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, 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, Buncombe, and Madison in North Carolina, and Cocke, Jefferson, 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.

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, 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 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 Henderson, and Buncombe counties. In Buncombe County, the river flows through Asheville 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 river enters Cocke County, Tennessee. 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. The river enters the slack waters of Douglas Lake, 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 ...

's Douglas Dam in Sevier County, approximately upstream from the river's mouth. Near Sevierville, 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, 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 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 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 Henderson counties **Patton Bridge **Crab Creek Road **Blantyre Road **Etowah School Road in Etowah **McLean Bridge ( U.S. 64) in Etowah **Johnson Bridge **Fannings Bridge **Butler Bridge **Kings Bridge ( N.C. 191) **Boylston Highway ( N.C. 280) at the Asheville Regional Airport * Buncombe County/ Asheville **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 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 ( Interstate 26/ I-240/ U.S. 19/ 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 Newport **Holt Town Road ** U.S. Route 25E from Cocke County into Jefferson County) *Douglas Lake to

and Swann Bridge ( U.S. 70) over Douglas Lake **James D. Hoskins Bridge in Dandridge ** Douglas Dam Road **TN 66 at Sevierville **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