Coosawattee River

Coosawattee River
Coosawattee River in Ellijay, Georgia

The Coosawattee River is a 49.3-mile-long (79.3 km)^[1] river located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Georgia.

The river begins at the confluence of the Ellijay River and Cartecay River in the city of Ellijay in Gilmer County. The river flows west through the foothills of the north Georgia mountains.

In Murray County, the river is impounded by Carters Dam, forming Carters Lake. Completed in 1977, Carters Dam is the tallest earthen dam east of the Mississippi River.^[2] The Coosawattee river leaves the dam flowing west, briefly serving as the Murray-Gordon County line before entering Gordon County. Near New Echota, the Coosawattee meets the Conasauga River to form the Oostanaula River. This is a tributary of the Coosa River.

This area was the center of Cherokee territory in north Georgia and southern Tennessee. In the early 1820s, they made New Echota their capital.

James Dickey used the Coosawattee River as the basis for his fictional "Cahulawassee River" in the novel, Deliverance.

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