Little Tennessee
Flows into North Carolina from Georgia.
Names of tributaries and lakes.
Some major tributaries are...
- Nantahala
- Tusckagee
- Cheoah
- Cunasaja
- Fontana
- Santeetlah
- Genville
Description/ Basic info
The Little Tennessee is the 10th biggest river basin in North Carolina. There are 6 counties in total in the basin. The water quality is overall very good.
Mouth and headwaters?
The mouth of the basin is located in Lenoir City, Tennessee
The headwaters of the basin is located in Rabun County, Georgia
How many people live in the basin?
About 94,566 people live in the basin and the towns where they come from are...
- Franklin
- Sylva
- Cherokee
Important places in the basin
- The Emory Dam that's just 25 miles away from Franklin
- The Cowlee and Nantahala mountains that the river runs through
- Bonas Defeat Gorge which contains cliffs and water sculptured rock
- Panthertown Valley, a park that is reserved for it's wildlife.
- The Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall you can easily walk under
How many miles of streams are there?
There is about 2,501 miles of streams in the Little Tennessee Basin.
Where is it located?
The Little Tennessee is located in the Appalachian Mountains and it meets in Knoxville Tennessee and goes through Georgia.
Point and non-point pollution
Non-point pollution- There are a ton of dams being made, some of the wildlife that live in the water can't handle the change. Pesticides are also a nonpoint pollution problem, because people everywhere use them and we can't exactly pinpoint which person/farm uses them.
Point pollution- Due to mining industry around the area, an estimated 75 pounds of mercury is dumped in or around the river. Another point pollution are farms further upstream, the manure and fertilizer causes a big problem.
How can we solve these problems?
To solve the non-point pollution problem we can maybe stop building dams that would cause the water quality to change. To solve the pesticide problem, people can stop wasting their money on pesticides and limit the amount of pesticides they use.
To solve the point pollution problem we could be more aware of what we are dumping around the river and what our factories/ mines are doing to the gases that they release. To solve the manure problem we can build a filter that makes the manure into compost/ or helpful resources.