Coosawattee River
The Coosawattee River is a river located in the northwestern Georgia, United States.Description
The river begins at the confluence of the Ellijay and Cartecay rivers in the city of Ellijay in central Gilmer County. The river flows west through the foothills in the North Georgia mountains region and is a tributary of the Oostanaula River. Primary tributaries of the Cooswattee River include Mountaintown Creek, Tails Creek, Cole Creek, Goble Branch, Harris Creek, Camp Branch, Lewis Branch, Woodring Branch, Fisher Creek, Talking Rock Creek, Willbanks Branch, Mineral Springs Branch, Rock Springs Branch, Sugar Branch, Duke Creek, Noblet Creek, Dry Creek, Salacoa Creek, Vanns Creek, and Crane Eater Creek
In Murray County, the river is impounded by Carters Dam, forming Carters Lake. Completed in 1977, Carters Dam is the tallest earthen dam east of the Mississippi River. The Coosawattee river leaves the dam flowing west and briefly serves as the Murray-Gordon County line before entering Gordon County. Near New Echota, the Coosawattee meets the Conasauga River, forming the Oostanaula River, a tributary of the Coosa River.
This area was the center of Cherokee Nation territory in north Georgia and southern Tennessee. In the early 1820s, after having migrated from eastern Tennessee, they made New Echota their capital.
American writer James Dickey used the Coosawattee River as the basis of his fictional "Cahulawassee River" in his debut novel, Deliverance. It was adapted as a 1972 feature film of the same name, directed by John Boorman.
