| Coosawattee River | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Georgia |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Gilmer, Gordon, & Murray |
| Length: | 49.3miles |
| Source1: | Cartecay River |
| Source1 Location: | White Path, Georgia |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 34.729°N -84.347°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 3079feet |
| Source2: | Ellijay River |
| Source2 Location: | Blue Ridge, Georgia |
| Source2 Coordinates: | 34.86°N -84.331°W |
| Source2 Elevation: | 1699feet |
| Mouth: | Oostanaula River |
| Mouth Location: | at Carters Lake |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 34.6051°N -84.6333°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1073feet |
| Basin Size: | 860mi2 |
| Tributaries Left: | Coley Creek, Harris Creek, Camp Branch, Lewis Branch, Camp Branch, Talking Rock Creek, Duke Creek, Dry Creek, Salacoa Creek, and Crane Eater Creek |
| Tributaries Right: | Mountaintown Creek, Tails Creek, Goble Branch, Woodring Branch, Fisher Creek, Willbanks Branch, Mineral Springs Branch, Rock Springs Branch, Sugar Branch, Noblet Creek, Dry Creek, and Vanns Creek |
The Coosawattee River is a 49.3adj=midNaNadj=mid[1] river located in northwestern Georgia, United States.
The river is noted as beginning 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 (It in turn is a tributary of the Coosa 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 behind the dam. (The lake is located mostly in Gilmer County). Completed in 1977, Carters Dam is the tallest earthen dam east of the Mississippi River.[2] The Coosawattee River leaves the dam flowing west (directly into the Reregulation Reservoir). It serves as the Murray-Gordon County line before entering Gordon County.
Near New Echota, a late capital of the Cherokee Nation (1794-1907) before removal in 1838, the Coosawattee meets the Conasauga River. They form the Oostanaula River, a tributary of the Coosa River.[3]
This area was the center of Cherokee Nation territory in north Georgia and southeastern Tennessee. In the early 1820s, after having migrated from eastern Tennessee after being forced by the United States to cede their lands there, they made New Echota their capital.
The Coosawattee Foundation was established in 1987 to protect and preserve Native American resources, primarily in the American Southeast. In addition to conducting excavations, it has initiated a variety of educational programs and lobbied for policy and programs to support this mission. It is based in Calhoun, Georgia.[4]