Coleman River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 26, 2011

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

that is located in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

, mostly within Rabun County,

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 ...

. It is one of the main

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the

Tallulah River The Tallulah River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 26, 2011 river in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and North Carolina. It begins in Clay County, North Car ...

. The

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of Coleman River are located in

Clay County, North Carolina Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,089. The county seat is Hayesville. History Early inhabitants The area that became Clay County has lo ...

, and the river travels a short distance before crossing into Georgia. The length of Coleman River in Rabun County is approximately , with about traveling through private lands and about traveling through the

Chattahoochee National Forest The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a rela ...

. The northern part of Coleman River in Georgia, from an elevation of about northward, together with the portion of Coleman River in North Carolina, is located in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness. Coleman River is a designated

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

stream, and a portion of it is further designated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the

Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. Structure The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resource ...

as being artificial

fishing lure A fishing lure is any of a broad category of inedible, artificial fishing baits designed to be " fake food" that mimic the appearances of prey and thus attract the attention of predatory fish when angling. Lures come in many shapes and designs t ...

s only. The section of Coleman River that is designated artificial lures only begins at the point of the river's

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Tallulah River and continues approximately upstream to a small bridge over the river located on Forest Service Road 54 (also known locally as Coleman River Road). Species of trout found in Coleman River include the native

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

, together with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

(which are not native and have been introduced to the river). In connection with its Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2004 for the Chattahoochee National Forest, the Forest Service concluded that Coleman River was eligible for inclusion in the

National Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-f ...

program as a result of its scenic beauty and recommended further study. Approximately one mile of the scenic lower part of the river is easily accessible by a

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

that starts in the Coleman River Scenic Area. Coleman River is the namesake of a

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...

that is part of the Coweta Group.USGS entry for Coleman River Formation
/ref> The Coleman River Formation consists of

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

s, predominantly

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

. The formation is named for exposures that occur along Coleman River in Rabun County. Until 1997, Coleman River was at the heart of a wildlife management area known as the Coleman River Wildlife Management Area. However, in 1997, the area was dropped from the wildlife management program due to budget cuts.

References

External links

Coleman River InformationTopoQuest Map of the Coleman River in Georgia
{{authority control Rivers of Rabun County, Georgia Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) Rivers of Clay County, North Carolina Rivers of North Carolina