A crucial part of Evansville’s identity from the city’s beginning more than two centuries ago, the Ohio River remains as mighty today as it was then.
24 feet
Average river depth across its full length
53.74 feet
River’s record level in Evansville — nearly 19 feet above flood stage — during the 1937 flood
981
Miles it is long, starting at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and ending at Cairo, Illinois, where it flows into the Mississippi River
1975
Year the Newburgh Dam was completed, following five years of construction. The Newburgh Locks were placed in operation in late 1969
62,000
Approximate tonnage of commodities that passed through the Newburgh Locks and Dam — which sit 16 miles upstream from Downtown Evansville — during 2024, including coal, grains, crushed stone, petroleum products, iron, and wood chips
Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service
