File-The Suck, or the Hazards of the Tennessee River Gorge

The Tennessee River Gorge is a

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

formed by 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 names, ...

known locally as Cash Canyon. It is the fourth largest river gorge in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

. The

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

is cut into the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...

as the river winds its way 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 ...

from

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 ...

. The Tennessee River Gorge was also known as Walden Gorge.

Walden Ridge Walden Ridge (or Walden's Ridge) is a mountain ridge and escarpment located in Tennessee, in the United States. It marks the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau and is generally considered part of it. Walden Ridge is about long, running g ...

originally extended across the present path of the Tennessee River at the gorge to Sand Mountain.

Ecology

The Tennessee River Gorge is home to endangered species like the mountain skullcap. Many archaeological sites have been discovered in the gorge that show that people have been dwelling in the canyon for at least 10,000 years.

History

Prior to the completion of

Hales Bar Dam Hales Bar Dam was a hydroelectric dam once located on the Tennessee River in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company began building the dam on October 17, 1905, and completed it on November 11t ...

in 1913 and the subsequent raising of the water-level, the stretch of the Tennessee River flowing through the Gorge was notorious for its navigational hazards, whirlpools, eddies, shoals, and one huge rock. Beginning with Williams' Island and the sandbars on either side of it, these obstructions included Tumbling Shoals, the Holston Rock, the Kettle, the Suck Shoals, the Deadman's Eddy, the Pot, the Skillet, the Pan, and, finally, the ten-mile Narrows, ending with Hale's Bar. Of these, the Kettle, or the Suck as it is better known, at the mouth of Suck Creek is the most infamous, drawing notice from

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, who had never been anywhere near the area, and lending its name to the entire stretch of treacherous river, which is also known locally by the name Cash Canyon. As of 2018, 17,000 acres of land in the gorge out of 27,000 acres sought for preservation have been purchased or otherwise secured for conservation by the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, a non-profit conservation trust founded in 1981. The Trust also does scientific studies, develops trails, and conducts education efforts.https://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/tennessee-river-gorge/ The Prentice Cooper State Forest is on the northern edge of the gorge.

Image gallery

Image:Gallery-gorge2-800.jpg, Signal Point Looking East Image:Gallery-gorge3-800.jpg, Signal Point Looking West Image:Gallery-gorge4-800.jpg, Elder Mountain

References

External links

Tennessee River Gorge TrustTennessee River Blueway
Canyons and gorges of Alabama Archaeological sites in Alabama Archaeological sites in Tennessee Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee Protected areas of Marion County, Tennessee Nature reserves in Tennessee Canyons and gorges of the United States Landforms of Hamilton County, Tennessee Landforms of Marion County, Tennessee {{Tennessee-protected-area-stub