Big Sandy River (Ohio River)
The
Big Sandy River is a
tributary of the
Ohio River, approximately 28.79 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 which had similar meaning to the
English name. It was known to the
Lenape as
Sikeacepe, meaning "Salt River", from the presence of
salt licks on the river (
see:
Licking River).
*
List of Kentucky rivers*
List of West Virginia rivers*
Little Sandy River*
University of Kentucky: Big Sandy Basin assessment
