Ohio River: Background for Social Studies

[Music] some rivers are known for their size some for their beauty some for their water power the Ohio river is known primarily for its traffic millions of tons of coal are floated down the Ohio each year along with oil products cement metal pipe sulfur and many other massive bulky products making the Ohio the busiest Inland waterway in the United States why is the Ohio such an active thoroughfare the answer lies in the history of the river and in its geography the Ohio is formed by the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers at Pittsburgh it ends at Cairo Illinois where it joins the Mississippi between Pittsburgh and Cairo the Ohio flow Southward and Westward 981 miles separating five states along the way the westward course of the Ohio has played a vital role in The History of the United States Pioneers crossed the rugged Appalachians and headed for the Ohio as a natural highway to the West Daniel Boone LED settlers over the famed Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap to tributaries of the Ohio others traveled the National Road which led to Wheeling West Virginia one of the early Riverbank towns many families arrived at Fort Pitt which later became the city of Pittsburgh located at the head of the Ohio Pittsburgh became known as the Gateway to the West here settlers bought boats these were crude flat-bottomed flat boats barrels and boxes of household goods along with tools and livestock these were the things the settlers took along with them long-handled paddles called sweeps were used to guide the boats down river the power came from the river itself the westward flowing Ohio that carried cargos to the fertile lands along the valley produce from the Farms corn wheat tobacco and pork was sent down the Ohio to the Mississippi and on to New Orleans it was an easy ride Downstream but getting the boats Upstream that was another matter sometimes horses were used sails were even tried but it was steam power introduced in the middle 1800s that made two-way Transportation practical Goods could now be shipped more rapidly and economically especially Upstream with the growth in transportation and trade in the Ohio Valley settlers continued to flock in from the East trading posts on the river grew into villages here's the Way Louisville Kentucky looked in 1798 by 1835 Louisville had become a fair-sized town by 1851 Louisville had become a small City here's the Way Cincinnati looked at the same time sailboats and flat boats continue to be used along the Ohio but the steamboat had become the dominant means of transportation today the steering wheeler is a curiosity for tourists who want to relive the experiences of a century ago up to about the middle 1800s people along the Ohio depended upon the river primarily for transportation and upon the land for farming but there were two other features which were to lead to a more industrialized economy the Ohio along with its network of rivers and streams forms a watershed that extends into 14 States a tremendous volume of water pours from the major tributaries into the Ohio making it second to the Mississippi in the total volume of water carried the Ohio Watershed is also endowed with a vast quantity of coal the Appalachian and the Eastern interior coal fields are the largest coal fields in North America coal and water have contributed to make the Ohio Valley today a booming Center of Industry sprawling steel mills Thrive along the shores of the Ohio each with a voracious appetite for coal and water vast quantities of water and coal are also used in Steam plants along the river in these plants steam power produced by burning coal is used to generate low-cost electricity which in turn lures other Industries to the valley electric power has brought aluminum plants with giant electric ovens used in the refining of aluminum atomic energy plants in the valley use more power and water than some small countries petroleum refineries than chemical plants have also been attracted to the Ohio by plentiful electricity coal and water Industrial Development naturally creates jobs millions of people make their living in the Ohio Valley this helps explain the large population of present-day cities along the river flat boats and log cabins have given way to factories Office Buildings Bridges and highways Cincinnati is an Industrial and Commercial Center of the middle west Pittsburgh is one of the world's largest producers of Steel other major cities along the Ohio are Wheeling West Virginia Huntington also in West Virginia and Louisville the largest city in Kentucky the growth of cities along the Ohio has not been without its problems water pollution is one modern water treatment plants make wastes and sewage harmless before being poured into the river but there are still places where industrial wastes are dumped into the Ohio without adequate processing parts of the river remain poisonous to fish unsafe to swim in and unfit to drink floods have been another problem along the Ohio in past years floods have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to help control the river the U.S government has constructed a series of dams locks within the dams provide passage for boats and barges several barges are generally hooked together and pushed by a single tow boat this is an efficient way of moving the barges but it has created certain problems just a few years ago many of the locks were too short to accommodate a long string of barges so the units had to be separated at each Dam and taken through the locks piecemeal wasting both money and time to end this waste new dams are being constructed and new locks are being built to accommodate longer strings of barges this new lock can hold a toe of barges up to 1200 feet long twice the length that could be handled previously it's an enormous load but a modern diesel-powered tow boat can easily move it along this smooth River Highway from high above you can see that the new dams have transformed parts of the Ohio into Wide pools deep enough to assure Dependable navigation the pools also provide enormous volumes of water for Industries and cities additional water is supplied by tributaries of the Ohio this is Kentucky dam on the Tennessee River it forms Kentucky Lake this is Barkley Lake on the Cumberland River another tributary of the Ohio these man-made Lakes have greatly increased the water available for fish and other wildlife and for outdoor recreation but the prime value of the river is still transportation remember that bulky raw materials as well as manufactured goods can be moved up and down the more than 900 miles of the Ohio quite easily and at low cost problems remain to be worked out in using this River problems of waste disposal flood control and navigation but that's the path of progress along such a busy thoroughfare is this the busiest Inland water highway in the United States the Ohio River [Music]