Hocking River
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| Hocking River | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Origin | Fairfield County |
| Mouth | Ohio River in Athens County |
| Basin countries | USA |
| Mouth elevation | 582 ft (177 m) |
Image:Hocking River Athens.jpg The Hocking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio in the United States.
The Hocking flows mostly on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, but its headwaters are in a glaciated region. It rises in Bloom Township in Fairfield County and flows generally southeastwardly through Fairfield, Hocking, and Athens Counties, through the Hocking Hills region and past the cities of Lancaster, Logan, Nelsonville, Athens and Coolville. It joins the Ohio River at Hockingport. The Hocking's tributaries also drain parts of Perry, Morgan, and Washington Counties.
Its name originally derives from a Native American name, roughly "Hokhokken" or "Hokhochen", which meant "bottle-shaped" or "gourd-shaped" and referred to the configuration of the river at the present-day town of Logan, Ohio. The river was known as the Hockhocking River until the late 1800s.
The Hocking Canal once linked Athens to Lancaster and the Ohio and Erie Canal, but was destroyed by flooding and never rebuilt. Between Nelsonville and Athens, the Hocking today, is roughly paralleled by a rail trail, the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway. The path serves as a major source of recreation for the residents of the area especially, the students of Ohio University.
Major tributaries to the Hocking include (downriver to upriver) Federal Creek, Margaret Creek, Sunday Creek, Monday Creek, Scott Creek, Oldtown Creek, Clear Creek, Rush Creek, Pleasant Run, Baldwin Run, and Hunters Run.
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