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The 'Little Tennessee River' is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles (217 km) long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.

Contents

Geography

Impoundments

History

Geography

It rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Rabun County in northeastern Georgia. It flows north through the mountains past Dillard into southwestern North Carolina. It is joined by the Cullasaja River at Franklin, then turns northwest, flowing through the Nantahala National Forest along the north side of the Nantahala Mountains and past Lauada. It crosses into eastern Tennessee and joins the Tennessee River at Lenoir City, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Knoxville.

Impoundments

The lower river is impounded several places by sequential dams, some created as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system, forming a string of reservoirs in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee down to its confluence with the Tennessee. Near the state line between North Carolina and Tennessee, it is impounded by the 480 feet (146 m) high Fontana Dam, completed in 1944, forming Fontana Lake along the southern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is also impounded by Cheoah Dam in North Carolina, and by Calderwood and Chilhowee dams in Tennessee. The reservoirs provide flood control and hydroelectric power.
The Calderwood Dam and Cheoah Dam divert water through short tunnels slightly downstream of the dams themselves to hydroelectric generators. Calderwood has power generators built straight into the dam itself. Some water is also diverted from the nearby Santeetlah Dam on the Cheoah River to power another hydroelectric generator at the Santeetlah Powerhouse. This water is brought to the Little Tennessee River through 7 miles of tunnels through the Smokey Mountains. Chilhowee, Calderwood, and Cheoah Dams and the Santeetlah Powerhouse were originally built by Alcoa to power the aluminum plant at Alcoa, Tennessee. To ensure efficiency in operation, TVA now supervises Alcoa in the operation of these dams, making sure that reservoir and river water levels are safe for recreational use (primarily boating and fishing) and that proper flows of water continue down the river.
The final impoundment is Tellico Dam, which is just above its mouth into the Tennessee River at Lenoir City, Tennessee. It creates Tellico Reservoir. The dam does not have its own hydroelectric generators but serves to increase the flow through those at nearby Fort Loudoun Dam on the Tennessee by means of a canal which diverts much of the flow of the Little Tennessee. This dam was the site of environmental controversy during the 1970s regarding the snail darter, an endangered species. It was the first major legal challenge to the Endangered Species Act.

History

The Little Tennessee River has played a major role in Cherokee history. Many of the Cherokee 'Middle Towns' were located along the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina, including Nikwasi (Nucassee), Jore (Iotla), Cowee, and Kituhwa (Kittowa) on the tributary Tuckasegee River. In Tennessee, many of the 'Overhill Towns' were on the Little Tennessee River, including Chota, Tanasi, Sitiku (Citico), and Toqua. The Cherokee town known as Great Tellico was located on the Tellico River, a tributary of the Little Tennessee River.
The Little Tennessee River was once known as the Tennessee River, receiving the name from the Cherokee town of Tanasi.