The Forked Deer River system is the main

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...

of the central portion of

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...

. Locals pronounce the first word of the river's name with two syllables, as in “Forkéd” (). The Forked Deer consists of various streams designated "Forked Deer" and their tributaries. Much of the Forked Deer

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

was initially

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s; however much of this area has been drained and most Forked Deer tributaries have been channelized for

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

purposes. In the mid-20th century much of this was done under the auspices of the Obion-Forked Deer Basin Authority, a

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 ...

state agency. Environmental concerns have led to the cessation of channelization on a widespread basis; the federal government's "

no net loss "No net loss" is the United States government's overall policy goal regarding wetlands preservation. The goal of the policy is to balance wetland loss due to economic development with wetlands land reclamation, reclamation, mitigation, and ecologic ...

" policy regarding wetlands means that further channelization must be offset by creating new wetlands, called "mitigation lands", elsewhere. Much of the channelized flow is routed into the

Obion River The Obion River system is the primary surface water Surface water is water located on top of land forming terrestrial (inland) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean ...

just above the mouth of that river into the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, other streams related to the system have their own mouths into the Mississippi. In some areas where the historic channels are left in place even after the bulk of the flow has been routed into new ones, the historic channels at times still demonstrate considerable flow, especially after heavy rains. Local historians record that barges and small riverboats plied the Forked Deer in the early 19th century as far up river as the present location of the city of Jackson. Siltation from agricultural run-off eventually choked the river, and channelization became a major focus of West Tennessee politicians until the 1970s. River cutoffs have left numerous small finger lakes that are popular with local

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

and bass fishers. Otherwise, the river is a slow-moving canal with little scenic appeal.

Forked Deer River Tributaries

North Fork of the Forked Deer River The North Fork of the Forked Deer River is formed in Gibson County to the south of Chapel Hill Road near Medina and flows to the northwest before entering Dyer County. Here it accepts the flow from the Middle Fork and then joins with the South ...

Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River The Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River is formed in Henderson County, Tennessee. It is a small stream that flows through Carroll County, Tennessee, Carroll County, northern Madison County, Tennessee, Madison County, Gibson County, Tennessee, Gib ...

South Fork of the Forked Deer River The South Fork of the Forked Deer River is formed at the confluence of Huggins Creek and Tar Creek in the southern part of Chester County, Tennessee, United States. It flows in a generally northern direction and passes just to the east of Henderso ...

References

Forked Deer River in Madison County
{{authority control Rivers of Tennessee Rivers of Dyer County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Lauderdale County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Madison County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Gibson County, Tennessee

Forked Deer River Tributaries

See also

References