Green River ( Kentucky ) - wikipedia Green River ( Kentucky ) This article is about the river in Kentucky. For other uses, see Green River. Green River Green River near Mammoth Cave National Park Green River Watershed Country United States Physical characteristics Main source Lincoln and Casey counties in Kentucky 205 m ( 673 ft ) River mouth Ohio River 110 m ( 360 ft ) Length 384 mi ( 618 km ) Discharge Average rate : 5,260 cu ft / s ( 149 m / s ) Basin features Basin size 25,400 km ( 9,800 sq mi ) The Green River is a 384 - mile - long ( 618 km ) tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south - central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River. The river was named after Nathanael Greene, a general of the American Revolutionary War. Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Biology 3.1 Mussels 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links History Following the Revolutionary War, many veterans staked claims along the Green River as payment for their military service. The river valley also attracted a number of vagrants, earning it the dubious nickname Rogue 's Harbor. In 1842, the Green River was canalized, with a series of locks and dams being built to create a navigable channel as far inland as Bowling Green, Kentucky. Four locks and dams were constructed on the Green River, and one lock and dam was built on the Barren River, a tributary that passed through Bowling Green. During the American Civil War, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan conducted daring raids through the Green River country, from which he reached into southern Indiana and Ohio. In 1901, two additional locks and dams were opened on the Green River, which allowed river traffic to Mammoth Cave. In 1941, Mammoth Cave National Park was established, and the two upper locks and dams closed in 1950. In 1965, Lock and Dam # 4 at Woodbury failed ; this was the dam that locked both the Green and Barren rivers. In 1969, the United States Army Corps of Engineers impounded a section of the river, forming 8,200 - acre ( 33 km ) Green River Lake. The lake is now the primary feature of Green River Lake State Park. There is still one Native American tribe living on the Green River : the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. In 1893 Governor John Y. Brown ( 1835 -- 1904 ) recognized the Southern Cherokee Nation as an Indian tribe. Route This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2017 ) The Green River flows through Mammoth Cave National Park, located along river miles 190 to 205. The river drains the cave and controls the master base level of the Mammoth Cave system : the construction of a 9 - foot ( 2.7 m ) dam at Brownsville in 1906 has raised the water level in some parts of the cave system by as much as 6 feet ( 1.8 m ) above its natural value. The 384 - mile - long ( 618 km ) Green River, an important transportation artery for the coal industry, is open to traffic up to the closed Lock and Dam # 3 ( known as the Rochester Dam ) at mile 108.5. Muhlenberg County, once the largest coal - producing county in the nation, benefits greatly from access to the river, as does the aluminium industry in Henderson County. In 2002, more than 10 million short tons were shipped on the river, primarily sub-bituminous coal, petroleum coke, and aluminium ore. The river rises from Kings Mountain, Kentucky and follows a meandering path, collecting several smaller streams along its way to its impoundment by a dam at Green River Lake near Campbellsville. It then continues in a westerly direction and is joined by the Little Barren River before entering the Mammoth Cave National Park. After it exits the park, it receives the tributary of the Nolin River which exits Nolin Lake. Then continuing westward it is joined by the Barren River. It then takes a more northwesterly turn as it proceeds through western Kentucky. Near Sebree it provides coolant water for Robert Reed Power Station, a coal fired power plant, before it finally empties into the Ohio River at Evansville, Indiana. Biology The Green River is home to more than 150 fish species and more than 70 mussel species. This includes some of Kentucky 's largest fish and some of the world 's rarest species of mussels. Mussels Endangered species : Ring Pink Obovaria retusa Rough Pigtoe Pleurobema plenum Northern riffleshell Epioblasma torulosa rangiana Threatened species : Long solid Mussel Fusconaia subrotunda Pink Mucket Lampsilis abrupta Pyramid Pigtoe Pleurobema rubrum See also Green River Lake State Park List of Kentucky rivers Mammoth Cave National Park Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky References ^ Jump up to : Kleber, John E., ed. ( 1992 ). `` Green River ''. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors : Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky : The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0 - 8131 - 1772 - 0. Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high - resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012 - 04 - 05 at WebCite, accessed June 13, 2011 Jump up ^ Benke, Arthur C. ; Cushing, Colbert E. ( 2005 ). Rivers of North America. Academic Press. p. 405. ISBN 978 - 0 - 12 - 088253 - 3. Retrieved 24 March 2012. Jump up ^ Gorin - Smith, Betty Jane ( 2006 ). Morgan Is Coming : Confederate Raiders in the Heartland of Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky : Harmony House Publishers. ISBN 978 - 1 - 56469 - 134 - 7. Jump up ^ The Kentucky Encyclopedia : Butler County Jump up ^ The Kentucky Encyclopedia : Lakes Jump up ^ `` Pioneering Effort to Restore Green River is Extended '' The Nature Conservancy Press Release 2009 Jump up ^ `` Kentucky State Record Fish List ''. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. 2006 - 04 - 17. Archived from the original on 2007 - 02 - 10. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 17. Jump up ^ `` The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ''. Iucnredlist.org. Archived from the original on 2014 - 06 - 27. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 25. Further reading The Ohio River - In American History and Voyaging on Today 's River, with a section on the Green River ; Heron Island Guides, 2007, ISBN 978 - 0 - 9665866 - 3 - 3 External links U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Green River `` Green River ''. The American Cyclopædia. 1879. Coordinates : 37 ° 54 ′ 9 '' N 87 ° 29 ′ 59 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.90250 ° N 87.49972 ° W ﻿ / 37.90250 ; - 87.49972 GND : 4773242 - 8 VIAF : 142144814493547150774 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_River_(Kentucky)&oldid=828352502 '' Categories : Rivers of Kentucky Tributaries of the Ohio River Bodies of water of Butler County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Casey County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Daviess County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Edmonson County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Green County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Hart County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Henderson County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Lincoln County, Kentucky Bodies of water of McLean County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Ohio County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Taylor County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Warren County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Webster County, Kentucky Hidden categories : Webarchive template webcite links Articles needing additional references from December 2017 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia with a Wikisource reference Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch Français Norsk Polski Русский 中文 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 March 2018, at 01 : 36 ( UTC ). 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Question: where does the green river start in kentucky
Answer: Kings Mountain