Class I Ohio River, IL/KY

The Ohio River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, flows along the shared border of Illinois and Kentucky. Its length along the border is 133 miles, and its major tributaries include the Wabash and Saline rivers. The Ohio River drains to the Mississippi River near Cairo. The Illinois portion of the Ohio River begins at the mouth of the Wabash River near Uniontown, Kentucky and flows 133 miles to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Fort Defiance. This portion of the Ohio is made up of three lock and dams with three river pools and an open river area. The pool areas, embayments, and open river areas provide diverse habitats, which provide a diverse fisheries. Over 150 different species of fish have been recorded from the Ohio River with many of these being sport species. The river level is regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers for navigation and has a navigation channel marked by buoys running its entire length. Water depths in the channel run from 9 to 90 feet. (Illinois DNR)