The Wolf River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 8, 2011 river in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

that rises at the base of the Cumberland Plateau in

Fentress County, Tennessee Fentress County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,489. Its county seat is Jamestown. History Fentress County was formed on November 28, 1823, from portions of Morgan, Overton a ...

and flows westward for several miles before emptying into the

Obey River The Obey River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 tributary of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It joins the Cumberland River near the t ...

at the

Dale Hollow Reservoir The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (12 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake al ...

. The river is part of the Cumberland River drainage basin, and flows primarily in

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...

and southern

. Via the Cumberland and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

rivers, it is part of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

watershed. It is not to be confused with the Wolf River of

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its ...

which flows into the Mississippi at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. The source of the Wolf River is located at the confluence of Pogue Creek and Delk Creek in a rugged hollow approximately southeast of the community of Pall Mall. Two miles below its source, the river absorbs Rotten Fork before entering the communities of Wolf River and Pall Mall, both of which are associated with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

hero Alvin C. York. York's farm and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

were both located along the river at Pall Mall, and he and his family are buried in the large cemetery at Wolf River. York's farm is now part of a state historic park. Beyond Pall Mall, the river continues westward across the northeastern Highland Rim into Pickett County, passing just north of Byrdstown and flowing through a rolling area of forest and farmland. It crosses briefly into

Clinton County, Kentucky Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky in the Pennyrile Region along the southern border with Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,272. Its county seat is Albany. The county was formed in 1835 and ...

, where its water becomes slack due to the impoundment of Dale Hollow Reservoir on the Obey River. The Wolf's confluence with the Obey is located just southeast of the point where Pickett County, Tennessee, Clay County, Tennessee, and Clinton County, Kentucky meet. Most of the lower half of the Wolf River comprises an

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

of Dale Hollow, which also extends into

Cumberland County, Kentucky Cumberland County is a county located in the Pennyroyal Plateau region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,856. Its county seat is Burkesville. The county was formed in 1798 and named for the Cumberland ...

References

Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park
* {{authority control Rivers of Kentucky Rivers of Tennessee Rivers of Fentress County, Tennessee Rivers of Pickett County, Tennessee Rivers of Clay County, Tennessee Rivers of Clinton County, Kentucky

See also

References