| Pigeon River | |
| Map: | Pigeon River watershed.jpg |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | North Carolina, Tennessee |
| Length: | 70miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Newport, Tennessee, 6.8miles above the mouth(mean for water years 1945–1983)[2] |
| Discharge1 Min: | 38cuft/sOctober 1952 |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 1256cuft/s(mean for water years 1945–1983)[3] |
| Discharge1 Max: | 50000cuft/sFebruary 1902 |
| Source1: | West Fork Pigeon River |
| Source1 Location: | below Mount Hardy in Haywood County, North Carolina |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 35.3031°N -82.9181°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 5320feet |
| Source2: | East Fork Pigeon River |
| Source2 Location: | below South Spring Top in Haywood County, North Carolina |
| Source2 Coordinates: | 35.3269°N -82.8297°W |
| Source2 Elevation: | 4190feet |
| Source Confluence Location: | south of Canton, North Carolina |
| Source Confluence Coordinates: | 35.4786°N -82.8819°W |
| Source Confluence Elevation: | 2644feet |
| Mouth: | French Broad River |
| Mouth Location: | Irish Bottoms in Cocke County, Tennessee |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 36.0244°N -83.1964°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1001feet |
| Basin Size: | 704sqmi[4] |
The Pigeon River of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina, is impounded by Walters Dam, enters Tennessee, and flows into the French Broad River, just past Newport, Tennessee. The river traverses the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest, and drains much of the northeastern Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The river takes its name from the passenger pigeon, an extinct bird whose migration route once included the river valley in North Carolina.[5]
The Pigeon River arises in southeastern Haywood County, North Carolina, and flows basically northwest for most of its length. However, near Pressley Mountain it turns northeast for about four miles and in the town of Canton, where it is utilized by the local paper mill, it turns north. After Canton it turns almost due west for about five miles, before resuming its northwest trend at about Clyde. From Canton, the Pigeon River flows roughly parallel to Interstate 40 for many miles. It is impounded by the Walters Dam of Progress Energy creating the long, narrow Waterville Lake. It enters Tennessee just after the village of Waterville, and continues with I-40 in the same valley northwestward through Hartford to Newport, where I-40 heads west, and the Pigeon River flows north into the French Broad River.
The Pigeon River dam was started in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The project was started by Carolina Power & Light and was completed by its affiliate Phoenix Electric Co. The concrete dam is 180feet high by 800 ft long. The brick power plant (visible from I-40) is actually 6.2miles from the dam. A tunnel 6.2miles long stretches from the dam to the power plant.[6]
The floods following the series of storms spawned by Hurricanes Frances and Ivan in September 2004 have changed the character of the river. The rains lasted days and flooding was severe. Portions of the towns of Canton and Clyde were completely underwater, and there was significant damage to a large portion of both towns.[7] [8] Farther upstream the water levels reached unprecedented levels. Part of Interstate 40 collapsed into the river gorge because of the force of the floodwaters. This began when trees on the hill beside the highway fell in the river, followed by the soil the trees had held in place. The shoulder gave way, and a guardrail ended up just hanging.[9]
A large paper mill (once part of Champion International Paper and now the Blue Ridge Paper Company) in Canton was the primary source of considerable dioxin and particulate matter pollution discharged into the Pigeon River. The pollution situation in the river became a minor issue in the campaign for the 1988 Presidential election. As Al Gore started his first run for the Presidency, Newsweek magazine reported that Gore was pressured by North Carolina Senator Terry Sanford and Congressman Jamie Clarke to ease up on his campaign against Champion's wastewater discharges into the Pigeon River. According to Newsweek, Gore complied with their request, writing to the United States Environmental Protection Agency to oppose tighter water pollution control requirements.[10] This issue came up again during the 2000 Presidential election.
Recreational rafting is popular in two sections of the river, the Upper and the Lower. Both sections are found in Hartford, Tennessee. The Upper section begins at the powerhouse (located right on the North Carolina/Tennessee border) and features up to Class III+ whitewater rapids. The Lower section features "more modest" waves.[11]