Pigeon River (Tennessee–North Carolina)
ThePigeon RiverofWestern North CarolinaandEast Tennesseerises aboveCanton, North Carolina,is impounded byWalters Dam,enters Tennessee, and flows into theFrench Broad River,just pastNewport, Tennessee.The river traverses thePisgah National Forestand theCherokee National Forest,and drains much of the northeasternGreat Smoky Mountains National Park.
| Pigeon River | |
|---|---|
 The confluence of the Pigeon River and Big Creek inWaterville, North Carolina.The power plant is in the background. | |
 Pigeon River watershed (Interactive map) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina,Tennessee |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | West Fork Pigeon River |
| • location | below Mount Hardy inHaywood County,North Carolina |
| • coordinates | 35°18′11″N82°55′05″W/ 35.30306°N 82.91806°W[1] |
| • elevation | 5,320 ft (1,620 m) |
| 2nd source | East Fork Pigeon River |
| • location | below South Spring Top inHaywood County,North Carolina |
| • coordinates | 35°19′37″N82°49′47″W/ 35.32694°N 82.82972°W[2] |
| • elevation | 4,190 ft (1,280 m) |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | south ofCanton,North Carolina |
| • coordinates | 35°28′43″N82°52′55″W/ 35.47861°N 82.88194°W[3] |
| • elevation | 2,644 ft (806 m) |
| Mouth | French Broad River |
• location | Irish Bottoms inCocke County,Tennessee |
• coordinates | 36°01′28″N83°11′47″W/ 36.02444°N 83.19639°W[3] |
• elevation | 1,001 ft (305 m)[3] |
| Length | 70 mi (110 km)[4] |
| Basin size | 704 sq mi (1,820 km2)[5] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Newport, Tennessee,6.8 miles (10.9 km) above the mouth(mean for water years 1945–1983)[6] |
| • average | 1,256 cu ft/s (35.6 m3/s)(mean for water years 1945–1983)[6] |
| • minimum | 38 cu ft/s (1.1 m3/s)October 1952[6] |
| • maximum | 50,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m3/s)February 1902[6] |
The river takes its name from thepassenger pigeon,anextinctbird whosemigrationroute once included the river valley in North Carolina.[7]
Course
editThe Pigeon River arises in southeasternHaywood County, North Carolina,and flows basically northwest for most of its length. However, near Pressley Mountain it turns northeast for about four miles and in the town of Canton, where it was utilized by a now-closed local paper mill, it turns north. After Canton it turns almost due west for about five miles, before resuming its northwest trend at aboutClyde.From Canton, the Pigeon River flows roughly parallel toInterstate 40for many miles. It is impounded by theWalters DamofProgress Energycreating the long, narrow Waterville Lake. It enters Tennessee just after the village of Waterville, and continues with I-40 in the same valley northwestward throughHartfordtoNewport,where I-40 heads west, and the Pigeon River flows north into theFrench Broad River.
History
editThe Pigeon River dam was started in 1927and was completed in 1930.The project was started byCarolina Power & Lightand was completed by its affiliate Phoenix Electric Co. The concrete dam is 180 ft (55 m) high by 800 ft long. The brick power plant (visible fromI-40) is actually 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the dam. A tunnel 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long stretches from the dam to the power plant.[8]
The floods following the series of storms spawned byHurricanesFrancesandIvanin September 2004 have changed the character of the river. The rains lasted days and flooding was severe. Portions of the towns of Canton andClydewere completely underwater, and there was significant damage to a large portion of both towns.[9][10]Farther upstream the water levels reached unprecedented levels. Part of Interstate 40 collapsed into the river gorge because of the force of the floodwaters. This began when trees on the hill beside the highway fell in the river, followed by the soil the trees had held in place. Theshouldergave way, and aguardrailended up just hanging.[11]
A largepaper mill(once part ofChampion International Paperand now theBlue Ridge Paper Company) in Canton was the primary source of considerabledioxinandparticulate matterpollutiondischarged into the Pigeon River. The pollution situation in the river became a minor issue in the campaign for the1988 Presidential election.AsAl Gorestarted his first run for the Presidency,Newsweekmagazine reported that Gore was pressured by North CarolinaSenatorTerry SanfordandCongressmanJamie Clarketo ease up on his campaign against Champion's wastewater discharges into the Pigeon River. According toNewsweek,Gore complied with their request, writing to theUnited States Environmental Protection Agencyto oppose tighter water pollution control requirements.[12]This issue came up again during the2000 Presidential election.
Recreation
editRecreationalraftingis popular in two sections of the river, the Upper and the Lower. Both sections are found inHartford, Tennessee.The Upper section begins at the powerhouse (located right on the North Carolina/Tennessee border) and features up to Class III+whitewaterrapids.The Lower section features "more modest" waves.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: West Fork Pigeon River
- ^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: East Fork Pigeon River
- ^abcU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pigeon River
- ^U.S. Geological Survey. Waynesville, NC. 1:24,000.
- ^"Pigeon River Watershed (06010106) of the Tennessee River Basin: Watershed Water Quality Management Plan,Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website, 2010. Retrieved at archive.org: 7 June 2015.
- ^abcdUnited States Geological Survey,Water Resources Data Tennessee: Water Year 1979,Water Data Report TN-79-1, p. 136. Gaging station 03461500.
- ^Burnette, Edie (4 December 2008). "Video, Books Recount Pigeon Valley History".Asheville Citizen-Times.
- ^"Walters Dam".sections.asce.org.Archived fromthe originalon 12 January 2003.Retrieved4 December2008.
- ^Studenc, Bill (21 August 2008). "Clyde Is Back after '04 Floods".Asheville Citizen-Times.
- ^Dale, Neal (7 May 2005). "Canton Cleanup Impresses Perdue: Lt. Gov. Tours Flood Comeback".Asheville Citizen-Times.
- ^Schlosser, Jim (19 September 2004). "Portions of I-40 Closed Indefinitely, DOT Says".Greensboro News & Record.
- ^Isikoff, Michael (23 November 1997)."Gore's Pollution Problem".Newsweek.Retrieved20 July2015.
- ^"Walter's Power Plant at Waterville to Bridge at Hartford".American Whitewater.2015.Retrieved20 July2015.
External links
edit
- Bartlett, Richard A. (1995).Troubled Waters: Champion International and the Pigeon River Controversy.University of Tennessee Press.ISBN978-0-87049-888-6.Retrieved20 July2015.