23 Tennessee River Facts: Ecosystem, History, Trivia And Much More

One of the major waterways of the southeastern United States, the Tennessee River, is the central component of the Earth's greatest irrigation and hydropower systems.

The Tennessee River is known to be the largest tributary of the Ohio River, with a length of approximately 652 mi (1049.29 km). Located in the Tennessee Valley in the southeastern United States, the Tennessee River was once popularly known as the Cherokee River along with many other different names.

The name Cherokee River came about as the Cherokee people used to live along the banks of the river, in the parts currently known as East Tennessee and northern Alabama. There's also a tributary to the Tennessee River, the Little Tennessee River, which flows into the main river from Western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia.

There were numerous Cherokee towns along this tributary.

The current name of the Tennessee River comes from the current name of the Cherokee town called Tanasi. Tanasi was located on the Appalachian Mountains' Tennessee side.

The path of the Tennessee River makes a semi-circle that starts in eastern Tennessee before entering Alabama. After entering the state of Alabama, the Tennessee River turns north for a few miles and forms a boundary between Alabama and Mississippi.

The Tennessee River then flows through Tennessee and Kentucky and joins the Ohio River in the city of Paducah. Some parts of the states of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi form the watershed of the Tennessee River.

The Tennessee River, which flows around some 652 mi (1049.29 km) throughout southeast America, is the largest river system that passes through the state of Tennessee and is one of the only rivers that comes in and goes out of a state at more than one point.

The Tennessee River Basin is the most biologically diverse river system for aquatic organisms in the United States.

Fun Facts About The Tennessee River

All rivers have something special, and here we will learn about the various facts related to the Tennessee River.

• Formed by the confluence of the French Broad River and the Holston River, this is one of the only rivers in the U.S. to leave a state and enter it again.
• The Tennessee River also has a rich history. It is believed that it was 8,000 years ago when the first people arrived in the Tennessee River Valley. This data is based on excavations at Russell Cave of northern Alabama. Ancient Mount Builders also settled in the watershed of the river around 1,000 years ago.
• Formed by the joining of the Holston River and the French Broad River near Knoxville of Tennessee, the Tennessee River follows a serpentine pattern into northern Alabama and then to the Ohio River at Kentucky's Paducah.
• The total drainage area of the river is 40,569 sq mi (105,073.23 km).
• It has an average depth of about nine ft (2.7 m)
• In the mid-eighteenth century, the Tennessee Valley played a crucial part in the Anglo-French rivalry. It was the fight for the control of the Old Southeast that culminated in the French and Indian war. The settlers were also aided in migration after the war as the river and its sub-tributaries provided an easy route to the southeastern United States.

Facts About The Tennessee River's Ecosystem

When it comes to the ecosystem of the Tennessee River, it is quite diverse. It is one of the most aquatically diverse river systems in North America.

• The Upper Tennessee River Basin is known all over the United States for its freshwater fish and mussels. There are 85 species of mussels and 174 species of fish found in the Tennessee River Basin.
• However, 25 of these species of mussels are not found in the basin anymore, while 11 of these species are extinct all over the world. This is all due to habitat destruction, pollution, and reservoir impoundment.
• The largest nesting population of bald eagles in the United States is also found here.
• You get everything from dartfish to shark-like sturgeons in the waters of this river. Fish like largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, black crappie, redline darter, and rainbow darter are seen in the Tennessee River.
• Birds like the bald eagle, osprey, and cliff swallows are seen near the river. You will also see muskrats, beavers, and otters in the waters of the Tennessee River.
• Species diversity in the area is slowly declining due to pollution and industrialization in and around the river basin of the Tennessee Valley. People need to protect the area to protect the ecosystem at any cost.
• More than 67% of the river basin is covered in forests. This encompasses the entire drainage area of the river and the tributaries upstream at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the five National Forests in Pisgah, Jefferson, Cherokee village, Chattahoochee, and Nantahala. These wholly or partially lie within the Tennessee River Basin.
• More than 26% of the Tennessee River Basin is used as agricultural land. Only around 4% of the basin area is developed.

Path Of The Tennessee River

The crescent-shaped path of the Tennessee River is discussed below.

• As the Tennessee River begins upstream of Knoxville in Tennessee, it flows south for 652 mi (1049.29 km) and then west across northern Alabama and also a small part of northern Mississippi.
• It then turns north to Kentucky, after which the Tennessee River discharges into the Ohio River some miles upstream from the Mississippi River.
• Middle and West Tennessee are divided at the place where the state's border with Mississippi is formed.
• A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, provides navigation on the Tombigbee River and is a link to the Port of Mobile. This enters Tennessee around the Tennessee-Alabama-Mississippi boundary.
• The distance in navigation from Tennessee, north Alabama, and northern Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico is reduced significantly by hundreds of miles by using this waterway.
• The Tennessee River's final run is in Kentucky, where the rest of the state is separated from the Jackson Purchase. The Tennessee River then flows into the Ohio River at Kentucky's Paducah. The Tennessee River is one of the few rivers in the country to leave a state and then again re-enter it. The Cumberland River is another such river system.

Places That The Tennessee River Flows Through

The Tennessee River flows through a lot of places and also has a lot of tributaries and sub-tributaries. Here is a list of all places that the river crosses.

• Some important cities that the river covers are Bridgeport in Alabama, Chattanooga, Cherokee, Clifton, Clump, Decatur, Florence, Grand Rivers, Guntersville, Harrison, Huntsville, Killen, Knoxville, Lakeside, Langston, Lenoir City, Loudon, New Johnsonville, Paducah, Redstone Arsenal, Saltillo, Savannah, Scottsboro, Sheffield, Soddy-Daisy, Signal Mountain, South Pittsburg, Triana, and Waterloo.
• Here are the tributaries and sub-tributaries of the Tennessee River: Big Sandy River, Duck River, Buffalo River, Piney River, Beech River, Bear Creek, Buzzard Roost, Colbert Creek, Malone Creek, Mulberry Creek, Cane Creek, Dry Creek, Little Bear Creek, Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, Shoal Creek, First Creek, Elk River, Flint Creek, Limestone Creek, Beaverdam Creek, Indian Creek, Barren Fork Creek, Flint River, Paint Rock River, Sequatchie River, Hiwassee River, Conasauga Creek, Ocoee River, Nottely River, Piney River, Clinch River, Emory River, Obed River, Powell River, Little Tennessee River, Tellico River, Tuckasegee River, Nantahala River, Cullasaja River, Little River, French Broad River, Little Pigeon River, Nolichucky River, Pigeon River, Holston River, North Fork Holston River, South Fork Holston River, Watauga River, Doe River, and Middle Fork Holston River.
• The Tennessee River's headwaters can be located in six counties of North Georgia. They are Cole City Creek (Dade County), Lookout Creek (Catoosa), West and South Chickamauga Creeks (Catoosa), Chattanooga Creek (Catoosa), Fightingtown Creek (Fannin), Nottely River (Union), Toccoa River (Fannin), Hiawassee River (Towns), and Little Tennessee River (Rabun).