Barren River

The Barren River[1] is a 135-mile-long (217 km) river in Southcentral Kentucky, United States, and a tributary of the Green River.[2] The watershed of the Green River is the largest of the twelve major river watersheds in Kentucky.[3] The Barren River rises near the Tennessee border in Monroe County and flows into the Green in northeast Warren County. The drainage basin consists of Southcentral Kentucky and north-central Tennessee.

Historically, this waterway was depicted as the “Big Barren River”[1] in early surveys and documents[4][5] to distinguish it from the Little Barren River.[6]

At Greencastle, Kentucky,[7][8] the river has a mean annual discharge of 2,501 cubic feet per second.[9]

The Barren River, bridged by Old Louisville Rd near Bowling Green.
  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Barren River
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Green River
  3. ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District. “Green River Watershed Section 729 Initial Watershed Assessment, November 2011.” (p. 6). https://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Portals/64/docs/CWProjects/GreenRiverStudy.pdf Date Accessed March 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Arterburn, Charles R. A Forgotten Town Remembered: Pikesville of Monroe County, Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky: C.R. Arterburn, 2014. (pp.102-109)
  5. ^ Jillson, Willard Rouse and Kentucky. The Kentucky Land Grants: A Systematic Index to All of the Land Grants Recorded in the State Land Office at Frankfort Kentucky 1782-1924. Standard Printing Company Incorporated, 1925.
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Barren River
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Greencastle (Kentucky)
  8. ^ Elbon, David C. “Greencastle, Kentucky.” Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer. 2023. https://www.kyatlas.com/ky-green-castle.html Date Accessed March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "USGS Surface Water data for Kentucky: USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics".