The Laurel River is a 42-mile (68 km)[2] tributary of the Cumberland River in southeast Kentucky in the United States. The river drains a rural region in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in parts of Whitley and Laurel Counties.[3] The town of Corbin is located on the river about 15 miles (24 km) east of its mouth on the Cumberland, and near the confluence with a major tributary, the Little Laurel River.
| Laurel River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• location | Cumberland River |
• elevation | 722 ft (220 m) |
| Length | 42 mi (68 km) |
| Basin size | 291 sq mi (750 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Corbin, Kentucky |
| • average | 338 cu/ft. per sec.[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Cumberland—Ohio—Mississippi |
The river is impounded near its mouth by Laurel River Dam, which forms Laurel River Lake. Completed in 1974 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the dam and reservoir serve mainly for flood control, although some hydroelectricity is also produced.
The river was likely named for thick growth of laurel along its banks.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "USGS Surface Water data for Kentucky: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".
- ^ "USGS National Atlas Streamer". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Laurel River
- ^ Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. p. 458. ISBN 9780722249208.
36°56′46″N 84°17′46″W / 36.94611°N 84.29611°W
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