The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data The National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins the
Ocmulgee River
The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County. South of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, two forks, known as the Middle Oconee River and North Oconee River, which flow for upstream, converge to form the Oconee River.Milledgeville, the former capital city of Georgia, lies on the Oconee River.
The Oconee River Greenway along the Oconee River in Milledgeville opened in 2008; the North Oconee River Greenway is in
Athens, Georgia
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
. J.W. McMillan's brick factory was located along the river.
Course
The Oconee River begins at the confluence of the North Oconee River and the Middle Oconee River on the border of Athens–Clarke and Oconee counties. Those tributaries both have their headwaters to the east of Lake Lanier in Hall County. South of Athens, the Oconee River passes through the Oconee National Forest into Lake Oconee, a man made lake, near the towns of Madison and Greensboro off Interstate 20. From Lake Oconee, the river travels to
Lake Sinclair
Lake Sinclair is a reservoir, man-made lake in central Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia near Eatonton, Georgia, Eatonton. It is operated by Georgia Power.
The lake was named after Benjamin W. Sinclair, a Georgia Power official.
Location
Located ...
, another manmade lake near Milledgeville, the town founded on Georgia's
Fall Line
A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...
and former state capital. South of Milledgeville, the river flows unobstructed until merging with the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River. Along the river there are many
sandbar
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...
s and
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...
s while the forest bottomland
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
surrounding the Oconee extends for miles, creating a very remote setting. Swamps along the Oconee river include Cow Hell Swamp in Laurens County.
Muskogean
Muskogean ( ; also Muskhogean) is a language family spoken in the Southeastern United States. Members of the family are Indigenous Languages of the Americas. Typologically, Muskogean languages are highly synthetic and agglutinative. One docume ...
people of central Georgia. The Oconee lived in present-day Baldwin County, Georgia at a settlement known as Oconee Old Town, later moving to the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...
in the early 18th century. The name exists in several variations, including Ocone, Oconi, Ocony, and Ekwoni.
River pollution
One of the main sources of pollution comes from fecal coliform bacteria, several species of bacteria found in human and animal feces. Fecal coliform bacteria enter the river through a number of sources; storm-water runoff leaving farmlands, storm-water runoff carrying pet waste, leaking septic and sewer lines contaminating surface or groundwater, and sewer spills throughout the watershed. Fecal coliform bacteria can be deadly to humans if ingested or acquired through an open wound. Fish caught in the Oconee Basin may be eaten if cooked thoroughly.Georgia Environmental Protective Division; Georgia Department of Natural Resources. ''Fish Consumption Guidelines'' http://gaepd.org/Documents/fish_guide.html
The second biggest form of pollution in the river is
fertilizer
A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...
.
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
in fertilizer in the form of nitrates or ammonia, measured in
parts per million
In science and engineering, the parts-per notation is a set of pseudo-units to describe the small values of miscellaneous dimensionless quantity, dimensionless quantities, e.g. mole fraction or mass fraction (chemistry), mass fraction.
Since t ...
, is found in regularly collected samples. These forms of nitrogen stimulate abundant growth of algae in the water.
The third largest source of pollution is
sediment
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
ation, typically caused by construction and urbanization.
Crossings
Crossings of the Oconee River include:
*Oconee River Bridge, east of Downtown Milledgeville, site of
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
– East Dublin city line. It carries US 80/ US 319/ SR 26/ SR 29/ SR 31. The bridge was named for Herschel Lovett, a Dublin businessman and politician.Thompson, Scott