Big South Fork of the Cumberland River
river in the United States of America
The Big South Fork of the Cumberland River is a 76-mile-long (122 km) river in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Kentucky. It is a major drainage feature of the Cumberland Plateau, a major tributary of the Cumberland River system, and the major feature of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
Physical geography
The Big South Fork begins at the confluence of the New River and the Clear Fork in Scott County, Tennessee, and flows northwest, northeast, and north until ending at Lake Cumberland in McCreary County, Kentucky, near the town of Burnside. It is the third largest tributary of the Cumberland River, and is free flowing for a distance of approximately 37 miles (60 km) before being affected by the headwaters of the lake.
The terrain furthest upstream near the confluence is the most rugged, with reliefs of as much as 1,900 feet (580 m). This area is characterized by dendritic draining patterns and narrow gorges, with valleys strewn with large boulders fallen from cliffs above. Major formations include natural arches, mesas, chimneys, cracks and rock shelters. The terrain becomes less rugged as the river travels northward, with reliefs of between 200 feet (61 m) and 300 feet (91 m).
Soil in the area is divided between two groups. The first is primarily made up of Ramsey, Hartsells, Grimsley, and Gilpin soils and is located adjacent to the river gorge.
“Big South Fork of the Cumberland River” enters the record as river in the United States of America. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what South, Fork and Cumberland can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Big South Fork of the Cumberland River” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, South, Fork and Cumberland provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4906396. VIAF identifies the subject as 315149333. Authority coordinates are 36.985, -84.607. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Big South Fork of the Cumberland River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.