in its own article

General

A road connects a left branch of Crane Creek via a gap to the Wildcat Branch of Goose Creek.A road connects a left branch of Upper Teges Creek to Crane Creek.

See also

• List of rivers of Kentucky

Sources

• Book: Hydrology of Area 14, Eastern Coal Province, Kentucky. Ferdinand. Quinones. Donald S.. Mull. Karen. York. Victoria. Kendall. Open-File Report . Water Resources Investigations. Louisville, Kentucky. August 1981. United States Geological Survey. 10.3133/ofr81137.
• Book: The coals of Goose Creek and its tributaries. 4. 3. Reports of the Kentucky Geological Survey 4th series 1912 - 1918. The State Journal Company. Frankfort, Kentucky. James Michael. Hodge. 1918.
• Book: Russell. Philip G.. 1918. The coals of Sexton Creek and the tributaries of South Fork on the right between the mouth of Redbird Creek and the mouth of Sexton Creek. Kentucky Geological Survey. Reports series 4. 4 part 3. 185 - 260.
• Book: Rennick. Robert M.. Clay County - Post Offices. 2000. County Histories of Kentucky. 176. Morehead State University. .
• Book: . Review of Reports on Kentucky River and Tributaries. 1958-06-30. United States Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District. Louisville, Kentucky. Secretary of the Army.
• Book: Floods of January - February 1957 in Southeeastern Kentucky and Adjacent Areas. Geological Survey Water-supply Paper. 1652-A. United States Geological Survey. United States Government Printing Office. 1964. .
• Book: Collins Historical Sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky. 1. Lewis. Collins. Richard Henry. Collins. Collins & Company. 1874. Covington, Kentucky. Historical sketch of internal improvements in Kentucky.
• Book: The Road to Poverty: The Making of Wealth and Hardship in Appalachia. Dwight B.. Billings. Kathleen M.. Blee. Cambridge University Press. 2000. 9780521655460.

Further reading

• Rennick. Robert M.. United States Geological Survey. Oneida Quadrangle. Robert M. Rennick Topographical Maps Collection . Robert M. Rennick Topographical Map Collection. January 1953 . 571. Morehead State University.