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).
Two well-known fiddle-tunes take their name from the Big Sandy River: "Sandy River Belle" and the "Big Sandy River".

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References

External links

See also

★ List of Kentucky rivers

★ List of West Virginia rivers

★ Little Sandy River

References

External links

★ University of Kentucky: Big Sandy Basin assessment