Wabash

Wabash, river, c.475 mi (765 km) long, rising in Grand Lake, W Ohio, and flowing NW into Ind., then generally SW through Ind., becoming the Ind.-Ill. border before emptying into the Ohio River; largest northern tributary of the Ohio. The Wabash's major tributaries are the Tippecanoe and White rivers. Dams on the Wabash control floods, produce hydroelectricity, and regulate navigation; sand and gravel barges constitute the chief traffic on the river. In the fertile Wabash basin corn and livestock are raised. Vincennes, Terre Haute, and Lafayette, Ind., and Danville, Ill., are on the Wabash.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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