Pigeon River (Tennessee–North Carolina)

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.

Pigeon River
The confluence of the Pigeon River and Big Creek in Waterville, North Carolina. The power plant is in the background.
Pigeon River watershed
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina, Tennessee
Physical characteristics
SourceWest Fork Pigeon River
 • locationbelow Mount Hardy in Haywood County, North Carolina
 • coordinates35°18′11″N 82°55′05″W[1]
 • elevation5,320 ft (1,620 m)
2nd sourceEast Fork Pigeon River
 • locationbelow South Spring Top in Haywood County, North Carolina
 • coordinates35°19′37″N 82°49′47″W[2]
 • elevation4,190 ft (1,280 m)
Source confluence 
 • locationsouth of Canton, North Carolina
 • coordinates35°28′43″N 82°52′55″W[3]
 • elevation2,644 ft (806 m)
MouthFrench Broad River
 • location
Irish Bottoms in Cocke County, Tennessee
 • coordinates
36°01′28″N 83°11′47″W[3]
 • elevation
1,001 ft (305 m)[3]
Length70 mi (110 km)[4]
Basin size704 sq mi (1,820 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationNewport, Tennessee, 6.8 miles (10.9 km) above the mouth(mean for water years 1945–1983)[6]
 • average1,256 cu ft/s (35.6 m3/s)(mean for water years 1945–1983)[6]
 • minimum38 cu ft/s (1.1 m3/s)October 1952[6]
 • maximum50,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m3/s)February 1902[6]

The river takes its name from the passenger pigeon, an extinct bird whose migration route once included the river valley in North Carolina.[7]

Course

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.

History

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 180 ft (55 m) high by 800 ft long. The brick power plant (visible from I-40) is actually 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the dam. A tunnel 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long stretches from the dam to the power plant.[8]

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.[9][10] 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.[11]

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.[12] This issue came up again during the 2000 Presidential election.

Recreation

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.[13]

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: West Fork Pigeon River
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: East Fork Pigeon River
  3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pigeon River
  4. U.S. Geological Survey. Waynesville, NC. 1:24,000.
  5. "Pigeon River Watershed (06010106) of the Tennessee River Basin: Watershed Water Quality Management Plan, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website, 2010. Retrieved at archive.org: 7 June 2015.
  6. United States Geological Survey, Water Resources Data Tennessee: Water Year 1979, Water Data Report TN-79-1, p. 136. Gaging station 03461500.
  7. Burnette, Edie (4 December 2008). "Video, Books Recount Pigeon Valley History". Asheville Citizen-Times.
  8. "Walters Dam". sections.asce.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  9. Studenc, Bill (21 August 2008). "Clyde Is Back after '04 Floods". Asheville Citizen-Times.
  10. Dale, Neal (7 May 2005). "Canton Cleanup Impresses Perdue: Lt. Gov. Tours Flood Comeback". Asheville Citizen-Times.
  11. Schlosser, Jim (19 September 2004). "Portions of I-40 Closed Indefinitely, DOT Says". Greensboro News & Record.
  12. Isikoff, Michael (23 November 1997). "Gore's Pollution Problem". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  13. "Walter's Power Plant at Waterville to Bridge at Hartford". American Whitewater. 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
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