The Coosawattee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 27, 2011

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

located in northwestern

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 ...

, United States.

Description

The river is noted as beginning at the

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 ...

of the Ellijay and Cartecay rivers in the city of Ellijay in central Gilmer County. The river flows west through the foothills in the

North Georgia mountains Northeast Georgia is a region of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the North Georgia mountains or Georgia mountain region, while the southern part (east of metro Atlanta) is still hilly but much fla ...

region and is a tributary of the

Oostanaula River The Oostanaula River (pronounced "oo-stuh-NA-luh") is a principal tributary of the Coosa River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 27, 2011 formed by the co ...

(It in turn is a tributary of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

). Primary tributaries of the Cooswattee River include Mountaintown Creek, Tails Creek, Cole Creek, Goble Branch, Harris Creek, Camp Branch, Lewis Branch, Woodring Branch, Fisher Creek, Talking Rock Creek, Willbanks Branch, Mineral Springs Branch, Rock Springs Branch, Sugar Branch, Duke Creek, Noblet Creek, Dry Creek,

Salacoa Creek Salacoa Creek is a stream in Bartow (Old Cass County) County, in northwestern 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 Geor ...

, Vanns Creek, and Crane Eater Creek In Murray County, the river is impounded by

Carters Dam Carters Dam is an earthen embankment dam located south of Chatsworth, Georgia, Chatsworth in Murray County, Georgia, Murray County and west of Ellijay, Georgia, Ellijay in northwestern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, that creates ...

, forming Carters Lake behind the dam. (The lake is located mostly in Gilmer County). Completed in 1977, Carters Dam is the tallest earthen dam east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The Coosawattee River leaves the dam flowing west (directly into the Reregulation Reservoir). It serves as the Murray- Gordon County line before entering Gordon County. Near

New Echota New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Cherokee Nation in the Southeastern United States from 1825 until their Cherokee removal, forced removal in the late 1830s. New Echota is located in present-day Gordon County, Geo ...

, a late capital of the Cherokee Nation (1794-1907) before removal in 1838, the Coosawattee meets the Conasauga River. They form the

, a tributary of the

. This area was the center of

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

territory in north Georgia and southeastern

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. In the early 1820s, after having migrated from eastern Tennessee after being forced by the United States to cede their lands there, they made

their capital. The Coosawattee Foundation was established in 1987 to protect and preserve Native American resources, primarily in the American Southeast. In addition to conducting excavations, it has initiated a variety of educational programs and lobbied for policy and programs to support this mission. It is based in Calhoun, Georgia.

In popular culture

*American writer

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet, novelist, critic, and lecturer. He was appointed the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His other accolades included the National Book Award for Poetry a ...

used the Coosawattee River as the basis of his fictional "Cahulawassee River" in his debut novel, ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'' (1970). It was adapted as a 1972 feature film of the same name, directed by

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing feature films such as '' Point Blank'' (1967), '' Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), '' Zardoz'' ...

References

External links

{{authority control Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) Rivers of Gilmer County, Georgia Rivers of Murray County, Georgia Rivers of Gordon County, Georgia ACT River Basin

Description

In popular culture

See also

References

External links