One of the Nation’s Most Snake-Infested Rivers Runs Through Kentucky

I'm afraid of snakes. I can't stand them, and I won't stick around long enough to learn whether or not they can or will do me harm. But in the interest of, well, a great many things I will not kill them. There are far more harmless ones that do good things than bad ones that will do very bad things. I just walk away. Fortunately, most of THEM will slither away, too.

I came across a list of the most snake-infested rivers in the USA and wondered if I'd see the Ohio River or the Green River, but no. I'm pleased to report that it isn't. But there IS a Kentucky river that did make the cut, and I likely won't go wading across it anytime soon. But it IS a beautiful river with lots of features.

The first time I saw the gorgeous Cumberland River was when my family visited Cumberland Falls back in 1977. I was a kid, so, in my mind, I might as well have been looking at Niagara Falls (which I have since visited multiple times). That's how dumbstruck I was at what I was seeing. What I didn't see were all the snakes that placed this body of water on the dubious list in question.

Speaking of which, here's Olivia Emmett. She's the program leader at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park and shows us the snakes we might encounter at the falls or on Cumberland River. And, of course, she's beginning with the venomous ones.

Emmett only covered a few snakes one can find along the Cumberland River. A-Z-Animals.com lists some she did not mention. Of course, she only discussed the Kentucky side of the Cumberland, whereas A-Z Animals covers the entire river, Tennessee included. The species they've found include the Timber rattlesnake, cottonmouth, copperhead, northern water snake, common water snake, Midland water snake, Mississippi green water snake, plain-bellied water snake, copper-bellied water snake, yellow-bellied water snake, broad-banded water snake, and the southern water snake.

(By the way, the rivers on the A-Z Animals list aren't numbered, so I'm guessing the Cumberland is ninth.)

If you're curious about ALL the snakes you can find in Kentucky--not just in the Cumberland River area--check out this exploration from KY Afield:

The bottom line...there's so much to enjoy at Cumberland Falls and the state resort park. Stay out of the river if you hate snakes; you could run into several of them.