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Length: 1050 kilometres (650 miles); basin area: 106,000 square kilometres (41,000 square miles). Tributaries are: Holston, French Broad, Little Tennessee, Hiwassee, Paint Rock, Duck, and Ocoee (Toccoa), Clinch, Flint, Sequatchie, and Elk. Main cities are: Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee and Florence in Alabama. The drainage basin covers parts of seven states. Half of the basin is in the state of Tennessee, but Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky also have parts of the basin in their territories. The river, which is the fourth largest in the United States in terms of stream flow, follows a U-shaped course, mainly through the southern Appalachians. It begins in the area of the Cumberland and Blue Ridge Mountains, flows south and west to the north of the Great Smoky Mountains, dips into Alabama and then flows north to join the Ohio. The highest point on the river is just over 900 m (3000 feet). The height of the confluence of the Tennessee with the Ohio is just over 90 m (300 feet). Shoals and rapids on all but the lower Tennessee, meant that it was not a navigable river. This means that its use was limited compared to other rivers (like the Ohio) that cut through the Appalachians. It was therefore never important in the westward migration of people. The main feature of the Tennessee follows from its steep gradient and the large amount of rain that can fall on the Appalachian Mountains. This rain rapidly reaches the river and so flooding is common and was often traditionally disastrous. The first attempt to improve the river was made in 1918, when a dam was proposed at the worst obstruction to navigation, the Muscle Shoals in Alabama. Alongside the dam was a hydroelectric power plant and this gave the power for two nitrate factories. Many people opposed the government's attempts to help the development of the region using public funds. But, with high unemployment and widespread poverty a pressing problem, the government pressed on. Eventually, under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had a keen interest in the land, this led to the founding of the TVA in 1933. The TVA was thus more than simply an attempt to improve the navigation. It was an attempt by the government to create jobs and raise the living standards of one of the poorest areas of the country. Furthermore it was designed to reduce disastrous soil erosion and provide a source of electric power. In short it was a grand comprehensive plan that recognized the drainage basin as a fundamental unit to work with. The massive program that followed included building dams, hydroelectric power plants, flood-control and soil conservation projects. Since the building of the dams there have been no major floods in the valley. The improvements of the navigation caused a steady increase in river trade. A system of high-lift locks now connects the lakes created by the dams, giving a waterway with a 3 m (9 feet) depth for 100 kilometres (600 miles). The electricity produced from the water spilling through the dams is a bonus and gives cheap electricity to the region. This, too, encouraged the setting up of industry and therefore an increase in employment. A similar spin-off was the use of the reservoirs as recreational lakes. The lakes have caused a considerable rise in the number of tourists visiting the area. Before the TVA, the area was also infested with mosquitos and hence malaria. The TVA helped to eliminate this problem. The TVA set out pioneering principles for improving worn-out land. It set up thousands of demonstration farms. It reforested more than 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land that was severely eroded. The TVA was not just a pilot project on river basin management for the United States, but also for the world. As a result, the progress of the TVA (which is ongoing) is known world-wide and the principles developed for managing the basin have been copied in many other countries. |
