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Length: 500 kilometres (300 miles). Tributaries include: Broad River, Little River, Brier Creek. The Savannah River is one of the main rivers flowing eastward from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. Its headwaters are the Tugaloo and Seneca rivers, which meet to form the Savannah at the Hartwell Dam, Georgia. The name Savannah may come from the Spanish word sabana, meaning plains, although the Spanish explorers originally called it Rio Dulce, meaning Sweet River, while the Native American name was Isondega, meaning Blue Water. For part of its course the Savannah River forms the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. The city of Savannah is a port on the Savannah River estuary. The city of Augusta is much larger and lies on the Fall Line, the point where the steep upper reach of the river changes to the much less steeply sloping coastal plains reach. The Savannah flows from the Appalachians across the hills of the Piedmont Plateau and then falls down the scarp slope of the Fall Line. Below this point the river flows over the coastal plain and is navigable. Augusta is at the head of navigation. The river has been controlled to prevent flooding, aid navigation below Augusta and for hydroelectric power. The main reservoirs are above Augusta at Hartwell and Clark Hill. There are 11 dams on the river above Augusta. The Savannah River also has a nuclear plant (Savannah River Plant) which uses the river for cooling water. Augusta is a river port and manufacturing city built on the Fall Line. It was established as a fur-trading post in 1735 by General James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia. The fort was named for Princess Augusta, mother of England's George III. The Fall Line position made Augusta an early industrial town, using water power for its mills. As a result it became larger than Savannah. The city of Savannah is built on a flat river terrace that provides dry land close to the river some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the coast. Savannah was founded by General Oglethorpe in 1733, some two years earlier than Augusta and became his main base. It was thus built as a colonial city during the 18th century and retains many fine buildings from this time. The city and its sheltered port site allowed it to export cotton and other goods across the Atlantic. Because of its strategic position controlling the river access to the hinterland, it became the seat of government when Georgia was made a royal province in 1754. In 1777 Savannah became the capital of the colony of Georgia.
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