The French Broad River is a

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 ...

in the U.S. states of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

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 ...

. It flows from near the town of Rosman in

Transylvania County, North Carolina Transylvania County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard, North Carolina, Brevard. Transylvania County co ...

, into Tennessee, where its

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

Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

forms the beginning of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

. The river flows through the counties of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

Buncombe Buncombe may refer to: * Buncombe County, North Carolina * Buncombe, Illinois * An alternative spelling of Buncom, Oregon * Edward Buncombe Edward Buncombe (1742–1778) was a plantation owner from the Province of North Carolina who served as a co ...

, and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

in North Carolina, and Cocke,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer) * Jefferson (singer) or Geoff Turton (born 1944), British s ...

, Sevier, and Knox in Tennessee. It drains large portions of the

Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The P ...

and the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompas ...

Course

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 the French Broad River are near the town of Rosman in

Transylvania County Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard. Transylvania County comprises the Brevard, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also incl ...

, North Carolina, just northwest of the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...

near the northwest border of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. They spill from a waterfall called Courthouse Falls at the terminus of

Courthouse Creek A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

near Balsam Grove. The waterfall feeds into a creek that becomes the North Fork, which joins the West Fork west of Rosman. South of Rosman, the stream is joined by the Middle and East forks to form the French Broad River. From there it flows northeast through the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

into

, and

counties. In Buncombe County, the river flows through

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

where it receives the water of the

Swannanoa River The Swannanoa River flows through the Swannanoa Valley of the region of Western North Carolina, and is a major tributary to the French Broad River. Its headwaters arise in Black Mountain, North Carolina; however, it also has a major tributary ...

. Downstream of Asheville, the river passes north through

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and Madison County. After passing through

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

in the

Bald Mountains The Bald Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Bald Mountain ...

, the river enters

Cocke County, Tennessee Cocke County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,999. Its county seat is Newport. Cocke County comprises the Newport, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part ...

. In Cocke County, the river passes through Del Rio and receives the waters of both the

Pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

and the Nolichucky rivers northwest of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

. The river enters the slack waters of

Douglas Lake Douglas Lake, also called Douglas Reservoir, is a reservoir created by an impoundment of the French Broad River in Eastern Tennessee. This lake is located only a few miles from the Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area, and also the Great Smoky Mountain ...

, which was created by the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

Douglas Dam Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to mee ...

in Sevier County, approximately upstream from the river's mouth. Near

Sevierville Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, United States, located in East Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the ...

, at

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

, the French Broad River receives the flow of the Little Pigeon River, which drains much of the Tennessee section of the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...

. After flowing through a wide gap in

Bays Mountain Bays Mountain is a ridge of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in East Tennessee. It runs southwest to northeast, from just south of Knoxville to Kingsport. Geography The southern segment of Bays Mountain is relatively low in elevati ...

, it enters Knox County. Its confluence with the

forms the

at a place known as "Forks of the River", at the eastern edge of

Major tributaries

* North Fork * West Fork * East Fork * Middle Fork * Pigeon River * Nolichucky River * Mills River * Davidson River * Swannanoa River * Little River (French Broad River)

History

The French Broad River is believed to be one of the oldest in the world, cutting over eons through ancient rocks in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The French Broad predates the Alleghanian orogeny, through the resulting mountains it cuts; however, the current topographic relief of the Southern Appalachians is relatively new, making it virtually impossible to estimate the age of the river. The

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

people, the historic Indigenous Americans who occupied the area at the time of European invasion and conquest, referred to the river by different names: ''Poelico'' and ''Agiqua'' ("broad") in the mountains of the headwaters; ''Zillicoah'' upriver of the confluence at present-day Asheville; and ''Tahkeeosteh'' (racing waters) from Asheville downriver.French Broad River
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area The river is considered to roughly mark the eastern boundary of the Cherokee homelands in this region, which included areas of present-day northwestern South Carolina, northeastern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee. The French called the river the ''Agiqua'', borrowing one of the Cherokee names. Initiated as a project during the administration of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, Douglas Dam was completed in the 1940s on the lower French Broad by the TVA to provide electricity and flood control. It is one of the larger TVA developments on a tributary of the Tennessee River. (The two other very large ones are

Norris Lake Norris Lake, also known as Norris Reservoir, is a reservoir in Tennessee, US. The lake was created by the Norris Dam at the Cove Creek Site on the Clinch River in 1936 by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for flood control, water storage, an ...

on the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in ...

and

Cherokee Lake Cherokee Lake, also known as Cherokee Reservoir, is an artificial reservoir in the U.S. state of Tennessee formed by the impoundment of the Holston River behind Cherokee Dam. Hydrology The reservoir has a surface area of about , a flood-storag ...

on the Holston River.) In 1987, the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

established the French Broad River State Trail as a blueway which follows the river for . The paddle trail is a part of the North Carolina State Trails System, which is a section of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation. A system of launch point sites was created along the river to support the trail. The portion of the French Broad River in Tennessee was designated as a state scenic river by the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Approximately of the river in Cocke County, starting at the North Carolina border and extending downstream to the place where it flows into Douglas Lake, are designated as a Class III, Partially Developed River. HotSprings FrenchBroad

Crossings

The following is a list of crossings of the French Broad from Brevard to the confluence with the Tennessee River.

North Carolina

and

counties **Patton Bridge **Crab Creek Road **Blantyre Road **Etowah School Road in Etowah **McLean Bridge (

U.S. 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...

) in Etowah **Johnson Bridge **Fannings Bridge **Butler Bridge **Kings Bridge ( N.C. 191) **Boylston Highway ( N.C. 280) at the

Asheville Regional Airport Asheville Regional Airport is a Class C airport near Interstate 26 and the town of Fletcher, North Carolina, south of downtown Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the conflue ...

Buncombe County Buncombe County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina C ...

**Glenn Bridge **Long Shoals Road ( N.C. 146) in

Skyland ''Skyland'' (full French title: "Skyland, Le Nouveau Monde", or "Skyland, The New World"), is an animated television series developed in France in partnership with Canada and Luxembourg for television channels France 2 in France, Teletoon in Can ...

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W, US Route 11W (US 11W) ...

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

at the

Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The main residence, Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II ...

**Carrier Bridge in Asheville **Haywood Road in Asheville **Smith Bridge in Asheville **Bowen Bridge (

/ I-240/

U.S. 19 U.S. Route 19 or U.S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mex ...

/ U.S. 74) in Asheville **Pearson Bridge in Asheville **Old

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Highway in Craggy **Fletcher Martin Road *Madison County **Two Bridges connecting

to Blannahasset Island **Little Pine Road **Barnard Road in Barnard (put-in for Section 9 of the French Broad, a Class III-IV whitewater run that is the most frequently paddled section of the river) **( U.S. 25)/( U.S. 70) in

(takeout for Section 9); the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

crosses this bridge.

Tennessee

* Cocke County **Wolf Creek Bridge **Bridge in Del Rio **James T Huff Bridge ( U.S. 25/ U.S. 70) ** U.S. 321 in

**Holt Town Road ** U.S. Route 25E from Cocke County into Jefferson County) *Douglas Lake to

and Swann Bridge ( U.S. 70) over

**James D. Hoskins Bridge in Dandridge **

Road **TN 66 at

**Several golf cart path bridges over the Cain Islands **Doctor JH Gammondale Bridge in Marbledale

References

External links

* *
French Broad Riverkeeper
conservation group that monitors water quality in the French Broad Watershed.
RiverLink
regional conservation group
French Broad River State Trail
official website for the state paddle trail. {{authority control Rivers of Buncombe County, North Carolina Rivers of Henderson County, North Carolina Rivers of Madison County, North Carolina Rivers of North Carolina Rivers of Tennessee Rivers of Sevier County, Tennessee Rivers of Cocke County, Tennessee Rivers of Jefferson County, Tennessee Rivers of Knox County, Tennessee Water trails