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 flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

located in northwestern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States.

Description

The river is noted as beginning at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Ellijay Ellijay is a city in Gilmer County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,619 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Gilmer County. Agriculture is important in Gilmer County, known as the "Apple Capital of Georgia." The city h ...

and Cartecay rivers in the city of

in central Gilmer County. The river flows west through the foothills in the

North Georgia mountains The Georgia Mountains Region or North Georgia mountains or Northeast Georgia is an area that starts in the northeast corner of Georgia, United States, and spreads in a westerly direction. The mountains in this region are in the Blue Ridge mount ...

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 ...

(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. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

). 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 Talking Rock Creek (also known as Devils Race Track) is a stream in the northwestern Georgia, United States, that is a tributary of the Coosawattee River (flowing into the Reregulation Reservoir). Talking Rock is an English translation of the nat ...

, 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, United States, that is a tributary of the Coosawattee River. Its own tributaries include the Pine Log Creek. The stream probably took its name from a Native Ame ...

, Vanns Creek, and

Crane Eater Creek Crane Eater Creek is a stream in Gordon County, Georgia, United States, that is a tributary of the Coosawattee River. Crane Eater Creek has the name of a Cherokee man who settled near its course. See also * List of rivers in Georgia (U.S. state ...

In Murray County, the river is impounded by

Carters Dam Carters Dam is an earthen embankment dam located south of Chatsworth in Murray County and west of Ellijay in northwestern Georgia, United States, that creates Carters Lake. Description The dam is tall and is situated above the mouth of t ...

, 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 second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. 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 Southeast United States from 1825 until their Cherokee removal, forced removal in the late 1830s. New Echota is located in present-day Gordon County, Georgi ...

, a late capital of the

Cherokee Nation (1794-1907) The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. I ...

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 (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

territory in north Georgia and southeastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. 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 and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his no ...

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

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

'' (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, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

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