| Big Sandy River | |
| Map: | Bigsandyrivermap.png |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kentucky, West Virginia |
| Subdivision Type3: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name3: | Lawrence KY, Wayne WV, Boyd KY |
| Length: | 29miles |
| Discharge1 Location: | mouth |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 5006.74cuft/s (estimate)[1] |
| Source1: | Tug Fork |
| Source1 Location: | Big Stone Ridge, McDowell County, WV |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 37.2772°N -81.435°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 2604feet[3] |
| Source2 Location: | Gap of Sandy, Buchanan County, VA |
| Source2 Coordinates: | 37.1517°N -81.9011°W |
| Source2 Elevation: | 2657feet[4] |
| Source Confluence Location: | Louisa, KY |
| Source Confluence Coordinates: | 38.1181°N -82.6017°W |
| Source Confluence Elevation: | 545feet |
| Mouth: | Ohio River |
| Mouth Location: | Catlettsburg, KY |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 38.4161°N -82.5958°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 525feet |
| Basin Size: | 4280sqmi[5] |
The Big Sandy River, called Sandy Creek as early as 1756, is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,[6] in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course. Via the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
It is formed between Louisa, Kentucky, and Fort Gay, West Virginia, by the confluence of the Tug Fork and Levisa Fork. It flows generally northwardly in a highly meandering course, between Lawrence and Boyd counties in Kentucky and Wayne County in West Virginia. It joins the Ohio between Catlettsburg, Kentucky and Kenova, West Virginia, 8miles west of Huntington, West Virginia, at the common boundary between West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
The river is navigable and carries commercial shipping, primarily coal mined in the immediate region.
The name of the river, originally called Sandy Creek by 1756, comes from the presence of extensive sand bars. The Native American names for the river included Tatteroa, Chatteroi, and Chatterwha.[7] The name "Big Sandy" was in use no later than February, 1789.[8]
George Washington surveyed land at the mouth of the river between 1768 and 1772.[9]
Some Native American groups have links to the area and region, such as the Shawnee, Cherokee, Tutelo, Issa, and others.
In 1756, as part of the French and Indian War, the Sandy Creek Expedition occurred in the valley.
The tombstone of David White, an early settler along the river in Kentucky, marks his passing in 1817 with the note that he lived many years near the Mouth of the Big Sandy.[10]
Several notable personalities relating to the Civil War hailed from the Big Sandy Valley. Likewise, the valley hosted important war-time events.
The Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River is the site of the Hatfield-McCoy feud.
On October 11, 2000, the Martin County sludge spill polluted hundreds of miles of the Ohio River, the Big Sandy River and its tributaries. The accident was caused when a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Kentucky broke into an abandoned underground mine below. Toxic pollutants including heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, copper and chromium were found in the sludge that spilled into these waterways.[11]
The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill (12e6USgal) and one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Two well-known fiddle tunes take their name from the Big Sandy River: "Sandy River Belle" and the "Big Sandy River". Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" and Dwight Yoakam's "Bury Me" also mention the river.