The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of

Dahlonega Dahlonega ( ) is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia h ...

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 ...

, north of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. On Matthew Carey's 1795 map the river was labeled "High Town River". On later maps, such as the 1839 Cass County map (Cass being the original name for Bartow County), it was referred to as "Hightower River", a name that was used in most early Cherokee records. The large Amicalola Creek (which flows over Amicalola Falls) is a primary

tributary 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 they ...

near the beginning of the river. The Etowah then flows west-southwest through

Canton, Georgia Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000. Geography Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.2273 ...

, and soon forms

Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona (officially called Allatoona Lake) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Etowah River in northwestern part of the State of Georgia. This reservoir is mostly in southeastern Bartow County and southwestern Cherokee C ...

. From the dam at the lake, it passes Cartersville and the

Etowah Indian Mounds Etowah Indian Mounds ( 9BR1) are a archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia, south of Cartersville. Built and occupied in three phases, from 1000–1550 CE, the prehistoric site is located on the north shore of the Etowah River. Etow ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

site. It then flows to

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...

, where it meets 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 ...

and forms 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 ...

at their

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 ...

. The river is the northernmost portion of the Etowah-Coosa-Alabama-Mobile Waterway, stretching from the mountains of north Georgia to

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. T ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

is the largest tributary of the Etowah, their confluence now flooded by Lake Allatoona.

Allatoona Creek Allatoona is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The community is located along Allatoona Creek, southeast of Cartersville ...

is another major tributary, flowing north from

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous cou ...

and forming the other major arm of the lake. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named the river in 1897. The river ends at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The river is home to the

Cherokee darter The Cherokee darter (''Etheostoma scotti'') is a rare species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also contains the perches, Gymnocephalus, ruffes and Sa ...

and

Etowah darter ''Etheostoma etowahae'', the Etowah darter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is a rare species wh ...

, which are listed on the

Endangered Species List On 29 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 5220 (2754 animals, 1 fungus, 2464 plant, 1 protist) endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations. For IUCN lists of endangered species by kingdo ...

. Country singer-songwriter

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...

made the Etowah the home of the wild, misunderstood swamp dweller Ko-Ko Joe in the 1971 song "

Ko-Ko Joe ''Ko-Ko Joe'' is a song written and recorded by American country artist Jerry Reed. It was released in August 1971 as the lead single from the album of the same name, ''Ko-Ko Joe''. The song reached peaks of number 11 on the U.S. country chart an ...

". The fictional character, who is reviled by respectable people but apparently dies a hero while saving a child's life, is alternately known as the "Etowah River Swamp Rat" in the song. Reed, a native of Atlanta, took some liberties with Georgia geography in the song, including the non-existent "Appaloosa County" and "Ko-Ko Ridge" as part of the song narrative’s setting.

Tributaries

* Acworth Creek *Allatoona Creek *Amicalola River *Big Dry Creek *Boston Creek *Butler Creek *Cane Creek * Canton Creek *Clark Creek *Downing Creek *Dykes Creek *

Euharlee Creek Euharlee Creek is a waterway which traverses across two counties in Georgia, USA: Bartow County and Polk County. It begins in Polk County near the city of Rockmart and joins the Etowah River in Euharlee. The historic Euharlee Covered Bridge ...

*Hall Creek * Hickory Log Creek *Illinois Creek *Kellogg Creek *Little Allatoona Creek *

* Long Swamp Creek *McKaskey Creek *Noonday Creek *Owl Creek *Petit Creek * Pumpkinvine Creek * Raccoon Creek *Rocky Creek *Rubes Creek *Shoal Creek * Sixes Creek *Settin Down Creek *Stamp Creek *Tanyard Creek *Two Run Creek

Places

Lumpkin County, Georgia Lumpkin County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Georgia, Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,488. Its county seat is D ...

Dawson County, Georgia Dawson County is a county in the Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,798 up from 22,330 in 2010.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Dawson County, Georgia The county seat is Dawsonville. Daw ...

** Dawsonville *

Forsyth County, Georgia Forsyth County ( or ) is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Georgia, Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Suburban and exurban in character, Forsyth County lies within the Metro Atlanta, Atlanta ...

Cherokee County, Georgia Cherokee County is in the US state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 census the population was 266,620.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Cherokee County, Georgia The county seat is Canton, Georgia, Canton. The county County commissio ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Bartow County, Georgia Bartow County is in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville. Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, Bartow ...

** Cartersville *

Floyd County, Georgia Floyd County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 98,584.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Floyd County, Georgia The county seat is Rome. Floyd County comprises t ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

References

External links

* {{Coord, 34, 15, 14, N, 85, 10, 36, W, display=title Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) Rivers of Lumpkin County, Georgia Rivers of Dawson County, Georgia Rivers of Forsyth County, Georgia Rivers of Cherokee County, Georgia Rivers of Bartow County, Georgia Rivers of Floyd County, Georgia ACT River Basin