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River in Kentucky, United States

The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 260 mile (418 km) long, in the U. S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the Bluegrass region in the north central part of the state. Its watershed encompasses about 7000 square miles (18,130 km2). It supplies drinking water to about one sixth of the population of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river is no longer navigable above Lock 4 at Frankfort. Concrete bulkheads have been poured behind the upper lock gates of Locks 5–14 to strengthen the weakest link in the dam structures. All 14 dams are now under the management of the state run Kentucky River Authority. The primary importance of the locks today is to maintain a pool that allows the city of Lexington to draw its drinking water from the river. Although the Lexington area receives well over of precipitation annually, the limestone karst geology of that area results in surprisingly little natural surface water to be found in the region. Winchester, Beattyville, Irvine, Richmond, Lancaster, Nicholasville, Harrodsburg, Wilmore, Versailles, Lawrenceburg, and Frankfort also draw water from the river for their municipal water supplies. It is estimated that more than 700,000 people depend on the river for water.

The main stem of the Kentucky River is formed in Eastern Kentucky around Beattyville, in Lee County, by the confluences of the North, Middle, and South Forks (more on which in #Forks). The river flows generally northwest, in a highly meandering course through the mountains, through the Daniel Boone National Forest, past Irvine and Boonesborough, flowing southwest and passing south of Lexington, then north through Frankfort. It joins the Ohio at Carrollton. Approximately 15 mile (24 km) southeast of Boonesborough, the Kentucky is joined by its tributary the Red River. Approximately 20 mile (32 km) west of Boonesborough, it is joined by Silver Creek. At High Bridge, it is joined by the Dix River. At Frankfort, it is joined by Benson Creek; that confluence was the junction of Kentucky's three original counties. At Monterey, approximately 10 mile (16 km) north of Frankfort, it is joined by Elkhorn Creek, which drains much of the Inner Bluegrass region. Between Clays Ferry in Madison County and Frankfort, the river passes through the Kentucky River Palisades, a series of dramatic steep gorges approximately 100 mile (161 km) in length.

The Kentucky River has three major forks, the North, Middle, and South Forks. The Middle and North Forks join just upstream of Beattyville to form the Kentucky River, which is joined in turn just downstream of Beattyville by the South Fork. The area between the confluence of the North and Middle Forks and where the South Fork joins is known locally as The Three Forks Country. Between them, the three forks drain nearly 3/5 of the 4423 square miles (11,456 km2) central portion of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield area. The North Fork Kentucky River is approximately 168 mile (270 km) long. The Middle Fork Kentucky River is approximately 105 mile (169 km) long. The South Fork Kentucky River is approximately 45 mile (72 km) long.

The whole Kentucky River Basin is subject to regular flooding, caused by high rainfall, and because the banks of its various tributaries are generally steep, flood damage is usually to buildings, towns, and roads that are on the courses of the creeks. The physical and human geography comprises deep narrow river valleys, with relatively narrow flood plains along which are built most of the roads, railway lines, homes, and businesses. The generally rocky terrain of the area causes rainwater to run off into many ephemeral creeks, that feed into the perennial ones, rather than being absorbed into the soil. Much of the built environment in the area is along the creek beds, meaning that damage is mainly to it rather than to agricultural areas. Kentucky River flooding has been recorded since the early 1800s. Swiss immigrant and lock keeper, Frank Wurtz, recorded the floods from 1867 on and spoke with local farmers to learn of earlier ones. They told him of great floods in 1817, 1832, 1847, and 1854. Wurtz documented the floods of 1867, 1880, and 1883, which he claims was five feet higher than the high tide of the 1847 flood. The waters of the 1883 flood washed his post away. On January 1, 1919, the waters rose 10 feet in ten hours at Frankfort, causing damage to many smaller towns along the river. In November of the same year, the waters rose 3 feet in one hour at Frankfort. In 1920, flooding caused the sewers in Frankfort to back up. There was also major flooding in early 1924 and late December 1926. Floods hit Kentucky and the South in 1927, causing widespread damage in the Kentucky River basin, in communities such as Neon, Whitesburg, and Hazard. Hundreds of people were forced from their homes.

Throughout the 1930s, the area, already suffering from the economic depression, had to deal with several floods, including a particularly bad one in 1936. As the Ohio river flooded that year, it backed into the lower Kentucky. The crest reached 42.7 feet (13 m) tall, and flooded half of Frankfort, completely isolating the Old State Capitol. In all, 12,000 square miles (31,080 km2) of the Ohio valley were flooded. The severe 1937 flooding, exacerbated by cold weather, resulted in civil unrest. In the Kentucky State Reformatory at Frankfort, the water rose to 6 feet (2 m) in the walls. With the downstairs population moving up a floor, racial tensions erupted. 24 prisoners tried to escape, but after a warning shot was fired, only one man left. No clean water or food was left in the prison, so authorities moved the population of 2,900 to the "feeble minded institute" on the hill next to the prison. Carpenters were brought in to build small, temporary housing units. Due to the unrest of the prison riots, the National Guard was brought in to oversee the makeshift prison. The prisoners considered to be too dangerous for the setting were sent to Lawrenceburg and Lexington. Governor Happy Chandler successfully pushed for a new reformatory to be built in LaGrange. While the public was still dealing with the effects of the flooding, Kentucky Utilities opened the Dix Dam spillways, which added more height to the flood waters. When it was turned off, 3 feet (1 m) extra of water were added. In Mercer county, the ferry connecting to the shore of Woodford washed away and was never replaced. A flood in 1939 rose slightly higher in Hazard than the flood in 1937. Residents in the Kentucky River watershed demanded the federal government do more to control floods. Kentucky Hydro Electric began pushing as early as 1925 for a 162 feet (49 m) dam 1 mile (2 km) above Booneville on the South Fork. For a variety of reasons, many people protested this. The dam would create a reservoir, backing up the South Fork for over 28 mile (45 km). In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Flood Control Act of 1938, which authorized construction or study of many dams and reservoirs by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Only two small lakes, Carr Fork and Buckhorn, were created in the Kentucky River watershed. The most controversial project, a Red River dam that would have flooded most of the river's scenic gorge, was finally abandoned in 1975. By that time, more people understood the widespread environmental and habitat effects of such dam construction and were less willing to support them.

The Kentucky River basin, including the three Forks and their tributaries, suffered a major flood in January and February 1957, although that did not exceed the highest on record on North Fork (and on its tributary Troublesome Creek), the Goose Creek tributary of South Fork, and Carr Fork, all of which had had higher local floods at that point. The 1957 flood affected not only the Kentucky River but also the Big Sandy River, the Cumberland River, and the Tennessee River. The total cost of damages was estimated at $15000000 in the Kentucky River basin, out of $52000000 across Kentucky as a whole. It also affected south western West Virginia, western Virginia, and north eastern Tennessee, but Kentucky state was the hardest hit. In part this was because of the physical geography of the area, as aforementioned. There had been of rainfall a week before the floods, which had saturated the ground and filled streams to their median levels, and in the period from the 27th of January to the 2nd of February there was of rainfall. The highest rainfall of the floods within Kentucky state was measured in the Pikeville–Haysi area., with over much of the flood area and at the headwaters of Middle Fork. The highest peak river discharges then on record were measured along all three Forks of the Kentucky River. There were no early warnings of the floods, as communications were disrupted. Approximately 7,700 telephones and 103 long distance telephone lines were taken out of service. Most people had to evacuate their homes rapidly without time to transport their possessions. Water supplies were contaminated, natural gas supplies were cut off making it difficult to cook, and food shortages occurred because of damage to food stocks on people's homes and in local stores. President Eisenhower declared the region a disaster area. The Red Cross, one of several relief organizations that came to aid alongside the federal and state governments, reported the destruction of 597 homes, major damage to another 2,932 homes, and minor damage to a further 8,740. Nine people died. Several rural school buildings were entirely destroyed, and many others were closed either because of damage or because transportation disruption meant that people simply could not get to them. The most costly school losses were the State Vocational School at Hazard ($37300), with the rest of Perry County having some $85000 worth of damage to other schools, and Floyd County having $308000 worth of damage to its schools. Highway damage made transport of relief supplies difficult, with the United States Army sending in 14 helicopters for transport of supplies, headquartered at London. Approximately 900 mines and manufacturing industries, and 90% of the coal mines in Perry, Letcher, Floyd, and Pike Counties, were shut down. 96 cable suspended footbridges, providing access to highways from residences that were on the opposite banks of streams, were destroyed.

The river provides excellent fishing. The largest goldeye ever taken in the state of Kentucky was caught in the Kentucky River in 2001, as well as the state record bighead carp, caught in 2020.