Photo Archives from ColumbiaMagazine.com. Click here for more photos.

Float Trip down Cumberland: Locking through 2008-08-11 - Old Hickory Dam, Cumberland River, TN - Photo By Chris Bennett. "Locking Through Old Hickory 3:42pm, June 6, 2007" From the "headwaters" of the Cumberland River near Harlan Ky, to the confluence with the Ohio River at Smithland KY, the Cumberland River flows 678 miles crooking, and winding through southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee. There are five man made lakes that are controlled by the US Army Corp of Engineers Nashville on the Cumberland. These reservoirs primarily control flooding. At each dam they also generate electricity, although most of our nations electricity comes from burning coal (54%. nationally, hydropower accounts for about 5% nationally) It is a common misconception of folks in this area that we get most of our power from Wolf Creek Dam. After Wolf Creek, there are locks at each dam that allow boats to navigate up and down the river. Commercial Barges carry huge loads of coal, sand, gasoline and other materials up and down the Cumberland, all made possible by these locks. At each lock we pulled up to a small dock where we pulled a chain that sounded a loud horn that told the lock operators that we wanted to "lock through". The massive doors would open and a we would pull inside, tie our boat up to a floating buoy, and then the massive doors would close behind us. Next they opened valves that let the water levels down around 60 feet on average to the level the river below. You can see the wet area on the lock walls in the photo to give a sense of exactly how far down the water levels were lowered. When we entered the lock, the Lock Master, pictured in the upper left hand corner, asked us where we were going. I told him we had started below below Wolf Creek Dam, and were heading to the Mississippi River. I believe he thought we were crazy! He was probably right! -CHRIS BENNETT Clicking Read More accesses the "Today, Monday, August 11, 2008" feature with Today's Picture Album. Read More... | Permalink | Comments?

If you have photos you'd like to share with ColumbiaMagazine readers, please email .jpg files to photos@columbiamagazine.com. Please include your name, an email address or phone number, the date the photo was taken, and the location and names of anyone in the photos.

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017