Cumberland River Tennessee, where it is joined by the Obey River and Caney Fork. Northeast of Nashville, the river is dammed twice more, forming Cordell Hull Lake and Old Hickory Lake. After flowing through Nashville and picking up the Stones River, the river is dammed to form Cheatham Lake. The river turns northwest toward Clarksville, where it is joined by the Red River, and then flows back into Kentucky at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a section of land nestled between Lake Barkley, which is fed by the Cumberland River, and Kentucky Lake. Finally, the river flows north and
Cumberland River merges with the Ohio River at Smithland, northeast of Paducah. The explorer Thomas Walker of Virginia in 1758 named the river, but whether for the Duke of Cumberland or the English county of Cumberland is not known. The Cumberland River was called "Wasioto" by the Shawnee Native Americans, who lived in this area. French traders called it the "Riviere des Chaouanons", or "River of the Shawnee" for this association. The river was also known as the "Shawnee River" (or "Shawanoe River") for years after Walker's trip. Important first as a passage for hunters and settlers, the Cumberland River also supported