The French Broad River is a
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 ...
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. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
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. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
. It flows
from near the town of
Rosman in
Transylvania County, North Carolina
Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard.
Transylvania County comprises the Brevard Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also include ...
, into Tennessee, where its
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 ...
with the
Holston River at
Knoxville forms the beginning 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 ...
. The river flows through the counties of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
,
Buncombe,
Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
* Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
* ...
, and
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
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 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 Pisgah National Forest is complet ...
and the
Cherokee National Forest.
Course
The headwaters 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 hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans ...
near the northwest border of
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. They spill from a 50-foot 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, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
into
Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
* Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
* ...
, and
Buncombe counties. In Buncombe County, the river flows through the city of
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, NC; however, it also has a major tributary near its head ...
. Downstream of Asheville, the river passes north through
Madison County, where the county seat,
Marshall, developed along the river. After passing through the mountain resort of
Hot Springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
in the
Bald Mountains, the river enters
Cocke County, Tennessee.
In Cocke County, the river passes through the community of
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 short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
and the
Nolichucky rivers northwest of Cocke's county seat,
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
Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to mee ...
in
Sevier County, approximately upstream from the river's mouth. Near
Sevierville
Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first hum ...
, at Kodak, 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 Ridge ...
. After flowing through a wide gap in
Bays Mountain, it enters
Knox County. Its confluence with the
Holston River forms 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 ...
at a place known as "Forks of the River", at the eastern edge of present-day
Knoxville.
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 geologic eons through ancient rocks in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. However, the current topographic relief of the Southern Appalachians is relatively new, making it virtually impossible to estimate the age of the river.
The nearby
Broad River was originally named the "English Broad River".
The
Cherokee people
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...
, the historic
Indigenous Americans who occupied this area at the time of European encounter, 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, Douglas Dam was completed in the 1940s on the lower French Broad 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 ...
(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 and Cherokee Lake
Cherokee Lake, also known as Cherokee Reservoir, is an artificial reservoir in the U.S. state of Tennessee formed by the impoundment of the Holston River behind Cherokee Dam.
Hydrology
The reservoir has a surface area of about , a flood-storage ...
on the Holston River.)
In 1987, the North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Caroli ...
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.
Crossings
The following is a partial list of crossings of the French Broad from Brevard to the confluence with the Tennessee River.
North Carolina
*Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
and Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
* Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
* ...
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
Asheville Regional Airport is a Class C airport near Interstate 26 near the town of Fletcher, south of downtown Asheville, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, United States. It is owned by the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. ...
* 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 a CGI animated series developed in France in partnership with Canada and Luxembourg for television channels France 2 in France, Teletoon in Canada, ...
**Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...
** Interstate 26
**Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
at the Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 a ...
**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 and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
Highway in Craggy
**Fletcher Martin Road
*Madison County
**Two Bridges connecting Marshall 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 Hot Springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
(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 ...
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 Knoxville
**Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
and Swann Bridge ( U.S. 70) over Douglas Lake
**James D. Hoskins Bridge in Dandridge
**Douglas Dam
Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to mee ...
Road
**TN 66 at Sevierville
Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first hum ...
**Several golf cart path bridges over the Cain Islands
**Doctor JH Gammondale Bridge in Marbledale
Further reading
Wilma Dykeman wrote the book ''The French Broad'' (1955) about the river. The book brought public attention to concerns about the polluted condition of parts of the river. The river is also the subject of the monograph ''Watershed: The French Broad River'' (2012) by Jeff Rich.
See also
* List of North Carolina rivers
* List of Tennessee rivers
* Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan (for RiverLink's sustainable greenways and park developments on/near the French Broad River)
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