Hocking River
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| Hocking River | |
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| Origin | Fairfield County |
| Mouth | Ohio River in Athens County near Hockingport |
| Source elevation | ~ 1050 ft (320 m) [1] |
| Mouth elevation | 582 ft (177 m) [2] |
| Basin area | 1,197 mi² (3,100 km²) [3] |
The Hocking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio in the United States.
The Hocking flows mostly on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, but its headwaters are in a glaciated region. It rises in Bloom Township in Fairfield County and flows generally southeastwardly through Fairfield, Hocking, and Athens Counties, through the Hocking Hills region and past the cities of Lancaster, Logan, Nelsonville, Athens and Coolville. It joins the Ohio River at Hockingport. The Hocking's tributaries also drain parts of Perry, Morgan, and Washington Counties.
Its name originally derives from a Native American name, roughly "Hokhokken" or "Hokhochen", which meant "bottle-shaped" or "gourd-shaped" and referred to the configuration of the river at the present-day town of Logan, Ohio. The river was known as the Hockhocking River until the late 1800s.
The Hocking Canal once linked Athens to Lancaster and the Ohio and Erie Canal, but was destroyed by flooding and never rebuilt. Due to frequent flooding of Ohio University's campus, the Army Corps of Engineers re-channelized a section of the Hocking River in Athens during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between Nelsonville and Athens, the Hocking today is roughly paralleled by a rail trail, the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway. The path serves as a major source of recreation for the residents of the area especially, the students of Ohio University.
Major tributaries to the Hocking include (downriver to upriver) Federal Creek, Margaret Creek, Sunday Creek, Monday Creek, Scott Creek, Oldtown Creek, Clear Creek, Rush Creek, Pleasant Run, Baldwin Run, and Hunters Run. Many of these tributaries are affected by acid mine drainage.
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[edit] Recreation
In addition to the adjacent bike trail, the mid and upper portions of the Hocking River serve as an above average smallmouth bass fishery. Typical species of midwestern warmwater streams are generally found throughout the river. Canoeing is also popular, as there are canoe liveries on the mid and upper sections of the river.
[edit] Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Hocking River has also been known as: [4]
- Big Hock-hocking River
- Great Hock-hocking River
- Hock-Hocking River
- Hockhocken River
- Hockhocking River
- Hocking Hocking River
- Hokhoking River
- Big Hockhocking River
- Big Hocking River
- Great Hockhocking River
- Hakhakkien River
- Hockhoking River
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. Canal Winchester quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1992.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. Coolville quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1994.
- ^ Map of Ohio watersheds.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System entry
