Muskingum River
The Muskingum River near its mouth in Marietta, Ohio
Origin	Confluence of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers
Mouth	Ohio River at Marietta, Ohio
Basin countries	USA
Length	111 mi (179 km)
Mouth elevation	582 ft (177 m) [1]
Basin area	8,051 mi² (20,852 km²) [2]

Map of the Muskingum River watershed. Marietta is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Washington County. Confluence, in Geography, describes the meeting of two or more Bodies of water. The Tuscarawas River is a principal Tributary of the Muskingum River, 129 The Walhonding The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. Marietta is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Washington County. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles (179 km) long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio. Via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River,

Course

The Muskingum is formed at Coshocton in east-central Ohio by the confluence of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers. Coshocton is a city in and the County seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States. Confluence, in Geography, describes the meeting of two or more Bodies of water. The Walhonding The Tuscarawas River is a principal Tributary of the Muskingum River, 129 It flows in a meandering course southward past Conesville, Trinway and Dresden to Zanesville, and then southeastward past South Zanesville, Philo, Malta, McConnelsville, Beverly, Lowell, Stockport and Devola. A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse also known as an oxbow loop or simply an Oxbow. Conesville is a village in Coshocton County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. Trinway is an unincorporated community in northern Cass Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, in the east-central Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek Zanesville is a city in and the County seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. South Zanesville is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Moxahala Creek Philo is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. Malta is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 696 at the 2000 census. McConnelsville is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. Beverly is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States. Lowell is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. Stockport is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. Devola is a Census-designated place (CDP in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. It joins the Ohio at Marietta. Marietta is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Washington County.

Along its course the Muskingum collects Wills Creek near Conesville; Wakatomika Creek at Dresden; the Licking River at Zanesville; Moxahala Creek at South Zanesville; and Wolf Creek near Beverly. Wills Creek is a Tributary of the Muskingum River, 922 mi (148 Wakatomika Creek is a Tributary of the Muskingum River, 426 mi (68 The Licking River is a Tributary of the Muskingum River, about 40 mi (65 km long in central Ohio in the United States. Moxahala Creek is a Tributary of the Muskingum River, 292 miles (47 ^[3]

History

The word Muskingum derives from a similarly sounding Delaware (Native American) word, which some claim to translate as 'Eye of the Elk. The shannon (later named Delaware Indians by Europeans were in the 17th century organized bands of Native American peoples with shared cultural and linguistic Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States '

Noted frontier explorer, Christopher Gist, reached the Big Sandy Creek tributary of the river on December 4, 1751. Traveling down the river, he arrived at the large Wyandot town of Muskingum, at present Coshocton, on December 14, where he remained for the following month. ^[4]

Marietta was founded in 1788 as the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory, on the mouth of the Muskingum River along the Ohio River. Marietta is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Washington County. For the Canadian territory see Northwest Territories. For the northwestern corner of the Lower 48 see Northwestern United States. The Big Bottom Massacre occurred along its banks in 1791. The Big Bottom massacre occurred on January 2, 1791, near present-day Stockport in Morgan County, Ohio, United States Zanesville was settled in 1799 at the site where Zane's Trace crossed the Muskingum at the mouth of the Licking River. Zanesville is a city in and the County seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. "Zane's Trace" is the name for a frontier road constructed under the direction of Col The Licking River is a Tributary of the Muskingum River, about 40 mi (65 km long in central Ohio in the United States. In the mid-19th century the Muskingum was an important commercial shipping route, with dams and locks controlling the water level to allow boats to travel up and down the river. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal Waterways. With the decrease in use of water-based transportation in Ohio in the 1920s, the locks fell into disrepair. Since the 1960s the locks have been repaired to enable pleasure craft to travel the entire navigable length of the river. The Muskingum waterway is one of the few remaining systems to use hand-operated river locks in the U. S. The navigation system has been designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The following is a partial list of historic civil engineering landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964 In 2006, it was designated "An Ohio Water Trail;" this designation provides for increased canoe access on the river.

In the 1970s, boaters were occasionally allowed to operate the old-fashioned lock mechanisms themselves, with the permission of the lockmaster. The procedure appears to have become more formalized since then.

From around 1812 to 1861 the Muskingum River, located north of the Mason-Dixon Line, was a major Underground Railroad route used by fugitive slaves escaping from the South on their journey north to Lake Erie and Canada. The Mason–Dixon Line (or "Mason and Dixon's Line" is a Demarcation line between four U The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and Safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Lake Erie (ˈɪəriː is the fourth largest Lake (by surface area of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Muskingum River has also been known as:

• Big Muskingum River
• Elk River
• Mouskindom River
• Mushkingum River
• Muskingham River
• Riviere Chiagnez

See also

• List of Ohio rivers

External links

• Muskingum River State Park with information on the locks. The Geographic Names Information System ( GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout This is a list of rivers in the state of Ohio in the United States of America.
• Muskingum River Information from The Marietta Times with information, maps and stories about the historical river.
• [1] A history-travel guide on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers

References