The Elk River is a tributary of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

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 ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The river is about long.Calculated in

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

and Google Earth

Hydrography

The Elk River rises in Grundy County, Tennessee, in Burroughs Cove near the community of Elkhead. It is bridged for the first time by State Route 50 near

Pelham, Tennessee Pelham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 403. Pelham is located at the junction of U.S. Route 41, State Route 2, and State Rou ...

. At first it flows southwestward, and turns to flow more generally westward. It is then bridged by both

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

and

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

. Shortly below this point, it forms the Coffee County – Franklin County line. It is first impounded by

Elk River Dam The Elk River Dam, completed in 1952, impounds the Elk River in the US state of Tennessee to form the Woods Reservoir. The US Air Force and Arnold Engineering Development Center own and operate Woods Reservoir. The dam itself is just under 3,0 ...

, forming

Woods Reservoir Woods Reservoir is a 3,600 acre reservoir created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for use as a cooling system for the United States Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center. The US Air Force and Arnold Engineering Development ...

, the impoundment of which extends upstream to about the same point where the stream ceases to serve as the Coffee-Franklin County line and is entirely in Franklin County. This

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was built under the auspices of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, primarily to provide a large source of cooling water for the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Arnold Engineering Development Center The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), Arnold Engineering Development Center before July 2012, is an Air Force Materiel Command facility under the control of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base, ...

, which has large

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

s and other military and scientific research equipment. This area is also used as a wildlife refuge. The reservoir is bridged by State Route 127. Only a few miles below

is the beginning of slack water (

Tims Ford Lake Tims Ford Lake is a reservoir run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in southern middle Tennessee. The lake encompasses 10,700 acres (16.7 square miles) and approximately 250 miles of shoreline. The Tims Ford Dam was named from an early ...

) caused by the

Tims Ford Dam Tims Ford Lake is a reservoir run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in southern middle Tennessee. The lake encompasses 10,700 acres (16.7 square miles) and approximately 250 miles of shoreline. The Tims Ford Dam was named from an early ...

of 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 Carolina ...

. The slack water extends upstream to the vicinity of Estill Springs. It is then bridged by

U.S. Route 41A Several special routes of U.S. Route 41 exist, including three in Wisconsin. In order from south to north they are as follows. Existing Fort Myers business loop U.S. Route 41 Business is a former segment of U.S. Route 41 in Downtown Fort Myers ...

. Backwaters of the Tims Ford project also extend into the nearby town of

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, county seat of Franklin County, even though the main channel of the Elk runs to its west, bridged by State Route 130. A considerable amount of leakage from the reservoir is observed along State Route 50 in the form of what appear to be large springs along the north side of that road but are in fact leaking of the reservoir waters through the porous

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

rock of the area. This phenomenon has resulted in a locally-popular source of water for livestock and other uses for which filtration and treatment of the water to be used is unnecessary. State Route 50 again crosses the Elk just below Tims Ford Dam. Shortly below the dam, the stream becomes the boundary between Franklin County and Moore County, and then subsequently between Moore County and Lincoln County. The stream begins to

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

severely. It is bridged near the small community of Kelso, site of a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

used as a

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...

mine by Confederates during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, by

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 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 1 ...

. The Elk flows through Fayetteville about a mile south of the courthouse, where it is bridged by U.S. Route 231/ 431. Until the late 1960s there was a "dry" stone masonry

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

(one in which the stones are held in place by the power of

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

forcing them against each other, not mortar) over the Elk; it was destroyed in a

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( 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 an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

. Several miles west of Fayetteville, it is crossed by State Route 274, a highway built on an old

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

bed. It then crosses into Giles County, where it is bridged by CSX Transportation and Interstate 65 before flowing just south of Elkton, Tennessee, where it is bridged by U.S. Route 31. A few miles below this point it crosses into

Limestone County, Alabama Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 103,570. Its county seat is Athens. The county is named after Limestone Creek. Limestone County is included in the Huntsville, AL Metro ...

, where it meets the

. There are actually two Elk Rivers in Tennessee, the smaller of which is located in northeast Tennessee. This Elk River flows from the back side of Beech Mountain, North Carolina through

Carter County, Tennessee Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760-1800), an early settler active in the "L ...

and empties into Watauga Lake.

Watauga Lake Watauga Lake, located east of Elizabethton, Tennessee, is the local name of the Watauga Reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with the 1948 completion of the TVA Watauga Dam. The Cherokee National Forest surrounds both the Ten ...

Recreation

there is a Canoe and Kayak Trail. The trail begins at the Alabama-Tennessee state line and goes to Elk River Mills. Outside of Winchester, TN

was created by damming the Elk River which allows for boating and water based activities.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Alabama Rivers of Tennessee Rivers of Franklin County, Tennessee Rivers of Grundy County, Tennessee Rivers of Coffee County, Tennessee Rivers of Moore County, Tennessee Rivers of Lincoln County, Tennessee Rivers of Giles County, Tennessee Rivers of Limestone County, Alabama

Hydrography

Recreation

See also

References