The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River is a major drainage feature of the Cumberland Plateau, a major tributary of the Cumberland River system, a world-class whitewater canoeing and kayaking stream, and the major feature of a National Recreation Area bearing its name. The Cumberland Plateau includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia in the United States. ... Length 1,106 km Elevation of the source 480 m Average discharge 3,217 m³/s Area watershed 46,830 km² Origin Oven Fork, Kentucky Mouth Ohio River Basin countries United States The Cumberland River is an important waterway in the southern United States. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Canoeing is the recreational or sporting activity of paddling a canoe or kayak. ... Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. ... National Recreation Area is a designation for a protected area in the United States usually centered on large reservoirs and emphasizing water-based recreation for a large number of people. ...

The Big South Fork is formed by the confluence of the New River and the Clear Fork River at the southern end of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area near an oil field developed by petroleum interests. It is downstream from extensive coal deposits. This confluence occurs approximately four miles (six km) line distance northwest of the U.S. Highway 27 bridge over the New River, in Scott County, Tennessee. From here, the river runs roughly north. This area is extremely remote. The river flows through a deep gorge which has been eroded through sandstone of the Pennsylvanian Period. A large island, unsurprisingly called "Big Island", is located fairly near the Kentucky state line. Many rapids features have names by which they are well known in the whitewater community. The stream enters McCreary County, Kentucky shortly below this point. The New River rises on Frozen Head, a notable mountain of Morgan County, Tennessee named for its frequent winter appearance and the focal point of a Tennessee State Park and Natural Area. ... The Clear Fork River is a stream draining part of the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths crust. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. ... United States Highway 27 (US 27), is a north-south United States highway. ... Scott County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Red Sandstone in Wyoming Sandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mainly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. ... The Pennsylvanian is a geologic (sub)period lasting from roughly 325 million years before the present (BP) to 286 million years BP. As with most other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th)  - Land 102,989 km²  - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... McCreary County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ...

This area was depopulated when the National River and Recreation Area was formed. The balance of the stream course prior to its confluence with the Cumberland River downstream of the National Recreation Area is in Daniel Boone National Forest. It is bridged by Kentucky Highway 92 near the community of Hilltop. The Daniel Boone National Forest is the only national forest completely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. ...