Patoka River

It drains a largely rural area of forested bottomland and agricultural lands among the hills north of Evansville.

It rises in the Hoosier National Forest in southeastern Orange County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Paoli.

It joins the Wabash from the east opposite Mount Carmel, Illinois, approximately 30 miles (48 km) north-northwest of Evansville.

The decline in aquatic life is believed by most biologists to be a result of acidic runoff from strip mining, as well as spills and contamination from petroleum and natural gas exploration in its watershed.

Interstate 69 passes through this area on a roughly 1.5-mile-long bridge through land deliberately set aside for the highway over environmentalist objections.