The ACF River Basin is the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, or watershed, of the Apalachicola River, Chattahoochee River, and Flint River, in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...

. This area is alternatively known as simply the Apalachicola Basin and is listed by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

as basin HUC 031300, as well as sub-region HUC 0313. It is located in the

South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, which is listed as HUC 03. The basin is further sub-divided into 14 sub-basins.

Geography

The ACF River Basin begins in the mountains of

northeast Georgia Northeast Georgia is a region of Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the north Georgia mountains, while the southern part (east of metro Atlanta) is still hilly but much flatter in topography. Northeast Georgia is also se ...

, and drains much of

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and th ...

, most of west Georgia and

southwest Georgia Southwest Georgia is a fourteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia. It has a 2010 census population of 496,433, and is the least populated region in Georgia, just slightly behind Southeast Georgia. Additionally, the area has historical ...

and adjoining counties of

southeast Alabama Southeast Alabama is the term used to identify the southeastern counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. Other names for the area are The Wiregrass and Lower Alabama. The area includeds the Counties of Dale, Pike, Houston, Coffee, Henry, Geneva, ...

, before it splits the central part of the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the ...

and flows into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Apalachicola Bay Apalachicola may refer to: * Apalachicola people, a group of Native Americans who lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida Places * Apalachicola, Florida *Apalachicola River * Apalachicola Bay * Apalachicola National Forest * Apa ...

, near

Apalachicola, Florida Apalachicola ( ) is a city and the county seat of Franklin County, Florida, United States, on the shore of Apalachicola Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. History The Apalachicola people, after ...

. It drains an area of 20,355 square miles. Most of the northern half of the basin abuts the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans ...

on the east, and the

ACT River Basin The Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin (ACT River Basin) is a drainage basin (watershed) in the Southeastern United States. This area is classified as a sub-region by the USGS hydrological code system. Sub-regions This sub-region consists of tw ...

to the west.

Listing of Water Resource Sub-Basins

Water wars

These states and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

have been involved in a water-use dispute for two decades, known as the Tri-state water dispute. Georgia has also lobbied the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

to end

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

on the Appalachicola and lower Chattahoochee, to conserve more water during droughts. Keeping the two rivers at a navigable depth during these times requires large releases from dams upstream, sending potential drinking water downstream for shipping, and often dropping lakes to levels dangerous to boaters.

Conservation

Other ecological conservation and economic concerns include protecting harvests of

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s in Apalachicola Bay, which require a large enough flow of fresh water to prevent excessive

saltwater intrusion Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation, including drinking water sources, and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion can naturally occur in coastal aquifers, ...

from the Gulf. Numerous endangered and imperiled species occur in the basin, including many endemic mussels The cost of

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

, much of it from uncontrolled growth across metro Atlanta's fine red clay soil, has also been called wasteful to float so little ship traffic.

References

External links

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: ACF Basin website

Florida DEP: Apalachicola River Watershed
{{Authority control Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico Watersheds of the United States Watersheds of Florida Landforms of Georgia (U.S. state) Landforms of Alabama