Muskingum River
Muskingum River | |
---|---|
Native name | Wakatamothiipi (Shawnee) |
Location | |
Country | United States |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Confluence of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers |
Mouth | |
• location | Ohio River at Marietta, Ohio |
• elevation | 582 ft (177 m)[1] |
Length | 111 mi (179 km) |
Basin size | 8,051 sq mi (20,850 km2)[2] |
Discharge | |
• location | mouth |
• average | 9,459.49 cu ft/s (267.863 m3/s) (estimate)[3] |
The Muskingum River (/məˈskɪŋ(ɡ)əm/ mə-SKING-(g)əm; Shawnee: Wakatamothiipi)[4] is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles (179 km) long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio. Via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The river is navigable for much of its length through a series of locks and dams.
Course
The Muskingum is formed at Coshocton in east-central Ohio by the confluence of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers. It flows in a meandering course southward past Conesville and Dresden to Zanesville, and then southeastward past South Zanesville, Philo, Gaysport, Malta, McConnelsville, Beverly, Lowell, Stockport and Devola. It joins the Ohio at Marietta.
Along its course the Muskingum collects Wills Creek near Conesville; Wakatomika Creek at Dresden; the Licking River at Zanesville; Moxahala Creek at South Zanesville; and Wolf Creek near Beverly.[5]
History
The name Muskingum derives from the
As part of an expedition to assert French dominance throughout the entire Ohio valley, on August 15, 1749, a leaden plate claiming the region for France was buried at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers by Pierre Joseph Céloron.
Noted frontier
Since the 1960s, the locks have been repaired to enable pleasure craft to travel the entire navigable length of the river. The Muskingum waterway is one of the few remaining systems in the US to use hand-operated river locks. The navigation system has been designated a national
Located north of the Mason–Dixon line, from around 1812 to 1861 the Muskingum River was a major Underground Railroad route used by fugitive slaves escaping from the South on their journey north to Lake Erie and Canada.
Nonprofit organizations
The Friends of the Lower Muskingum River is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit land trust based in Marietta, Ohio, concerned with protection of the Muskingum River and adjacent lands.[11] The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is a quasi-governmental entity concerned with flood control on the river.[12]
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Muskingum River has also been known as:
- Big Muskingum River
- Elk River
- Mouskindom River
- Mushkingum River
- Muskingham River
- Riviere Chiagnez
See also
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. Marietta quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington, D.C.: USGS, 1994.
- ^ "Map of Ohio watersheds". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Muskingum River". watersgeo.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
- ^ "Shawnees Webpage". Shawnee's Reservation. 1997. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ISBN 0-89933-233-1
- Ohio Historical Society: 137–158. Retrieved May 22, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "mus". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ "wëshkinkw". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ David Zeisberger (1910). David Zeisberger's History of Northern American Indians. Press of F.J. Heer. p. 44.
- ^ Darlington, Journal of Christopher Gist
- ^ "Friends of Lower Muskingum River – Help us save our land, water, and wildlife in the Lower Muskingum by volunteering, donating, or offering land".
- ^ District, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy. "Muskingum Watershed: Ohio Lakes, Camping, and Water Conservation". www.mwcd.org.