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The Watauga River is a large stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 of western North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
 and East Tennessee
East Tennessee

East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions defined in state law....
. It is 60 miles (97 km) long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain

Grandfather Mountain is a mountain near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,964 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains....
 in Watauga County, North Carolina
Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 42,695. Its county seat is Boone, North Carolina....
.

headwaters of the Watauga River are found on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain

Grandfather Mountain is a mountain near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,964 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains....
 in Watauga County, North Carolina
Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 42,695. Its county seat is Boone, North Carolina....
. The river then flows across the Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 state line at Johnson County
Johnson County, Tennessee

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,499. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 18,116 ....
. Crossing into Johnson County, the Watauga River is first impounded by the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, Flood, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression....
 (TVA) Watauga Dam
Watauga Dam

Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, Tennessee, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed....
, creating the Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake

Watauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority of the with completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
.






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The Watauga River is a large stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 of western North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
 and East Tennessee
East Tennessee

East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions defined in state law....
. It is 60 miles (97 km) long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain

Grandfather Mountain is a mountain near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,964 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains....
 in Watauga County, North Carolina
Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 42,695. Its county seat is Boone, North Carolina....
.

Hydrography

The headwaters of the Watauga River are found on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain

Grandfather Mountain is a mountain near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,964 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains....
 in Watauga County, North Carolina
Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 42,695. Its county seat is Boone, North Carolina....
. The river then flows across the Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 state line at Johnson County
Johnson County, Tennessee

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,499. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 18,116 ....
. Crossing into Johnson County, the Watauga River is first impounded by the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, Flood, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression....
 (TVA) Watauga Dam
Watauga Dam

Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, Tennessee, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed....
, creating the Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake

Watauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority of the with completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
. This earth impoundment of the Watauga River receives two important tributaries, the Elk River
Elk River (North Carolina)

The Elk River rises in Avery County, North Carolina just south of the small community of Elk Park, North Carolina on U.S. Route 19E. in Pisgah National Forest....
 and Roan Creek
Roan Creek

Roan Creek rises on the Tennessee and North Carolina border, in Johnson County, Tennessee, near the town of Trade, Tennessee. It flows through Cherokee National Forest to join the Watauga River in Watauga Lake, the reservoir behind Watauga Dam....
, whose former valley of bottom land forms a very large embayment of Watauga Lake.

Watauga Lake is bridged by Tennessee State Route 67
Tennessee State Route 67

State Route 67 is a state-maintained highway in East Tennessee, including a four-lane divided highway segments in both Washington County, Tennessee and Carter County, Tennessee, and part of a significant two-lane segment passing over the Butler Bridge some above the Tennessee Valley Authority near Butler, Tennessee in Johnson County, Tennes...
 at Butler Bridge just as the watercourse enters Carter County, Tennessee
Carter County, Tennessee

Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 56,742. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 58,865....
. The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine....
 crosses the Watauga River at Watauga Dam.

Just below Watauga Dam on the Horseshoe section of the Watauga River is the TVA Wilbur Dam
Wilbur Dam

Wilbur Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, Tennessee, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of two dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority....
, an impoundment which forms a much smaller but very deep reservoir known as Wilbur Lake that releases approximately of discharged water back into the Watauga River during the summer months.

The Watauga River flows generally north and then west into Carter County where it forms the northern limits of Elizabethton
Elizabethton, Tennessee

Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site of the first independent Human settlement on American soil and located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British colonization of the Americas....
, where the Watauga then receives the Doe River
Doe River

The Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County, Tennessee near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park....
. Further downstream on the Watauga River at the boundary between Carter County and Washington County
Washington County, Tennessee

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 107,198. Its county seat is Jonesborough, Tennessee....
 is the old TVA Watauga Steam Plant.

A considerable portion of the boundary line between Washington County and Sullivan County
Sullivan County, Tennessee

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 153,048. Its county seat is Blountville, Tennessee....
 is formed by the Watauga River. Boone Lake is located below the slackwater confluence of both the downstream end of the Watauga River and the South Holston River
Holston River

The Holston River is a major river system of Southwest Virginia Virginia and East Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee....
. The distance afloat between the TVA Watauga Reservoir and Boone Lake is approximately .

History

The word "Watauga" comes from the Cherokee
Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native Americans in the United States people orginally from the Southeastern United States . They are linguistically connected to speakers of the Iroquoian language....
, who had several towns so named, including one at present-day Elizabethton, which became known as "Watauga Old Fields", first explored by Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone [October 22 , 1734 – September 26, 1820] was an American pioneer and hunting whose frontier exploits made him one of the first Folklore of the United States of the United States....
 and James Robertson
James Robertson (early American)

James Robertson was a North Carolina farmer and explorer of the 18th century. He was born in Brunswick County, Virginia, Virginia, of Scottish-Irish descent....
 in 1759. A larger Cherokee town called Watauga was located on the Little Tennessee River
Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States United States....
 near Franklin, North Carolina
Franklin, North Carolina

Franklin is an incorporated town located in Franklin Township, within the Nantahala National Forest, in Macon County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,490....
. The Cherokee word is more accurately written Watagi. Other common spellings include Watoda, Wattoogee, and Whatoga. A North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public university, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States....
 web page (The Watauga Medal) cites that the word "Watauga" is a Native-American word meaning "the land beyond", however local reference to the name origin is attributed to the meaning "beautiful river" or "beautiful water".

The original settlers of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
, set out from the Watauga River area, called the Watauga Association
Watauga Association

The Watauga Association was a semi-autonomous government from 1772 to 1777 in what is now East Tennessee. The settlers negotiated a ten-year lease of the land from the Cherokee in 1772 and, being beyond the jurisdiction of any existing government, established their own....
, during the American Revolution
American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the British Empire and then rejected the British monarchy to become the sovereign United States of America....
 when they realized that the British
Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
 Proclamation of 1763 forbidding settlement of its colonists west of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a Physiographic regions of the world of the larger Appalachian Mountains division. The province consists of the Northern and Southern physiographic sections, which divide near the Roanoke River gap....
 was essentially unenforceable.

Wibur Dam is the site of first hydroelectric dam constructed in Tennessee (beginning in 1909), going online with power production and distribution in 1912. It was constructed by the former Tennessee Electric Power Company, a privately-owned utility purchased by TVA in the late 1930s. Elizabethton acquired the moniker "City of Power" because of the early local access to hydro-generated electricity from Wilbur Dam.

Recreation

Whitewater rafting, kayaking
Whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater....
, canoeing
Canoeing

Canoeing is the activity of Watercraft paddling a canoe for the purpose of recreation , sport, or Human-powered transport. It usually refers exclusively to using a paddle to propel a canoe with only human muscle power....
, fly fishing
Fly fishing

Fly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method, most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but employed today for a wide variety of species including Esox, bass , panfish, and carp, as well as ocean species, such as Red drum, Common snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass....
, and angling
Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" .The hook is usually attached by a fishing line to a fishing rod. A Float such as a Float is sometimes used....
 with fishing reel
Fishing reel

A fishing reel is a device used for the deployment and retrieval of a fishing line using a spool mounted on an axle. Fishing reels are traditionally used in the recreational sport of angling....
s are all popular recreation activities pursued on the Watauga River. Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States....
, brown trout
Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species.They are distinguished chiefly by the fact that the brown trout is largely a fresh water fish, while the sea trout shows anadromous reproduction, migrating to the oceans for much of its life and returning to freshwater only to Spawn ....
, and striped bass
Striped bass

The striped bass is the List of U.S. state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state Saltwater fish of New York....
 are all caught in the Watauga River.

Whitewater

The Watauga River downstream of the TVA dams draws commercial rafting outfitters from both northeast Tennessee and western North Carolina during the summer months and commercial fishing guides throughout the year.The picturesque Class II+
International Scale of River Difficulty

The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river....
 Bee Cliff Rapids
Bee Cliff (Tennessee)

The Bee Cliff is a prominent northeast Tennessee geological limestone feature with high caves that overlooks the Watauga River and the Siam community of Carter County, Tennessee....
 on the Watauga River (also referred to the "Anaconda Rapids" by some North Carolina-based rafting companies) are found downstream between Wilbur Dam and the Siam Bridge, southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton, Tennessee

Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site of the first independent Human settlement on American soil and located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British colonization of the Americas....
.

For commercial whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Watauga River, the most popular Carter County "put-in" for is immediately downstream of the TVA Wilbur Dam, and the most popular "take-out" is 2 to 2½ hours downstream (depending upon the volume of the reservor release and other factors) at the Blackbottom riverside portion of the city linear trail park in Elizabethton.

The distance afloat for paddlers from the put-in at Wilbur Dam to the Blackbottom take-out is approximately seven miles with landmarks along the Watauga River providing good estimate of time and distance traveled.
Wilbur Dam to Bee Cliff Rapids- 15 minutes
Wilbur Dam to Siam Bridge- 45 minutes
Wilbur Dam to Hunter Bridge (TWRA put-in/take out)- 75 minutes
Wilbur Dam to Gilbert Peters Bridge at US 19-E in Elizabethton- 105 minutes
Wilbur Dam to Bristol Bridge in Elizabethton- 135 minutes


The Watauga also has a section of Class IV-V
International Scale of River Difficulty

The International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river....
 whitewater popular with expert kayakers, upstream of Watauga Lake. This section requires significant rainfall to bring it up to runnable levels. It features continuous steep boulder bed rapids dropping up to , and several falls and ledges only runnable by expert paddlers.

TVA recreation areas


The Tennessee Valley Authority maintains a self-service public campground below Watauga Dam. Amenities and recreational opportunities at the TVA Watauga Dam Tailwater Campground include 29 camp sites with electric hookups, rest rooms with heated showers and flush toilets, dump station, public phone, picnic tables and grills, canoe access, boat ramps above and below dam, lake and river fishing
Fishing

Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Fishing techniques include Fish net, Fish trap, Spearfishing, angling and Gathering seafood by hand. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as different types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, Edible frog and some edible marine invertebrates....
, hiking
Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on trail. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous :Category:Hiking organizations worldwide....
 trail
Trail

A trail is a path or road used for walking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or other activities. Some trails are off-limits to everyone other than hikers, and a few trails allow motorized vehicles....
, walking trail, wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
 viewing area, birdwatching
Birdwatching

Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars....
.

Influence of weather


The Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, Flood, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression....
 (TVA) regulates flow of the Watauga River by scheduling the release of deep, impounded reservoir waters from behind both the TVA Watauga Dam and the TVA Wilbur Dam. As a result, the summer temperature of the Watauga River is approximately downstream of the TVA dams. The Watauga River is generally comfortable for kayaking
Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking is generally differentiated from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle....
, canoeing
Canoeing

Canoeing is the activity of Watercraft paddling a canoe for the purpose of recreation , sport, or Human-powered transport. It usually refers exclusively to using a paddle to propel a canoe with only human muscle power....
, and rafting during the summer months, but care must be taken to prevent hypothermia
Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which an organism's temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism and bodily functions. In warm-blooded animals, core body temperature is maintained near a constant level through biologic homeostasis....
 by prolonged exposure to the cold river water.

As TVA also guarantees a minimum release schedule during the summer season for rivine recreation below the TVA Wilbur Dam, the Watauga River will draw commercial whitewater rafting companies from distant rivers ---such as the Nolichucky River
Nolichucky River

The Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee....
 runnng through Erwin, Tennessee
Erwin, Tennessee

Erwin is a town in and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,610 at the 2000 United States Census....
 in Unicoi County
Unicoi County, Tennessee

Unicoi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,667. Its county seat is Erwin, Tennessee. Unicoi is a Cherokee Native Americans in the United States word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped."...
--- when lack of adequate summer rain fall will not allow for rafting trips on these naturally flowing rivers during seasonal droughts
Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
.

Climate of Watauga River at Elizabethton, Tennessee
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
Avg °F(°C)
34.0°F 1.1°C
37.4°F 3.0°C
47.2°F 8.4°C
55.2°F 12.9°C
63.4°F 17.4°C
71.1°F 21.7°C
74.4°F 23.6°C
73.6°F 23.1°C
67.9°F 19.9°C
56.7°F 13.7°C
47.0°F 8.3°C
38.2°F 3.4°C
55.5°F 13.1°C
Avg high °F(°C)
43.7°F 6.5°C
48.0°F 8.9°C
58.9°F 14.9°C
67.4°F 19.7°C
75.2°F 24.0°C
82.2°F 27.9°C
84.6°F 29.2°C
84.1°F 28.9°C
79.1°F 26.2°C
69.1°F 20.6°C
58.2°F 14.6°C
48.1°F 8.9°C
66.6°F 19.2°C
Avg low °F(°C)
24.3°F
-4.3°C
26.8°F
-2.9°C
35.4°F 1.9°C
43.0°F 6.1°C
51.6°F 10.9°C
59.9°F 15.5°C
64.1°F 17.8°C
63.1°F 17.3°C
56.6°F 13.7°C
44.2°F 6.8°C
35.9°F 2.2°C
28.2°F -2.1°C
44.4°F 6.9°C
Rain (inches)
3.2 in.
3.4 in.
3.7 in.
3.3 in.
3.8 in.
3.5 in.
4.3 in.
3.2 in.
3.3 in.
2.6 in.
2.9 in.
3.4 in.
40.7 in.
Snow (inches)
5.2 in.
4.2 in.
2.3 in.
0.4 in.
0.05 in.
0.05 in.
0.0 in.
0.0 in.
0.05 in.
0.0 in.
0.9 in.
2.6 in.
15.6 in.
Sources for Watauga River at Elizabethton (Bristol-Johnson City, Tennessee) climate statistics:
climate-zone.com


See also