The Big Sandy River of Tennessee rises about five miles (eight km) northwest of Lexington, Tennessee, county seat of Henderson County, Tennessee, in the same vicinity as two other important rivers of West Tennessee, the Beech River and the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River. Like the Beech (and unlike the Forked Deer, which flows to the Mississippi River), the Big Sandy flows to the Tennessee River. Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 36th 109,247 km² 195 km 710 km 2. ... Lexington is a city located in Henderson County, Tennessee. ... Henderson County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... West Tennessee is one of the three traditional regions in the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... The Beech River is a stream draining the east-central portion of West Tennessee. ... The Forked Deer River system is the main drainage of the central portion of West Tennessee. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ... A riverboat passing under the Henley Street Bridge on the Tennessee River The river viewed from the top of Neyland Stadium. ...

From near its source downstream, much of the Big Sandy River has been channelized. It crosses into Carroll County near the community of Yuma. In Carroll County, it passes slightly east of the town of Bruceton. Turning somewhat northeast, it crosses into Benton County. The former channel (prior to channelization) of the Big Sandy forms several miles of the boundary between Benton County and Henry County. The lower Big Sandy is impounded by the Kentucky Dam project of the Tennessee Valley Authority; it forms the biggest single embayment on Kentucky Lake. The head of the embayment is the site of the town of Big Sandy and nearby is a major "dewatering area". This is an almost flat area (superficially resembling a tidal flat) which is flooded or not, depending on TVA's assessment of a proper level for Kentucky Lake, taking into consideration flood control, navigation, electrical power needs, and recreation (in that order, according to the 1933 Act establishing the Authority). Another, even larger, dewatering area is maintained by the help of an auxiliary dam on a tributary, West Sandy Creek. Despite the extensive channelization activity, much of what the river must have been like prior to this can be seen in the wetlands surrounding it near the Interstate 40 bridge and also along Tennessee State Route 69 between Camden and Paris. This article is about stream channelization. ... Carroll County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Bruceton is a town located in Carroll County, Tennessee. ... Benton County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Henry County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Kentucky Dam is a dam on the Tennessee River on the dividing line between Livingston County and Marshall County in the U.S. state of Kentucky. ... TVA logo The Tennessee Valley Authority is a New Deal agency created to generate electric power and control floods in a seven-U.S.-state region around the Tennessee River Valley. ... Kentucky Lake is the largest artificial lake or east of the Mississippi River in the United States, created by the impoundment of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam. ... Big Sandy is a town located in Benton County, Tennessee. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about stream channelization. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. ... Camden is a city in Benton County, Tennessee, United States. ... The replica of the Eiffel tower in Paris, Tennessee. ...