Page "Ohio River" Paragraph 2

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle led an expedition to the Ohio River in 1669.

His French party were the first Europeans to see the river.

After European-American settlement, the river served at times as a border between present-day Kentucky and Indian Territories.

It was a primary transportation route for pioneers during the westward expansion of the early U. S. The Ohio flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes all, or part of, 14 states.

Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes many of the states of the southeastern U. S.