1. Georgia’s Rivers Doug Oetter and Chris Skelton
Dept. of History and Geography
Dept. of Biology and Environmental Science
Georgia College & State University

2. Georgia’s Physiographic Provinces
Cumberland Plateau
Blue Ridge
Ridge and Valley
Piedmont
Coastal Plain

3. Georgia’s Watersheds River headwaters in higher elevations
Flow Southeast and Southwest to Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico

4. Blue Ridge Constrained channels underlain by bedrock
Generally clear and cool flow from forested watersheds
High energy but with low flow due to smaller catchment basin
Waterfalls

5. Ridge and Valley
Ranging from clear to colored, depending on watershed conditions and human activities
Moderate flood potential
Highly variable flow

6. Piedmont Constrained channels over bedrock
Water discolored by sediments from mining, construction, and agriculture
Moderate energy with increasing flood potential due to large catchments
Shoals and rapids
Hydropower potential

7. Coastal Plain Unconstrained channels meandering over deep sediments
Ranging from highly colored by sediments to clear and blackwater rivers tinted with tannic acid
Very large flows with broad flood plains
Estuaries

8. Georgia’s Main Rivers Ogeechee
“River of the Uchees,” a sub-tribe of the Creek Confederation
St. Mary’s
Spanish mission Santa Maria de Guadeloupe, founded in 1568
Satilla
Once named Riviere Somme; renamed ‘St. Illa’ by a Spanish explorer of the same name
Savannah
“River of the Shawnees”
Suwannee
Creek word suwani, or “echo”
Tallapoosa
Unknown Creek word, possibly from Choctaw for “crushed rock”
Tennessee
Cherokee place name
Altamaha
Yamassee Indian chief Altamaha, named by DeSoto in 1540
Chattahoochee
Creek for “flowered stones”
Coosa
Cherokee name for the Upper Creeks of the region
Flint
Thronateeska, “flint-picking-up-place”
Ochlockonee
Hitchiti for “yellow water”
Ocmulgee
Creek for “bubbling water”
Oconee
From Oconee Old Town

9. Average Flows

10. Name
Longterm flow (ft3/s)
ALTAMAHA RIVER AT DOCTORTOWN, GA
23,000
SAVANNAH RIVER NEAR CLYO, GA
14,700
FLINT RIVER AT BAINBRIDGE, GA
13,500
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR COLUMBIA, AL
13,400
SAVANNAH RIVER AT AUGUSTA, GA
11,150
COOSA RIVER NEAR ROME, GA
9,355
FLINT RIVER AT ALBANY, GA
9,020
OCMULGEE RIVER AT LUMBER CITY, GA
8,795
OCONEE RIVER AT DUBLIN, GA
6,600
OCONEE RIVER AT MILLEDGEVILLE, GA
4,030
OCMULGEE RIVER AT MACON, GA
3,860
OGEECHEE RIVER NEAR EDEN, GA
3,520
SATILLA RIVER AT ATKINSON, GA
2,780
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT ATLANTA, GA
2,740
OHOOPEE RIVER NEAR REIDSVILLE, GA
1,820
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT BUFORD DAM, NEAR BUFORD, GA
1,620

11. Outline History of Georgia’s Rivers
Native uses
Early commerce
Steamboat era
Flooding
River decline
Dam-building period
River resurgence

12. Native American Uses Drinking water Food Transportation Settlement
Fall Line communities
Resources of both Coastal Plain and Piedmont

13. Early Commerce Exploration Trading Minerals Timber extraction
Hydropower (grist and lumber mills)

14. Steamboat Era Begun in late 1820’s Continued until late 1930’s
Rivers developed for commerce
Grain
Lumber
Manufactured goods
Cotton
Continued until late 1930’s
Displaced by road transportation

15. Flood Damage
Severe flooding aggravated by sediment accumulation in river channel from massive soil erosion

16. River Decline Sedimentation Untreated sewage
Phosphates and municipal waste
Nitrates
Industrial pollutants
Removal of riparian vegetation

17. Dams and Reservoirs U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoirs
Allatoona Lake
Carters Lake
J. Strom Thurmond Lake
George W. Andrews Lake
Hartwell Lake
Richard B. Russell Lake
Lake Seminole
Lake Sidney Lanier
Walter F. George Lake
West Point Lake
Powerplant cooling reservoirs
Other small dams

18. Resurgence of Georgia’s Rivers
Clean Water Act
Pollution control
Sewage treatment
Recreation and Wildlife Values Riverfront Redevelopment