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Georgia’s Rivers
Doug Oetter and Chris Skelton
Dept. of History and GeographyDept. of Biology and Environmental Science
Georgia College & State University
Georgia’s Physiographic Provinces
• Cumberland Plateau• Blue Ridge• Ridge and Valley• Piedmont• Coastal Plain
Georgia’s Watersheds
• River headwaters in higher elevations
• Flow Southeast and Southwest to Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
Blue Ridge • Constrained channels underlain by bedrock
• Generally clear and cool flow from forested watersheds
• High energy but with low flow due to smaller catchment basin
• Waterfalls
Ridge and Valley • Ranging from clear to colored, depending on watershed conditions and human activities
• Moderate flood potential• Highly variable flow
Piedmont• Constrained channels over
bedrock• Water discolored by sediments
from mining, construction, and agriculture
• Moderate energy with increasing flood potential due to large catchments
• Shoals and rapids• Hydropower potential
Coastal Plain
• Unconstrained channels meandering over deep sediments
• Ranging from highly colored by sediments to clear and blackwater rivers tinted with tannic acid
• Very large flows with broad flood plains
• Estuaries
Georgia’s Main Rivers
AltamahaYamassee Indian chief Altamaha,
named by DeSoto in 1540Chattahoochee
Creek for “flowered stones”Coosa
Cherokee name for the Upper Creeks of the region
FlintThronateeska, “flint-picking-up-
place”Ochlockonee
Hitchiti for “yellow water”Ocmulgee
Creek for “bubbling water”Oconee
From Oconee Old Town
Ogeechee
“River of the Uchees,” a sub-tribe of the Creek Confederation
St. Mary’sSpanish mission Santa Maria de
Guadeloupe, founded in 1568Satilla
Once named Riviere Somme; renamed ‘St. Illa’ by a Spanish explorer of the same name
Savannah“River of the Shawnees”
SuwanneeCreek word suwani, or “echo”
TallapoosaUnknown Creek word, possibly from
Choctaw for “crushed rock”Tennessee
Cherokee place name
Average FlowsName Longterm flow (ft3/ s) ALAPAHA RIVER NEAR ALAPAHA, GA 995 ALTAMAHA RIVER AT DOCTORTOWN, GA 23,000 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT ATLANTA, GA 2,740 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT BUFORD DAM, NEAR BUFORD, GA 1,620 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT WEST POINT, GA 6,565 CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR COLUMBIA, AL 13,400 COOSA RIVER NEAR ROME, GA 9,355 ETOWAH RIVER NEAR KINGSTON,GA 2,985 FLINT RIVER AT ALBANY, GA 9,020 FLINT RIVER AT BAINBRIDGE, GA 13,500 OCHLOCKONEE RIVER NEAR THOMASVILLE, GA 597 OCMULGEE RIVER AT LUMBER CITY, GA 8,795 OCMULGEE RIVER AT MACON, GA 3,860 OCONEE RIVER AT DUBLIN, GA 6,600 OCONEE RIVER AT MILLEDGEVILLE, GA 4,030 OGEECHEE RIVER NEAR EDEN, GA 3,520 OHOOPEE RIVER NEAR REIDSVILLE, GA 1,820 OOSTANAULA RIVER NEAR ROME, GA 5,034 SATILLA RIVER AT ATKINSON, GA 2,780 SAVANNAH RIVER AT AUGUSTA, GA 11,150 SAVANNAH RIVER NEAR CLYO, GA 14,700 ST. MARYS RIVER NR MACCLENNY, FLA. 366 SUWANNEE RIVER AT US 441, AT FARGO, GA 1,480 TALLAPOOSA RIVER BELOW TALLAPOOSA, GEORGIA 372
NameLongterm flow (ft3/s)
ALTAMAHA RIVER AT DOCTORTOWN, GA 23,000
SAVANNAH RIVER NEAR CLYO, GA 14,700
FLINT RIVER AT BAINBRIDGE, GA 13,500
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR COLUMBIA, AL 13,400
SAVANNAH RIVER AT AUGUSTA, GA 11,150
COOSA RIVER NEAR ROME, GA 9,355
FLINT RIVER AT ALBANY, GA 9,020
OCMULGEE RIVER AT LUMBER CITY, GA 8,795
OCONEE RIVER AT DUBLIN, GA 6,600
OCONEE RIVER AT MILLEDGEVILLE, GA 4,030
OCMULGEE RIVER AT MACON, GA 3,860
OGEECHEE RIVER NEAR EDEN, GA 3,520
SATILLA RIVER AT ATKINSON, GA 2,780
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT ATLANTA, GA 2,740
OHOOPEE RIVER NEAR REIDSVILLE, GA 1,820
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT BUFORD DAM, NEAR BUFORD, GA 1,620
Outline History of Georgia’s Rivers
• Native uses• Early commerce• Steamboat era• Flooding• River decline• Dam-building period• River resurgence
Native American Uses
• Drinking water• Food• Transportation• Settlement
– Fall Line communities– Resources of both
Coastal Plain and Piedmont
Early Commerce• Exploration• Trading• Minerals• Timber extraction• Hydropower (grist and
lumber mills)
Steamboat Era• Begun in late 1820’s
– Rivers developed for commerce
• Grain• Lumber• Manufactured goods• Cotton
• Continued until late 1930’s– Displaced by road
transportation
Flood Damage• Severe flooding
aggravated by sediment accumulation in river channel from massive soil erosion
River Decline
• Sedimentation• Untreated sewage
– Phosphates and municipal waste
– Nitrates– Industrial pollutants
• Removal of riparian vegetation
Dams and Reservoirs
• U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoirs
– Allatoona Lake– Carters Lake– J. Strom Thurmond
Lake– George W. Andrews
Lake– Hartwell Lake– Richard B. Russell Lake– Lake Seminole– Lake Sidney Lanier– Walter F. George Lake– West Point Lake
• Powerplant cooling reservoirs
• Other small dams
Resurgence of Georgia’s Rivers
• Clean Water Act– Pollution control– Sewage treatment
• Recreation and Wildlife Values Riverfront Redevelopment