Hiwassee
North Carolina River Basin
Hiwassee
- The Hiwassee River Basin is on the far west side of North Carolina.
- This basin contains 931 miles of streams and rivers.
- The headwaters are located in the north slope of the Rocky Mountains in Towns County.
- The mouth is located at the Tennessee River at Hiwassee Island in Meighs County, Tennessee.
- This basin contains 38,237 people.
Site Seeing
- A good place to go and visit is the Peach tree Mound near present day Murphy, it is considered one of the most important ancestral Cherokee sites in N.C.
- Jackrabbit Mountain Recreation area, is also a good place to visit. It has a 2.4 mile trail with views of Lake Chatuge
- Also, Hanging Dog Recreation area, with a 2.1 mile hiking trail and 8 miles of biking trails.
- Clay County recreation park also has 2.5 miles of hiking trails across Chatuge Dam and through woodlands
Peach Mound
This is a piece of pottery from the Peach Mound near Murphy.
Jackrabbit Mountain
This is an image of part of the trail on Jackrabbit Mountain.
Clay County Recreation Park
This is an image of canoeing at the park.
Some of the animals/plants you will see here!
Many unique, but endangered organisms
Most of the plants and animals that live in the Hiwassee River Basin are endangered.
Cranes
This is a crowd of cranes that live in the Hiwassee River Basin. One of the cranes at this river basin is the sand hill crane, and this crane is so popular that they have a sand hill crane festival.
Snake
This is just another example of some of the animals in the Hiwassee River Basin. One of the most common snakes found in this river basin is the copperhead snake. A copperhead snake bite is poisonous but it isn't fatal.
Lizard?!
This is a 4-toed salamander,(Hemidactylium scutatum). This salamander is a lung less salamander and is a rusty brown color.
Asain Clam
-also known as Corbicula fluminea
Pitcher Plant
-Carnivorous plants
Cherokee Rose
This roses are usally found on the trail of tears.
Nonpoint Source pollution
Littering, there are many plastic bottles left behind on the hiking/biking trails. This has become a big problem because 89% of the basin is open to the public. Also primary erosion, ground disturbance from devrlopement activities, residential, commercail, transpertation, and utility.
Solution:
I think we could put trash cans around the trails to prevent as much liter.
Point Source Pollution
Hydropower development has altered and degraded many habitats for most indigenous aquatic species. Also sewage treatment plants and light industry, a large landfill along the Valley River.
Solution:
I think the sewage industry could have more natural ways of their processes.
Litter
Sewage treatment plant
This is the sewage treatment plant near the Valley River causing pollution in river.