Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area - Definition and Overview

The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981.

The area is located at the Falls of the Ohio, which was the only navigational barrier on the river in earlier times. The Falls were a series of rapids formed by hard limestone rock shelves. Louisville, Kentucky, and the associated Indiana communities—Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and New Albany—all owe their existence to the Falls.

The first locks on the river were built on a bypass canal there to provide year-round navigation on the river. The Falls were then largely covered by the McAlpine Locks and Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers. However, a significant area of the fossil-rich limestone rock was still left exposed, and is accessible to visitors today. Removal of fossils is prohibited.

Because of the shallowness of the river at the Falls, it was a favorite crossing point for bison in pre-settlement times.

In 1990, a section of the area in Indiana became the Falls of the Ohio State Park.