Red River Watershed

Description of the Watershed

The Red River originates in Tennessee, flows into Kentucky, and then back into Tennessee where it drains into the Cumberland River near Clarksville, Tennessee. Fifty-one percent of the watershed is in Kentucky; the remainder is in Tennessee.

Located within the watershed is Port Royal State Park, the site where the “Trail of Tears” crossed the Red River. Whippoorwill Creek, a tributary to the Red River, is a designated Outstanding State Resource Water. Also located in the watershed is Fort Campbell Military Reservation.

The towns of Adairville, Elkton, Oak Grove and Guthrie, Kentucky, and Springfield, White House and Clarksville, Tennessee, are within the watershed. The Red River supplies ground and surface water for livestock, irrigation, and municipal drinking water. The watershed supplies the Logan-Todd Water Commission that supplies municipal drinking water to five different Kentucky communities and two in Tennessee.

The watershed receives recreational use by fishermen, canoeists, and cave enthusiasts.

The Red River watershed is located in south central Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee and covers 947,835 surface acres. The topography ranges from nearly level to undulating to rolling karst uplands. The temperate climate is favorable for many kinds of plants and animals. Generally, summers are warm and humid and winters are moderately cold. Precipitation generally is fairly well distributed throughout the year.

Land Cover and Land Use

Approximately 73 percent of the area is in cropland and pasture with 55 percent being cropland, and 18 percent being pasture land. The remaining land is primarily in forestland and rural communities.

With the exception of Fort Campbell Military Reservation and Port Royal State Park, the land is primarily privately owned.

In general, the number of farms in the watershed have decreased significantly since the last Census of Agriculture, while the land in farms has remained somewhat steady. The average size of farms has increased and the market value of production there has decreased somewhat. (It varies by county and this statement may not be true for all counties in the watershed.)
 

 

The following maps require Acrobat Reader

NOTE:  Maps are large files:  1 - 2 Mb

Red River Watershed Map (PDF; 1.4 MB)    - Maps of Watershed

 

Maps of Counties in the Red River Watershed

County Maps - Right Click on county name to download PDF format of map. 

Then Click on   -Save Target As-   to download map to your hard drive.

 

 

Kentucky Counties

Christian (PDF; 1 MB)

Logan (PDF; 1.2 MB)

Simpson (PDF; 1 MB)

Todd (PDF; 1 MB)

 

Tennessee Counties

Montgomery (PDF; 1.7 MB)

Robertson (PDF; 2 MB)

Stewart (PDF; 1.2 MB)

Sumner (PDF; 1.8 MB)

 

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