Tennessee River
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The Tennessee River is the largest
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
. It is approximately long and is located in the
southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
in the
Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...
. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, as the Cherokee people had their homelands along its banks, especially in what are now East Tennessee and northern Alabama. Additionally, its tributary, the
Little Tennessee River The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national ...
, flows into it from Western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia, where the river also was bordered by numerous Cherokee towns. Its current name is derived from the Cherokee town, ''
Tanasi Tanasi ( chr, ᏔᎾᏏ, translit=Tanasi) (also spelled Tanase, Tenasi, Tenassee, Tunissee, Tennessee, and other such variations) was a historic Overhill settlement site in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. ...
'', which was located on the Tennessee side of the Appalachian Mountains.


Course

The Tennessee River is formed at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers in present-day
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
. From Knoxville, it flows southwest through East Tennessee into
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
before crossing into
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 ...
. It travels through the
Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
and Decatur area before reaching the
Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...
area, and eventually forms a small part of the state's border with
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 ...
, before returning to Tennessee. The river misses
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 ...
by about 250 feet. The Tennessee river’s route northerly through Tennessee defines the boundary between two of Tennessee's
Grand Divisions The Grand Divisions are three geographic regions in the U.S. state of Tennessee, each constituting roughly one-third of the state's land area, that are geographically, culturally, legally, and economically distinct. The Grand Divisions are lega ...
: Middle and
West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three 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 and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its ...
. The
Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (popularly known as the Tenn-Tom) is a artificial U.S. waterway built in the 20th century from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama. The Tenne ...
, a
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
project providing navigation on the
Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...
and a link to the Port of
Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
, enters the Tennessee River near the Tennessee-Alabama-Mississippi boundary. This waterway reduces the navigation distance from Tennessee, north Alabama, and northern Mississippi to the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
by hundreds of miles. The final part of the Tennessee's run is north through western
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, where it separates the
Jackson Purchase The Jackson Purchase, also known as the Purchase Region or simply the Purchase, is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Tennessee River to the east. Jackson's ...
from the rest of the state. It flows into the Ohio River at
Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...
.


Dams

The river has been dammed numerous times since the 1930s by
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 ...
(TVA) projects. The construction of TVA's
Kentucky Dam Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Aut ...
on the Tennessee River and the Corps of Engineers' Barkley Dam on the
Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
led to the development of associated lakes, and the creation of an area called the Land Between the Lakes. A navigation canal located at
Grand Rivers, Kentucky Grand Rivers is a home rule-class city in Livingston County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 382 at the 2010 census, up from 343 in 2000. It is part of the Paducah micropolitan area. Geography Grand Rivers is located at (3 ...
, links
Kentucky Lake Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River via Kentucky Dam for flood control and hydroelectric ...
and
Lake Barkley Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston County, Lyon County and Trigg County in Kentucky and extending into Stewart County and Houston County in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of Bark ...
. The canal allows for a shorter trip for river traffic going from the Tennessee to most of the Ohio River, and for traffic going down the Cumberland River toward Tennessee.


Important cities and towns

*
Bridgeport, Alabama Bridgeport is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. At the time of 2010 census the population was 2,418, down from 2,728 in 2000. Bridgeport is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. Histo ...
*
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
*
Cherokee, Alabama Cherokee is a town in west Colbert County, Alabama, United States. Located near the Tennessee River, it is part of the Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area, known as "The Shoals". As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,048. ...
* Clifton, Tennessee *
Crump, Tennessee Crump is a city in Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,428 at the 2010 census,Tennessee Department of Economic and Community DevelopmentCertified Population of Tennessee Incorporated Municipalities and Counties, State of ...
*
Dayton, Tennessee Dayton is a city and county seat in Rhea County, Tennessee, Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 7,065. The Dayton Urban Cluster, which includes developed areas adjacent ...
*
Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
* Florence, Alabama *
Gilbertsville, Kentucky Gilbertsville is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. It is the closest village to the Kentucky Dam. The town was relocated to its present site when Kentucky Dam and Kentucky Dam Vil ...
*
Grand Rivers, Kentucky Grand Rivers is a home rule-class city in Livingston County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 382 at the 2010 census, up from 343 in 2000. It is part of the Paducah micropolitan area. Geography Grand Rivers is located at (3 ...
*
Guntersville, Alabama Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUBZon ...
*
Harrison, Tennessee Harrison is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,902 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area. Harrison Bay State Park, the Hamilton County Landfill, Bear T ...
*
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
*
Killen, Alabama Killen is a town in Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States. It's part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". It was incorporated in 1957. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town is 1,034 ...
*
Kingston, Tennessee Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States. This city is thirty-six miles southwest of Knoxville. It had a population of 5,934 at the 2010 United States census, and is included in the Harriman Micropolit ...
*
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
*
Langston, Alabama Langston is a town in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 270, up from 254. Langston initially inc ...
*
Lenoir City, Tennessee Lenoir City is a suburban city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,117 at the 2020 Census. It is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area in the state's eastern region, along the Tennessee River southwest of K ...
*
Loudon, Tennessee Loudon is a city in and the county seat of Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 6,001 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in East Tennessee, s ...
* Muscle Shoals, Alabama *
New Johnsonville, Tennessee New Johnsonville is a city in Humphreys County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,951 at the 2010 census. History The history of New Johnsonville is rooted in the town of Johnsonville, which was once situated on the Tennessee Rive ...
*
Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...
*
Savannah, Tennessee Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the Tennessee River. Savannah hosted the NAIA college football national ...
* Scottsboro, Alabama *
Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Arth ...
*
Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee Soddy-Daisy is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,070 at the 2020 census and estimated to be 13,619 in 2022. The city was formed in 1969 when the communities of Soddy (to the north) and Daisy (to the sout ...
*
Signal Mountain, Tennessee Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge. "Signal Mountain" is used as a colloquial name for the part of Walden Ridge close to the town. The tow ...
*
South Pittsburg, Tennessee South Pittsburg is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,106 at the 2020 census. South Pittsburg is home to the National Cornbread Fes ...
*
Triana, Alabama Triana () is a town in Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 2,890, up from 496 at the 2010 census. History Triana was o ...
*
Waterloo, Alabama Waterloo is a town in Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area, known as "The Shoals". As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 203, down from 208 in 2000. The town and su ...


History

The river valley was once home to several Native American tribes. At Painted Bluff, in northeast Alabama, painted glyphs dating to ca. 1400 A.D. have been discovered among cliffs overlooking the river. The first major battles of the American Civil War occurred along the river in 1862. The commander in the western theater, General
Henry Halleck Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...
, considered the Tennessee River to be more significant than the Mississippi.


Name

The river appears on French maps from the late 17th century with the names "Caquinampo" or "Kasqui." Maps from the early 18th century call it "Cussate," " Hogohegee," "Callamaco," and "Acanseapi." A 1755 British map showed the Tennessee River as the "River of the Cherakees."Ann Toplovich
Tennessee River System
, ''
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'' is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002. Contents include history, geography, culture, and biography. The original print e ...
'', December 25, 2009; updated January 1, 2010; accessed July 14, 2011
By the late 18th century, it had come to be called "Tennessee," a name derived from the Cherokee village named
Tanasi Tanasi ( chr, ᏔᎾᏏ, translit=Tanasi) (also spelled Tanase, Tenasi, Tenassee, Tunissee, Tennessee, and other such variations) was a historic Overhill settlement site in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. ...
.


Beginning

The Tennessee River begins at mile post 652, where the French Broad River meets the Holston River, but historically there were several different definitions of its starting point. In the late 18th century, the mouth of the
Little Tennessee River The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national ...
(at Lenoir City) was considered to be the beginning of the Tennessee River. Through much of the 19th century, the Tennessee River was considered to start at the mouth of
Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
(at Kingston). An 1889 declaration by the Tennessee General Assembly designated Kingsport (on the
Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...
) as the start of the Tennessee, but the following year a federal law was enacted that finally fixed the start of the river at its current location.


Water rights and border dispute between Georgia and Tennessee

At various points since the early 19th century,
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 ...
has disputed its northern border with Tennessee. In 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Union, the border was originally defined by
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
as located on the 35th parallel, thereby ensuring that at least a portion of the river would be located within Georgia. As a result of an erroneously conducted survey in 1818 (ratified by the Tennessee legislature, but not Georgia), however, the actual border line was set on the ground approximately one mile south, thus placing the disputed portion of the river entirely in Tennessee. Georgia made several unsuccessful attempts to correct what Georgia felt was an erroneous survey line "in the 1890s, 1905, 1915, 1922, 1941, 1947 and 1971 to 'resolve' the dispute", according to C. Crews Townsend, Joseph McCoin, Robert F. Parsley, Alison Martin and Zachary H. Greene, in their May 12, 2008, article for the ''Tennessee Bar Journal'', a publication of the Tennessee Bar Association. In 2008, as a result of a serious drought and resulting water shortage, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution directing the governor to pursue its claim in the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. According to a story aired on WTVC-TV in Chattanooga on March 14, 2008, a local attorney familiar with case law on border disputes, said the U.S. Supreme Court generally will maintain the original borders between states and avoid stepping into border disputes, preferring the parties work out their differences. The ''
Chattanooga Times Free Press The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's majo ...
'' reported on March 25, 2013, that Georgia senators approved House Resolution 4 stating that if Tennessee declines to settle with them, the dispute will be given to the state attorney general, to take Tennessee before the Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all. ''
The Atlantic Wire ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
,'' in commenting on Georgia's actions stated:
"The Great Georgia-Tennessee Border War of 2013 Is Upon Us Historians, take note: On this day, which is not a day in 1732, a boundary dispute between two Southern states took a turn for the wet. In a two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly by the state senate, Georgia declared that it, not its neighbor to the north, controls part of the Tennessee River at
Nickajack The area known as "Nickajack" generally refers to the rugged Appalachian foothills in eastern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama. "Nickajack" is a corruption of the Cherokee word (Ani-Kusati-yi) which translates to Coosa Town, but more likely r ...
. Georgia doesn't want Nickajack. It wants that water.".


Modern use

The Tennessee River is an important part of the
Great Loop The Great Loop is a system of waterways that encompasses the eastern portion of the United States and part of Canada. It is made up of both natural and man-made waterways, including the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, t ...
, the recreational circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water. The main channel is accessible to recreational watercraft at over 200 public access points along the river's course. The Tennessee River has historically been a major highway for
riverboats A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...
through the South, and today they are frequently used along the river. Major ports include Guntersville,
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, Decatur, Yellow Creek, and
Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...
. This river has contributed greatly to the economic and industrial development of the Tennessee Valley as a whole. The economies of cities such as Decatur and Chattanooga would not be as dynamic as they are today, were it not for the Tennessee River. Many companies still rely on the river as a means of
transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
for their materials. In Chattanooga, for example,
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
is exported on boats, as it is much more efficient than moving it on land. In addition, locks along the Tennessee River waterway provide passage between reservoirs for more than 13,000 recreational craft each year. The
Chickamauga Dam The Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiativ ...
, located just upstream from Chattanooga, is projected to have a new lock built, but it has been delayed due to a lack of funding. The river not only has many economic functions, such as the
boat building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood Wo ...
industry and transportation, but it also provides water and natural resources to those who live near the river. Many of the major ports on the river are connected to a settlement that was started because of its proximity to the river.


Ecology

The Tennessee River and its tributaries host some 102 species of
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
.Freshwater Mussels
, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website, accessed July 14, 2011
Native Americans ate freshwater mussels. Potters of the Mississippian culture used crushed mussel shell mixed into
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
to make their
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
stronger. A "pearl"
button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...
industry was established in the Tennessee Valley beginning in 1887, producing buttons from the abundant mussel shells. Button production ceased after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
s replaced mother-of-pearl as a button material.Tennessee Freshwater Mussels
, Frank H. McClung Museum website, accessed July 14, 2011
Mussel populations have declined drastically due to dam construction, water pollution, and invasive species.


Tennessee River tributaries

Tributaries and sub-tributaries are listed hierarchically in order from the mouth of the Tennessee River upstream. * Horse Creek (Tennessee) * Big Sandy River (Tennessee) * White Oak Creek * Duck River (Tennessee) ** Buffalo River (Tennessee) ***
Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
*** Little Buffalo River ** Piney River (Tennessee) **
Little Duck River The Little Duck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 tributary of the Duck River of Tennessee in the United States. Via the Duck, Tennessee, and ...
*
Beech River The Beech River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 stream draining the east-central portion of West Tennessee in the United States. The Beech rises about ...
(Tennessee) * Shoal Creek * Bear Creek (Alabama, Mississippi) * Buzzard Roost Creek (Alabama) * Colbert Creek (Alabama) * Cotaco Creek (Alabama) * Malone Creek (Alabama) * Mulberry Creek (Alabama) * Cane Creek (Alabama) * Dry Creek (Alabama) * Little Bear Creek (Alabama) * Spring Creek (Alabama) * Cypress Creek (Alabama) * Shoal Creek (Alabama) * First Creek (Alabama) * Elk River (Tennessee, Alabama) * Flint Creek (Alabama) *
Limestone Creek Limestone Creek is long with a Drainage basin, drainage area of , and is a tributary to the Tennessee River. The river rises in Lincoln County, Tennessee, Lincoln County, Tennessee, and flows south into Madison County, Alabama, Madison County, A ...
(Alabama, Tennessee) ** Beaverdam Creek (Alabama) * Indian Creek (Alabama) * Barren Fork Creek (Alabama) ** Bradford Creek ,Briefly merged with Barren Fork Creek (Alabama) *
Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...
(Alabama, Tennessee) *
Paint Rock River The Paint Rock River is a tributary of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama in the United States. Its tributaries also drain a portion of south-central Tennessee. The river is formed in northeastern Jackson County by the confluence of Estill ...
(Alabama, Tennessee) *
Sequatchie River The Sequatchie River is a waterway that drains the Sequatchie Valley, a large valley in the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It empties into the Tennessee River downstream from Chattanooga near the Tennessee-Alabama state line. Hydrography The ...
(Tennessee) ** Little Sequatchie River * Mountain Creek (Tennessee) *
Lookout Creek A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...
(Tennessee, Georgia) *
Chattanooga Creek Chattanooga Creek is a stream in Walker County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee. Chattanooga is a Muskogean-language name meaning "rock coming to a point". At the USGS station at Flintstone, Georgia, Chattanooga Creek has a discharge of ...
(Tennessee, Georgia) * Citico Creek (Tennessee) * South
Chickamauga Creek Chickamauga Creek refers to two short tributaries of the Tennessee River, which join the river near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The two streams are North Chickamauga Creek and South Chickamauga Creek, joining the Tennessee from the north and south s ...
(Tennessee, Georgia) * North
Chickamauga Creek Chickamauga Creek refers to two short tributaries of the Tennessee River, which join the river near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The two streams are North Chickamauga Creek and South Chickamauga Creek, joining the Tennessee from the north and south s ...
(Tennessee) *
Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia. It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee Riv ...
(Tennessee, North Carolina) **
Conasauga Creek Conasauga Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 tributary stream of the Hiwassee River, located in southeast Tennessee, United States. It is not t ...
(Tennessee) **
Ocoee River The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk Coun ...
(Tennessee, Georgia) **
Nottely River The Nottely River is a river in the United States. The river originates in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataT ...
(North Carolina, Georgia) * Piney River (Tennessee) *
Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
(Tennessee, Virginia) ** Emory River (Tennessee) ***
Little Emory River The Little Emory River rises in Morgan County, Tennessee near the town of Coalfield. It is one of the major tributaries to the Emory River. It crosses into Roane County, where it soon becomes an embayment of Watts Bar Lake several miles upstream ...
***
Obed River Obed River is a stream draining a part of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It, and particularly its tributaries, are important streams for whitewater enthusiasts. The Obed River rises in Cumberland County, Tennessee, just south of Crossvi ...
(Tennessee) ****
Little Obed River The Little Obed River is a ten mile long stream in the Cumberland Plateau in Cumberland County, Tennessee. The Little Obed rises east of Crossville and from near its source flows in a deep gorge that it has cut into the rocks capping the plateau, ...
** Poplar Creek ***East Fork Poplar Creek ** Beaver Creek ** Powell River (Tennessee, Virginia) *
Little Tennessee River The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national ...
(Tennessee, North Carolina) **
Tellico River The Tellico River is a river in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. It rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, and then flows through Monroe County, Tennessee, before joining the Little Tennessee ...
(Tennessee) **
Tuckasegee River The Tuckasegee River (variant spellings include Tuckaseegee and Tuckaseigee) flows entirely within western North Carolina. It begins its course in Jackson County above Cullowhee at the confluence of Panthertown and Greenland creeks. It flows ...
(North Carolina) **
Nantahala River The Nantahala River ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Cullasaja River The Cullasaja River ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...
(Tennessee) *
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 in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville form ...
** Little Pigeon River (Tennessee) **
Nolichucky River The Nolichucky River is a river that flows through Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Traversing the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the river's wate ...
(Tennessee, North Carolina) ** Pigeon River (Tennessee, North Carolina) **
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 ...
(North Carolina) *
Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...
(Tennessee) **
North Fork Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...
(Tennessee, Virginia) **
South Fork Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...
(Tennessee, Virginia) ***
Watauga River The Watauga River () is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake. Course The Watauga River rises from a spring near the base ...
(Tennessee, North Carolina) ****
Doe River The Doe River is a tributary of the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee in the United States. The river forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park, and flows to Elizabethton. Hydrography The D ...
(Tennessee) **
Middle Fork Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...
(Virginia)


See also

*
List of Alabama rivers This is a list of rivers of the US state of Alabama. Alabama has over 77,000 miles of rivers and streams with more freshwater biodiversity than any other US state. Alabama's rivers are among the most biologically diverse waterways in the world. 38 ...
*
List of crossings of the Tennessee River This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Tennessee River from the Ohio River upstream to its source(s). Crossings See also * * * * * {{Portal-inline, United States * List of crossings of the Ohio River * Tennessee River ...
* List of dams and reservoirs of the Tennessee River *
List of Kentucky rivers List of rivers in Kentucky (U.S. state). By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. All rivers in Kentucky flow to the Mississippi River, nearly all by virtue o ...
*
List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem) The longest rivers of the United States include 38 that have main stems of at least long. The main stem is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines a main- ...
*
List of Mississippi rivers The list of rivers in Mississippi includes any rivers that flow through part of the State of Mississippi. The major rivers in Mississippi are the Mississippi River, Pearl River, Pascagoula River and the Tombigbee River, along with their main tribu ...
*
List of Tennessee rivers This is a list of rivers of the U.S. state of Tennessee: By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. All rivers in Tennessee ultimately flow to the Gulf of Mex ...
* Tennessee River 600 *
Tennessee River Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...
* Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway


Notes


Further reading

*Woodside, M.D. et al. (2004). ''Water quality in the lower Tennessee River Basin, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Georgia, 1999–2001'' .S. Geological Survey Circular 1233 Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. *Myers, Fred (2004). ''Tennessee River CruiseGuide, 5th Edition'' *Hay, Jerry (2010). ''Tennessee River Guidebook, 1st Edition'' *Rumsey, W.J. (2007). ''A Cruising Guide to the Tennessee River, Tenn-Tom Waterway, and Lower Tombigbee River''


External links


Tennessee RiversTennessee River Navigation ChartsChickamauga dam progress
* {{Authority control Borders of Alabama Borders of Mississippi Borders of Tennessee Borders of Kentucky Internal territorial disputes of the United States Rivers of Alabama Rivers of Kentucky Rivers of Mississippi Rivers of Tennessee Tributaries of the Ohio River Rivers of Livingston County, Kentucky Rivers of McCracken County, Kentucky Rivers of Jackson County, Alabama Rivers of Hamilton County, Tennessee Rivers of Colbert County, Alabama Rivers of Wayne County, Tennessee Rivers of Limestone County, Alabama Rivers of Morgan County, Alabama Rivers of Lauderdale County, Alabama Rivers of Marshall County, Alabama Rivers of Madison County, Alabama Rivers of Roane County, Tennessee Rivers of Knox County, Tennessee Rivers of Loudon County, Tennessee Rivers of Humphreys County, Tennessee Rivers of Hardin County, Tennessee Rivers of Marion County, Tennessee Mississippi River watershed