The Swannanoa River flows through the Swannanoa Valley of the region of Western North Carolina, and is a major

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 ...

to the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

. Its headwaters arise in Black Mountain, North Carolina; however, it also has a major tributary near its headwaters: Flat Creek, which begins on the slopes of Mount Mitchell. The Swannanoa River ends at its confluence with the French Broad, now within the grounds of the 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate in Asheville. The estate encompasses numerous ancient Native American sites, including an earthwork platform mound, now known as Biltmore Mound, that is located south of the Swannanoa River. Based on evidence from excavations conducted there in the early 21st century, the mound was started by indigenous people between 400 and 550CE, with the second to last stage of the mound built about 580-600CE. It was built over a Connestee Phase habitation (built during the Pisgah phase) in the Middle Woodland period. The historic Cherokee people occupied this area, which is part of their traditional homeland in this region. The mound has been identified as an area of feasting. The Cherokee called this site near the confluence ''Untokiasdiyi'', meaning "where they race." They used it as a meeting place and area of competitive ritual games. Under pressure from European-American settlers, the Cherokee ceded their land here in 1819. This site near the Swannanoa River was later abandoned and became overgrown. At one time there was plowing in the area, reducing the height of the mound, but it is distinguished by a much wider, oval-shaped base. The mound was rediscovered in 1984. It was first excavated in a more than two-year project by a team from Appalachian State University, beginning in 2000. The river is 22 miles or 35 kilometers long, and it flows entirely within the geographical boundaries of Buncombe County. It is a valuable resource to the county, providing drinking water to the Asheville metropolitan area, and numerous recreational opportunities.

Flooding Events

In September 2004, extremely heavy

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

s from the remnants of Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Ivan caused the Swannanoa to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

, causing major damage to the Biltmore Village section of Asheville, and to the other communities that it flows through. In September of 2024, the river overflowed into Asheville resulting in devastating floods due to Hurricane Helene.

Tributaries

(Not necessarily in order.) * Sweeten Creek * Ross Creek * Haw Creek * Gashes Creek * Grassy Branch * Christian Creek * Bull Creek * Beetree Creek * Lower North Fork * Upper North Fork * Tomahawk Branch * Flat Creek * Camp Branch The Great Flood

References

External links

RiverLink: Swannanoa River Watershed Project
Rivers of North Carolina Bodies of water of Buncombe County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-river-stub