DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

TINITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY -_ 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 

DENUDATION AND EROSION 

IN THE 

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION 

AND THE 

MONONGAHELA BASIN 

BY 

LEONIDAS CHALMERS GLENN 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1911 

.CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Introduction ......................................................................................... ~ . . 5 

Physical features of the southern Appalachians....................... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Topography .. _ . _. _ ........... _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ·7 

Geology............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .•. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 8 

Drainage .... __ ............................................................... . . . ............ "....... 8 

Forests .. ........................ ~ ..................................... : . .... ·.. ............ . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Climate ..................... _·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Population .... _ ................. . ........ .. ............. _· . . .. :: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Transportation .............................. _ ...... · ..................... ; ................................ ·-. 10 

Railways........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Roads..................................................... . ............................................ 10 

Rivers ..... ......... . ................ . ............... . ..... . ..... , .... ·.... . ......................... 11 

Relation of industries to erosion and denudation ...................................... . ............ . ....... _. 11 

A.griculture... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Lumbering ................................................................. _.. . ..................... 12 

!fining. ~ ............................... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Power development ... .. ....... _ .... . ..... . .............................. : ............... _ ........ _ . _ 13 

Nature, effects, and remedies of erosion._ .... __ ............ . .............. _ ............................ _ .. __ 15 

Processes ....... ~ .................................................................................. _._ 15 

Erosioh in forested areas ...................... . ................... _ .............................. _ . . . 15 

Erosion on· cleared slopes .................................................... ___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Erosion on flood plains ................................. _ .. _ .......... _ .. _ ........... _._............... 20 

Remedies for erosion on slopes ......................................................... _... . .......... 22 

Remedies for erosion on flood plains._ ...... _ .... _ .............. _ ............. _ ............. _. .... ..... 23 

Erosion at Ducktown, Tenn ....... ___ . __ ....... _ ...... _ . _ .. _ ......... . .... . . ___ ....... _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Changes in stream regimen ......... __ .................................. : .......... _ .............. _.... 25 

Problems involved in the study ........ _ .... _ .... __ ...... . .. _ ....... _._ . ... _ ...... _ .. __ ......... _.... 30 

The agricultural problem ............. _ ..... _ ..... _ ......... _ ....... . ........ __ , ............ _...... 30 

The forest problem. __ . . .. _ . . ..... _ ........ · ___ ................. _ .. _.,_ ............ __ ._ ... __ ...... 30 

Details of conditions in the region ........ . ........................ ~ _ .......... .... .. _____ . _ .. _ . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Method of treatment ......... ... ............................. _ ..... __ ...... _ .. _ . _ ............. _ . _ .. _ _ 31 

Tennessee River basin .... .. ... ............. _ .. __ .................. _ ....................... _ . _ .. _ .. _ . 32 

Holston basin ............... _ ........... _ ........................ _ ..... _ ............ __ . . . . . . . . . . 32 

General.features ........... ... · .... . ................................ _ ............. _ . _ . . . . . . . . . 32 

Holston basin above the mouth of vVatauga River ....... _ ........... ... . ...... .......... ___ ._._ 32 

Watauga River basin ........................ __ .. __ .................. __ . _ .... _. _............. 34 

Upper Watauga basin._ .............. _ ................... _ ... _. ___ ............ . ......... _ 34 

Lower Watauga basin ... ................. _ ....................... _._ .. _.................. 41 

Holston basin below the mouth of Watauga River. ... _ .................... _. _ ....... ___ ...... _.. 41 

Nolichucky basin .... ............. _._ ............ __ .. . .. _ ....... _ ........... . .......... _ ... _ .... _ 43 

General feature~ ............................. __ .... _ ....... ...... _ . _ ..... _ .............. , . . . . 43 

Toe River .... ; ......................... _ .......................................... _ . _ . __ . _ . 45 

Cane River .................................................................. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Little Crabtree Creek ...................................... __ . _ ............•... _ ... _. _....... 47 

Burnsville southward to Mount Mitchell ..... _ .................... _ ................. _......... 48 

.South Toe 'River ... · ......................... _ ......... _ .......................... _ .. _. __ . __ . 48 

North Toe River._._ ........................ _ ............. _ ... __ .................. __ ._ ... __ . 49 

From Cloudland to Magnetic and Bakersville._ .............. ___ . _ ............. _ .. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

French Broad basin .............. _ ............................ _ .... : ...... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

General features .............•............ .' ....... .......... ___ . _ ............... _ ... _ . . . . . . . . . 50 

Upper French Broad basin ..... __ . ___ ...................... _ ........... ............. . .. _ ... _ . 50 

General features ...... _ ................. _ . _ .... __ .............. _ . _ . _ ............. _ . _ .... _ 50 

From Asheville east to Swannanoa Gap . ___ .... _ ................ _ ................... _ . . . . . 51 

From Asheville southeastward to Fruitland, Edneyville, the Blue Ridge, anq Hendersonville. 52 

Between Asheville and Lake Toxaway ..... : ..... . .... __ ......... _ .......... _ ... .. .. _ ... _ _ 53 

Between Asheville and Hot Springs .... _ . __ . _ ......... _ ..... _ ... .. ........ _ .. _ . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

From Hot Springs through the mountain ........ ____ ... _ ..... _. ____ ..... _. __ . ___ ......... 59 

1 
2 CONTENTS. 

Details of conditions in the region-Continued. 

Tennessee River basin-Continued. 

French Broad basin-Continued. 

Great Valley portion of the French Broad basin ... ____ . : . _ ... _ . _ . ___ . ___ .. __ .. ______ . _ . ________ _ 

General conditions ______ . __ .. _ . __ .............. _ . ___ .. _ . _ .. __ ..... ___ . _ . _ ~ __ ..... ___ . __ _ 

Pigeon River basin . .. _ .. _ ....... _ ..... _. _. _. _. __ . _____ . _. __ .. _. __ .... _ .. _. _ ... _. __ . __ . _ Little River basin .... _:._ .... __ ._ ............. _______ ._ .. ______ . _________ . __________________ . ___ _ Little Tennessee River basin ____ . ___ . _________ .. ___ ._. ____ . ___________________ · __ . ___ .. _ ... ______ . 

General features ... __ ______ . ___________________________ ._ ...................... _ ............ . 

Tuckasegee basin .......................................... . ........ . .............. _ ........ . 

Balsam Gap., ..... _ ............ · ........ ... . _ . _ . .. ............. · .......................... . 

Oconalufty River ... _._ ........... . ............................. . .......................... . 

From Highlands southeastward toward Rabun Gap, Ga ... _ .......... _ ................. . ....... . Rabun Gap to BushnelL_ ...... ,._ ........... _ ............................................... . 

From Bushnell down the Little Tennessee .......................... : ....................... _ .. Cheoah River ... . __ .................................. ~ ....... · .............. _ . : . .. · ........... . 

Nantahala River ................. .. ......................................................... . Hiwassee River basin_ .. _ .... _ ................ _ ... _ .............. _ ........ _ ..... _ ............... _. 

General features .... _ ................................... ...... ...... ...... .................. . 

Upper Hiwassee River .. . .............. · ................... , ................. _ ............... . 

From the head to Haysville ........... _ ............. _ ............ _· . . ........ _ .. _ ....... ·_ . 

From Haysville to Murphy. __ .... _. __ .................................................. _ .. . From Murphy to the mouth of the Ocoee._ ... _ ..... _ ................ __ ............. _ ..... . Lower Hiwassee River. __ ........... __ ............. _ ................. .' . _ .... _ ... __ .......... __ 

Ocoee 'River _ ........... , ........ ___ ........ _ ... ___ ...... _. _ ......... ·. __ .... _' _ ............. . 

Ten~~~!t~~e~ :~;e:~~~~~ ~ ~ : ~ : ~ : : ~ : ~ : : : : ~ : ~ ~ : : : : : : : : ; : : ~ : : : : : : : : : : : :·: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ~ : : : : : : : General conditions ...... : ___ ..... _ ...... _ ............................................. _ ...... . Details of conditions ..... ..... _ .. . . .. · .... _ ............... _ ........ _ ................ ~ ........ . 

From Knoxville to Chattanooga .. _ ............ .. .... : .... __ ............................ _ .. 

From Chattanooga to Riverton ............. _ ..................... _ ........... -.- .......... .,_. 

From Riverton to Paducah ...... _ ............... ·_ ...... . ................................. _ Coosa-Alabama River system ..... ___ ._ .............................. _ ......... ___ ... _ ..... __ .. _ ...... . 

Oostanaula basin _ ....................................... : .......... . ....... · .................... . Cohutta Mountain reJion. ......................... _ ....... _ ................................... . Conasauga River. __ ... _ ........... · ................ _ .......... _ ..... _ .. _· ............ ... : ..... . 

Coosawattee River ... .' ..... ... . . .... ..... · .... ... ....... _ .................................... · Etowah River basin .. _ ........................ .... ................ _ ........................ _ ... _ Coosa River from Rome, Ga., to Gadsden, Ala ..................................................... . Coosa River below Gadsden, Ala ........... _ ...................................................... . Chattahoochee drainage basin ............................ _ .. .. ...... ......... __ .............. ___ .... . General conditions ............ _ ........... · .......................... _ ......... ··; ._ ............ _._. Details of conditions._ ............................................................. _ ............ . Savannah River basin .................................................... _ ......................... . General conditions .................. _ ......... · ............ : . ............ _ .. _ . _ .. : .. .. _ ... ....... __ Tallulah River .. _ ... __ ...... _ ..... __ ................ _ ... .... ......... . ......................... . 

From Rabun Gap to Tallulah Falls ................... ~ .................... . ..................... . Chattooga River.~ ...................... _ ..... _ ............ _ ........ .. .................. ..... ___ . Chauga River .................... .. ............. _ ....... .... ............. _ ... ................... . Highlands to Toxaway .. · .. _._ ....................................... ............ . .. .... ......... . Toxaway to Walhalla, .............. · ......... : ...... _ ............................. .- ...... ~ ....... . Tugaloo and Savannah rivers down to Seaboard Air' Line crossing .......... : .. · ..................... . Saluda River basin ............................. _._._ ............. _ .............. _ .................. . Broad River basin ... _ ................ ! ............. _ .. ·. _ ................... : ....................... . General features ................. _ .. _ ............................. _ ...... .. ..... , .............. . Green River basin ............................... _ .... _ ........................................ . 

Between Green and Broad riven . ..... _ ... _ .... ~- ............. ~ ......................... ......... . Above mouth of Buffalo Creek ........ ___ . _ ................... _ . _ . _ " .................. ..... _ .... . 

Tq.e Spartanburg floods ......................................................................... . Catawba River basin ........... .... .... ....................... .......... .... ..................... . __ . General features . _. __ ....... _ ..... __ . .. _ ............... _ ............. _ ....... _. _ .. _ .... _ ..... _ .. 

Linville River .............. ~ .............................. : ............................. -...... . Blowing Rock down, Johns River to Morganton ................................................... . 

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ll3 
CONTENTS. 3 

Details of conditions in the region-Continued. Page. 

Yadkin River basin .............. _ ... ______ ·_ .. ______ .. _ .... :. __ ._................................... 113 

General features ............. . ..... _ .. _ .. _ . _ ............. : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 

Reddie River .. . ... ...................... .. . _ : ............. _ .................... ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 

Mulberry Gap to Wilkesboro ... .. ... _.': ....... : ........... _ ............. _.: ... . . .. . . ·_............... 116 

New River basin ..... ...... _ .. _ ................... _ ...................... _.. . ................... .... 116 

General features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 

Details of conditions ........................... _ .......... _..................................... 117 

Monongahela River basin ... __ . ............ .... . ____ ._._._ ... __ . __ . ___ ..................... _ ....... _.. 121 

General features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 

Y oughiogheny River basin . . _ .... ... . ...... , .................................. _ .... ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 

Cheat River basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 

Tygart Valley River ............................. .. ....... _,_.................................... 123 

West Fork of Monongahela...................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 

Monongahela basin in Pennsylvania ................................. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 

Pittsourg flood of March, 1907........................................ ... ......................... 127 

Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 

Index ..................... . : .............................................. ·............................. 131 
• ILLUSTRATIONS . 

. PLATE t. Columbus Power Company's plant on Chattahoochee River at Columbus, Ga _______________________ _ 

II. Southeast face of Whiteside Mountain, showing rounded precipices of rock. _______________________ _ 

III. A, Incipient gullying of shoestring type in stubble, Buncombe County, N.C.; B, Rapid erosion in deeply decomposed soil mantle near Marion, N. C. ________________ ____ ___________ __________ _ 

IV. A, Old and new flood plains; B, Stream with shifting channeL __ .. _________________ . ___ .......... . 

V. Asheville Plateau as developed in Pigeon River basin 2 miles southeast of Waynesville __ _____ . __ .. 

VI. A, Stream overburdened with waste and aggrading; B, Alluvial soil stripped to the bowlders ... __ . . . 

VII. A, Land covered with sand; B, Hillside terraced to prevent erosion. __________ . ____ _____________ -,-_ 

VIII. A, Brush dams built to check erosion; B, Cobble zone and log training walL ___________ ___ . .. _._ .. ~ IX. A, Alluvial bottom washed away by floods; B, Part of Catawba Valley not injured by floods ______ ;. 

X. A, A European mountain torrent that has been regulated; B, Rock walls built on a steep mountain-side 

field in Europe to keep the soil from eroding __ .. ___ . ___ .... _ .. . ... -... -... -.... ----. ----- --

XI. Map showing drainage basins of the southern Appalachian Mountains __ . ________ .. .. ..... _ .. _ ... . _ 

XII. A,, Power house and bulkhead at Great Falls station of the Southern Power Company, on Catawba 

.River, Chester County, S.C.; B, Portman plant of Anderson (S. C.) Water, Light, and Power 

Company, on Seneca River _____ . ____ ... ___ __ . _. _. _. _________ . _. _ .. . . _ . ............ __ ... . 

XIII. A, Erosion on inside of meander curve; B, Cullasagee River cutting a new channel across a meander 

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'curve .... ___ . __ . ___ .... ______ . __ ....... : ... ________ . __ .. _ . _____ ......... _ .. __ . . . . . . . . . . . . ' 38 

XIV. A, Railway bridge over Nolichucky River at Unaka Springs, Tenn.; B, Same place after the bridge -

and piers were swept away by the flood of May, 1901. ... _______ ......... _ .... ----.- .... -.. -- 44 

XV. A, Nolichucky gorge cut into the Asheville Plateau; B, A well-dissected part of the Asheville Plateau. 46 

XVI. Erosion near Ducktown, Tenn ... _. ___ . ______________ _ ...... _. __________ . __ ........ ___ .. ------.- 78 

XVII. A, Dendritic erosion near Ducktown, Tenn.; B, Surro.undings of houses near Ducktown, Tenn .. -. - 78 

XVIII. Panoramic view of the plateau and escarpment of the Blue Ridge from Coosars Head, S. C ------.-- 108 

XIX. Weather map showing rainfall near Pittsburg, Pa., for 24 hours ending 8 a. m. March 13, 1907-- -.. - 126 

XX. Weather map showing rainfall near Pittsburg, Pa., for 24 hours ending 8 a. m. March 14, 1907------ 126 

XXI. Weather map showing rainfall near Pittsburg, Pa., for 48 hours ending 8 a. m. March 14, 1907------ 126 

FIGURE 1. Map showing areas examined ... _. ___ . ___ : . . ___________ . ___ . ___ : ___ . ____________ .- --.---------- 6 

4 
DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN 

REGION AND IN THE "MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 

By L. c. GLENN. 

INTRODUCTION. 

This report presents a brief summary o£ the results o£ an examination o£ the southern 

Appalachian region during the field seasons o£ 1904 and 1905 and o£ the Monongahela Basin 

in West Virginia and Pennsylvania in 1907, made £or the purpose of studying the effect o£ 

deforestation and consequent erosion o£ the steep mountain slopes on geologic, hydrologic, and 

economic conditions, both in the mountain region itself and in the surrounding areas through 

which the many streams that rise in the high Appalachians flow on their way to the Mississippi, 

the Gulf, or the Atlantic. ' 

In the southern Appalachians a detailed examination was made of an area some 400 miles 

long, reaching £rom a point near Pulaski, V a., southward to Gadsden, Ala., and from 75 to 125 

miles wide, extending £rom the valley o£ east Tennessee, in which Tennessee and Holston Rivers 

flow, eastward across the mountains and out some distance on the Piedmont Plateau. This 

area, which comprises about 35,000 square miles, includes a part o£ southwestern Virginia, · 

the eastern borders o£ Tennessee, the western part of North Carolina, the northwestern part of 

South Carolina, the northern part o£ Georgia, and a portion of northeastern Alabama. In 

West Virginia and Pennsylvania a detailed examination was made o£ the entire basin of the 

Monongahela. \ 

A mor-e cursory examination was made o£ an additional area comprising about 15,000 square 

miles o£ the southern Appalachian region, the work being carried throughout the length of 

several o£ the main rivers that head in the region and flow out across the bordering plains. No 

attempt was made to study the valleys o£ all o£ the many tributaries of these streams. Even had 

such detailed work been possible in the time available, it would not have been desirable, since in 

any portion o£ a major stream basin in which the rocks are homogeneous the features o£ one 

minor tributary are much like those o£ any other. Consequently, selected minor stream basins 

were examined and careful inquiry was made as to others. A comparison o£ the results of 

inquiry with the results of subsequent actual observation has served to check the reports and to 

give, it is believed, an adequate idea o£ the conditions in the entire area. 

It was at first intended to examine only the upper or mountainous portion of the stream 

basins, but in the course of this work it was found that enormous volumes of cobbles, gravels, 

sands, and clays were being shed £rom the steep slopes into the mountain streamlets and were 

working their way down into the major streams, and that the progress o£ this material was 

attended by a train o£ consequences that are disastrous to the owners of the property along the 

streams. To determine what ultimately became o£ all of this material, a study was made of 

the channels of certain major streams after they had left the mountains and were crossing the 

plains well on their way to the sea. 

Tennessee River was followed to its mouth, over 700 miles, from the mountains at its 

he~dwaters. Tlie Coosa-Alabama River was studied as far down as Selma, Ala; Chattahoochee River was followed to a point beyond Atlanta, Ga.; Savannah River down to Calhoun 

Falls, S. C.~ the Broad and Saluda down to Columbia, S. C.; the Catawba 100 miles or more 

5 
6 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

out on the Piedmont Plateau until it had passed the great power plants found along its middle 

course; the Yadkin from its headwaters along the eastern front of the Blue Ridge far out 

across the North Carolina Piedmont. New River was examined in detail as far north as 

Pulaski, V a., and a less detailed examination was made of its lower portion along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and its continuation as the Kanawha to below Charleston, W. Va. A 

o H 1 o 

GULF OF 

100 0 100 200 300 MILES 

~~~c=====~~~~==== 

FIGURE 1.-Map showing areas examined. 

·cursory examination was made of the basin of Elk River, one of the Kanawha's tributaries; from 

its mouth at Charleston, W. Va., up to its headwaters in northern West Virginia. A detailed 

examination of the entire basin of the Monongahela River was made, ending with a study of the 

causes of the disastrous flood of March, 1907, in Pittsburg, Pa. Because of the large proportion 

of their cleared area kept permanently sodded in grass lands, the basins of New a:rid Mononga-
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 7 

hela rivers furnish instructive contrasts, as regards erosion, to the streams farther south, where 

sodded lands are the exception rather than the rule and where erosion is much' more active and 

destructive. 

In examining these rivers attention was centered mainly on their channels and flood plains, 

but considerable information concerning the country adjacent to their courses was also obtained. 

The areas included in the examination are shown in figure 1. 

Where there were roads and trails travel was mainly on horseback; where these were 

lacking, as along wild stream gorges or rough mountain sides, travel was afoot. The larger 

streams in the areas below the mountains proper were traversed by means of rowboat, gasoline 

launch, or river steamer. The region adjacent to nearly every railway in the region was also · 

examined. . 

It is believed that no important body of facts bearing on the subject of the inquiry escaped' 

notice and that the frequency of recurrence of the conditions noted affords a fair measure of 

their relative importance as factors in the changes now in progress in the region. 

Personal observation was supplemented by inquiries made of county officials who were 

familiar with local conditions or whose duty it was to maintain roads and bridges or assess the 

valuation of lands damaged by erosion or by floods. 

Much information was also obtained from lumqermen, land owners, and manufacturers, 

from officers of power, mining, andrailway companies, from river men, including captains and 

pilots of river steamers, and from the United States Army engineers engaged in river improvements in the region. To' all of these the writer's indebtedness is gratefully acknowledged. 

-

PHYSICAL FEATURES O:f THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

TOPOGRAPHY. . 

From the Virginia-North Carolina line the Appalachians extend southwestward 250 miles 

to northern Georgia, where their ridges almost die out, 'but farther southwest they rise again 

and extend some distance into Alabama before they finally disappear. The Appalachian belt 

proper varies in width from 50 to 70 miles. . 

The mountains rise from a base that ranges in elevation on the southeast side from 1,000 to 

1,200 feet above the sea, and on the northwest side from 900· feet in northwest Georgia to 

1,600 feet on the Tennessee-Virginia line. The mountain belt proper is really an elevated 

plateau walled in on its western margin by a higher mountain range from :which numerous 

short spurs project out upon its general surface. Here and there on the plateau are other 

short, isolated ranges, one of which, the Black Mountain Range, includes Mouht Mitchell, 

which rises to an ~levation of 6,711 feet and is the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. 

1\-lore than forty peaks rise above 6,000 feet. Almost a hundred square miles are above 5,000 

feet, and almost · half of the North Carolina portion is above 3,000 feet in elevation. Part of 

the eastern edge of the plateau is marked by peaks that rise above its general surface level 

and part by an abrupt escarpment that overlooks the Piedmont Plateau to the east. This 

eastern edge of the mountain plateau region is called the "Blue Ridge." The general surface 

of the Inountain plateau has been carved by streams into a multitude of hills ~nd minor ridges, 

and in this region most of the highest areas lie between the' headwaters of adjacent major 

streams, where erosion is and has always been 'least efficient in lowering the general surfac,e 

level. 

The mountains generally have well rounded soil-clad slopes that show softened. outlines. 

Only here and there do they present abrupt slopes and sheer precipices of bare rock. The profiles are the flowing curves that are characteristic of mature or old mountains rather than the 

abrupt lines of young mountains. · 

The higher summits afford magnificent views of wooded mountain slopes with softly rounded 

outlines or of fertile coves and valleys dotted with fields and homes. Along some river gorges, 

such as the Linville, the Nolichucky, the Doe, the Big Pigeon, the N anta4ala, the Ocoee, 

'. 
8 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

the Tallulah, and the Broad, the mountain walls in many places rise in sheer precipices and 

the scenery is wild and rugged; along others, such as the New, Watauga, French Broad, 

Little Tennessee, Hiwassee, Etowah, Saluda, Catawba, and Yadkin, it is usually less wild and 

rugged but equally .Picturesque and beautiful. 

Except along the river gorges there is usually little in the landscape that is rough and 

rugged~ because deep disintegration has almost everywhere mantled the rock with a soil covering 

that gives to the surface smooth instead of jagged outlines. 

GEOLOGY. 

The rocks of the region are principally gneisses, schists, and granites, but include smaller 

areas of quartzites and limestones, especially in the western part, and volcanic rocks in the 

'northern part. All are an9ient, and in many places thPy have been much folded, crushed, and 

distorted or have been broken and faulted. In the course of the movements that produced the 

distortions many new minerals have been formed in the rocks by chemical rearrangement or 

have been brought into them in solution by circulating water or gases and deposited in cracks 

and fissures. 

Not only are the rocks all ancient, but they have been so long exposed to weathering that 

they have been deeply rotted, and in most of the region the residual material covers the solid 

rock, forming in places a layer many feet deep. This disintegrated rock, when protected from 

erosion, absorbs much of the rainfall and afterward feeds the water slowly to the streams, thus 

regulating the stream flow by preventing floods when heavy rains fall and excessively low 

water when dry seasons come. 

DRAINAGE. 

Th~ region is drained by a multitude of streams whose waters flow to the Ohio, the 

Tennessee, the Gulf of Mexico, ·or the Atla.ntic. The Blue Ridge, lying along the eastern border 

of the mountain belt, forms the main .divide and contains the sources of the principal stream 

systems of the region. New River occupies the northern part of the area under consideration 

and flows northwestward, joining the Ohio as the 1\::anawha. Sol!th of it are the Holston, 

" Tatauga, Nolichucky, French Broad, Big Pigeon, Tuckasegee, Little Tennessee, Hi~assee, and 

Ocoee, all flowing westward and forming a part of the Tennessee system. From the southern · 

end of the Appalachians the Coosa and the Chattahoochee flow southwestward into the Gulf 

of Mexico. · The Savannah, Saluda, Broad, Catawba, and Yadkin rivers rise on the steep 

' eastern face of the Blue Ridge escarpment and flow southeastward into the Atlantic. 

The drainage from the southern Appalachians is thus radial and far-reaching, and the 

f-low of the st~eams directly affects the industries and welfare of the people in much the larger 

part of the southeastern United States. 

l\'Iost of the small headwater streamlets rise high on the steep mountain sides, flow in 

narrow gorges, and descend in a few miles by a series of falls and rapids to an elevation between 

2,000 and 3,000 feet, uniting to form larger streams, which, as a rule, flow without much 

additional fall across the middle part of the mountain plateau in broad, open valleys with 

gently to steeply ' rounded slopes, but which invariably cut deep, narrow gorges through the 

chain that forms the western rim of the mountain plateau. l\fost of the small tributary 

streams in the middle part of the plateau have considerable fall. · 

Water powers of 10 to 50 horsepower exist in almost every part of the region, and a series 

of small mills may be ,found along a single small stream. Few of the larger streams have 

sufficient fall to afford much power until they enter the gorges by which they leave the mountains, where their fall is mainly concentrated and where power may be developed in large units. 

FORESTS. 

The entire region, with the exception of a few high "balds" ~nd an occasional steeply 

rounded scarp or precipice of bare rock, was originally covered with forests which were remark-

~ble for the extraordinary size and height and the wonderful variety . of the trees. About 74 
CLIMATE. 9 

per cent o£ the area is still forested, but large areas have already been stripped o£ much or 

all o£ their valuable timber by reckless lumbering, forest fires, and agricultural butchery. 

Around the southern end o£ the Appalachians short-leaf yellow pine forms a considerable 

part o£ the forest, but elsewhere the cover consists o£ walnut, cherry, poplar (or tulip), oak, 

chestnut, hickory, and many other species on the lower and middle slopes; beech, hemlock, and 

white pine on the higher slopes, and spruce and balsam at greater heights. The trees are 

larger and more perfect on northern slopes and in coves, where the soil is moister, deeper, and 

rjcher. On southern slopes the soil is likely to be dryer and to contain less humus and consequently to be less fertile. The forest there is more open, and both the trees and undergrowth 

are more stunted. These southern slopes, especially along the Blue Ridge, are in many places 

steeper also, and these characteristics all combine to make them more liable to erosion. On 

lands once cut over reproduction of the forest is generally rapid, provided the soil layer has 

not been removed by erosion before the new growth has had time to establish itself. In a 

similar way abandoned old fields that have not been denuded o£ their soil rapidly grow up 

again. 

These southern Appalachian forests form to-day the largest and most valuable hardwood 

area left in the United States and i£ properly cared for they may be made the permanent 

source o£ our national hardwood supply. 

CLIMATE. 

The average rainfall in the northern and northwestern parts o£ the region is in places 

only 40 to 50 inches a year, but on the southeastern slopes o£ the Blue Ridge the annual rainfall 

is greater than in any other part of the United States· except the North Pacific coast. The 

average rainfall in this· part o£ the southern Appalachians is 70 to 80 inches, and the yearly 

maximum exceeds 105 inches. The rainfall is not uniformly distributed throughout the year, 

but reaches a maximum either in July and August or, less commonly, in February and March. 

In summer much o£ it is torrential in character and the downpours may continue several days. 

Not unusually it rains 20 or 25 days in a month, and a month's precipitation may reach or 

exceed 30 inches, and the rainfall in a single day may be as much as 9 inches. In winter a 

considerable amount o£ the precipitation is in the form o£ snow, and by its slow melting this 

snow, ·which remains on sheltered northern slopes £or some time a£te1; it has disappeared in 

the valleys. below, aids greatly in regulating the stream flow. 

The climate o£ the region is much cooler than that o£ the Atlantic slope to the east or the 

Mississippi Valley to the west; it is not, however, the same throughout the entire mountain 

region. Areas close together may differ in elevation more than 5,000 feet and their average temperatures may show differences as marked. On the higher peaks the vegetation is of Canadian 

type. The northern part, in North Carolina and Virginia, is considerably colder, even at the 

same elevation, than the southern end, in Alabama. The southern and southeastern slopes are 

sheltered by the higher crests and chains £rom the cold waves from the interior o£ the continent and have a milder and more equable climate than have the northwestern slopes, which 

are more exposed to cold waves and hence show greater temperature variations than the southeastern· slopes. In summer the temperature may £all as low as 40° on the ,mountain tops, or 

may rise to 75°, 80°, or 85° in the valleys. From December to March the temperature anywhere in the mountain region may drop below zero for a day or two at a time, and minimum 

temperatures of -10°, -15°, and -19° F. are recorded £or the region. The mean monthly 

:winter temperature £or stations at elevations between 3,500 and 4,000 feet ranges from slightly 

below the freezing point to several degrees a hove. 

In summer it is warm everywhere in the direct rays o£ the sun, but is cool in the shade, 

and the nights are cool enough to make blankets necessary. It is said that on some of the 

higher plateaus in the northern part of the region frost has been known to occur every month 

in the year. In winter the climate is cold and dry enough to be bracing, but is not harsh and 

trying, even for delicate constitutions. 
10 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUT-HERN APPALACHIANS. 

The average humidity is not so great as in the surrounding region, but the average rate 

of wind movement is greater. Direct evaporation is consequently more active than on 

the plains. 

The following table gives the monthly precipitation and mean temperature for a number 

of selected stations in the region. 

A.ver_a.ge temperature a'nd precipitation at selected stations . 

..: ~ ... - ~ ~ ~a> >. .0 ..: .0 ~ 

~ .0 ::;lbll 

~ ,d s ~ 

::I 8 l: aS .s .0 ~ s l=l~ "& >. >. bO .s ~ ~ 

l=l .0 l=l p, <:,) 

<:e ~t; ~ <:e <:e ::l '3 ::l ~ e.> 0 ~ 

,.., I'« ~ -< ~ ,.., ,.., -< r:n 0 z A - - --------------

Linville, N.C. (12 yea~) •.. . . . .. . . . ... . ...... . ... .... .. {~. 31 30 40 46 58 63 66 65 59 49 40 32 48° 3.4 5. 3 6. 1 4.6 3. 7 5.3 6.1 5.2 5.6 5.3 3. 9 5. 7 60. 2" 

Lenoir, N.C. (31 years) . . .. . ..... . . . . . .. .. . ... .. . . .. . . . {~. 37 40 46 56 65 72 75 74 66 56 46 38 56° 4. 1 4.5 4.6 3.8 4. 7 4.6 4. 9 5. 9 4.5 3.4 3.2 3. 8 52" 

Waynesville, N. C. (10 years) ..... . .... . ..... . . . ..... .. {~. 37 36 48 52 62 68 70 70 64 54 46 38 54° 

4.3 5.1 6. 4 4.1 3. 7 4.4 4.6 4.5 2.4 2.1 2.5 3.6 47. 7" 

Asheville, N.C. (24 years) •.. .. ..... ... . . . .. ...... .. ... {t. 38 40 46 54 63 69 72 71 65 54 45 39 550 

p. 3.0 3. 7 4.2 3. 4 3.5 4.1 4.9 4.6 2.9 2.6 2. 7 3.0 42.6" 

Highlands, N.c. (21 years) •.•. ...... . . . ...... .. . .. .. . -e· 34 35 42 50 58 65 67 66 60 51 42 35 50° 

p. 6.2 8.5 7. 8 6.5 4.4 6. 9 6.8 7.6 5.8 5.2 5.6 6. 9 78.2" 

Clayton, Ga . e 40 39 50 56 66 72 75 74 68 57 48 40 57° . (10 years) • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · 

p. 5.9 7. 4 7.8 6.3 3.2 5.3 7. 0 7.2 4.9 4.0 3.9 5.6 68. 5" 

Dahlonega, Ga. (10 years) ••. . . ... . . .. . . ... . . . ... . .. ... . {t. 41 41 50 58 67 73 75 75 70 60 50 42 58° p. 5.3 7.0 6.4 4.3 4.2 5.5 5.9 5. 5 4. 5 3.0 3.0 5.3 59.9" 

Elizabethton, Tenn. (p. 14; t. 15 years) ..•..... . ... .. . -{~. 37 37 46 55 65 73. 76 75 68 57 46 38 56° 

2.9 3. 5 4.6 3.4 4.4 7.2 4.6 4.1 2. 7 2.2 2.4 3. 2 45.2" 

Knoxville, Tenn. (33 years) ..... . .... ... . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. {t . 38 41 48 58 66 73 76 75 69 58 47 39 57° 

p. 5.1 4.9 5.6 4. 7 3.8 4.2 4.1 4.1 2.9 2.6 3.6 4.1 49. 7" 

Newport, Tenn. (t. 8; p. 13 years) ....... . . .. .. . . . ... .. {t . 38 40 48 57 66 74 77 76 69 58 46 38 57° 

p. 3. 6 4. 3 5. 4 3.6 4.' 1 4. 2 4.3 4.4 2. 2 1.8 2.6 3.1 43.6" 

t.=temperature, °F .; p. pre ipitation in inches. 

POPULATION. 

The population of the region as a whole averages between 30 and 40 to the square mile. 

Taken by counties, it ranges from 15 to 75 to the square mile. Most of the towns are small, and 

the population is in the main rural. In the towns a small proportion of it is colored; in the 

country it is almost exclusively white and of native parentage, composed of the descendants of 

the pioneers of the colonial days. Very few foreigners live in the region. 

The settlers are most numerous in the valleys, on the low rolling hills of the Asheville 

Plateau, and in the little coves that nestle among the high mountains, but many isolated cabins, 

surrounded by small clearings, are found far up on the steep slopes of such of the higher peaks 

and ridges as have a fertile soil. The more rocky and barren slopes are entirely uninhabited, 

and one may travel for.miles across some of the wilqer mountain areas without seeing a cabin or · 

a clearing. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

RAILWAYS. 

Considered as a whole the railway transportation facilities of these mountains are poor. 

Many of the settlements are 20 to 35 ·miles from the nearest railway, and this distance in some 

areas must be traversed by rocky paths or poor mountain roads. One railway crosses the mountains from east to west about midway their length; another crosses their southern end, and 

these two lines are connected by a line, some 150 miles long, that runs lengthwise along the 

mountains. Several small lines have been extended into the mountains, and two others are 

now under construction acr-oss them from northwest to southeast. For large -lumbering operations narrow-gauge railroads or tramways have been built, and some of these become permanent. 

Many parts of the region, however, will be remote from transportation lines for years to come. 

ROADS. 

Very few of the wagon roads have been graded or otherwise improved, so tha.t hauling by 

wagon is generally slow, difficult, and expensive, yet the price of lumber has ·become so high . I 
RELATION OF INDUSTRIES TO EROSION AND DENUDATION. 11 

that in many places it is hauled 15 to 25 miles, and within this distance of the railways most 

of the good lumber has been cut. As the price rises the practicable hauling distance steadily 

Increases. 

RIVERS. 

The streams are utilized to some extent for floating logs; otherwise there is no river transportation within the region itself, though many of the streams that flow out from the mountains 

unite on the plains to form navigable rivers . . New River joins the Ohio. The Holston, French, 

Broad, Little Tennessee, and Hiwassee, which are navigable in their lower courses through the 

valley of east Tennessee, form Tennessee River, which is navigable 650 miles, from Kpoxville 

to its mouth, and touches in its course Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. 

The Oostanaula, Coosawattee, and Etowah, which flow from the southern end of the mountains, 

become navigable soon after leaving the mountains and unite to form the Coosa, the main head 

member of the Alabama River system, which is now navigable from Rome, Ga., to below Gadsden, Ala., and when the system of locks and dams now under construction is complete will 

become navigable down to the Gulf at Mobile. The lower courses of all of the main rivers on 

the eastern side of the mountains become navigable at the outer edge of the Piedmont Plateau. 

RELATION OF INDUSTRIES TO EROSION AND DENUDATION. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The population is largely agricultural. In the higher mountains grasses grow well and 

grazing is an important industry. Much of the cleared-land there is kept in grass and so is prevented from washing badly, but some of the cleared slopes are so steep that even though kept 

in grass they soon erode to ·the bare rock and become useless wastes. During prolonged wet 

weather the tu:r;f and soil become thoroughly softened, and on steep slopes the hoofs of the cattle 

easily break the turf and start small landslides that quickly develop into gullies. Some of the 

so-called balds, once well sodded, have bec.ome bare, rocky wastes from erosion induced by the 

trampling of cattle. This conversion of sodded balds into rocky wastes is actively in progress 

to-day on the top of Roan Mountain. 

When first cleared, the land is usually planted in corn for about two or three years, is then 

for two or three years put in small grain or grass to be mowed-not grazed-and then back into 

corn for several years. Unless it is well cared for the land has by this time become poor, for it 

has lost its original humus. The soil has become less porous and less able to absorb the rainfall 

and erosion begins. Means are rarely taken to prevent or check this erosion, so it increases 

rapidly and the field is soon abandoned and a new one cleared. · 

When the clearing is intended for grazing, the preliminary rotation practiced by the 

more progressive farmers is nearly the same. Corn is planted 2 years, then meadow for 2 

years, then corn a year, then grass for permanent pasture. This fi~st pastu,re sod usually lasts 

8 or 10 years, when the land is again put in corn for a year, then oats and grasses are sown, 

and the sod is again as good as the first one. When properly cared for and not too 

steep, grazing la~d should be capable of indefinite use. The erosion of such lands is due . 

chiefly to ignorance and neglect, and the remedy is not reforestation but education. Grazing 

lands, however, comprise but a small part of the entire area of cleared land, which has recently 

been estimated by several investigators at 24 per cent of the total mountain area. The writer 

believes that this estimate is approximately correct, but that it errs, if at all, in slightly overstating the cleared area. 

In clearing land only the undergrowth and small trees are as a rule removed. The large 

trees are killed by girdling and left standing. Many fields are worn out and ab~ndoned before 

the trees girdled in its clearing have all fallen. Then new grounds are usually cleared beside 

the abandoned field and the same destructive· process is repeated. 

The clearing of virgin forests for agriculture is going on steadily from year to year to 

replace worn-out, eroded, and abandoned lands. When the region was settled, the more level 
I 12 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

lands along and near the streams were first cleared and those that have been properly cared 

for and are out of the reach of the stream floods h~ ve remained in cultivation and are in good 

condition to-day. After these lands had been largely cleared the steeper slopes were next 

invaded by the axman and then still steeper slopes, so that very much of the land now being 

cleared is too steep for cultivation under present farm practice and should be kept in forests. 

Numerous attempts have been made to estimate the percentage of the area of these mountains that might safely and profitably be cleared for cultivation. These estimates average 

about 15 per cent. It is difficult to give any definite estimate of such area, for the allowable 

· limit of slope of lands that may be safely cleared-which is generally put at 10° and which 

alone has usually been considered-is not the only factor of the problem, for the nature of the 

soil, which is dependent on the geology of the underlying rock formations, and the intelligence 

and care of the cultivator should also be considered. · On some soils 10° may be the maximum 

slope for safe cultivation; ori other soils slopes of 20° do not wash. Slopes themselves may be 

changed by terracing, and education may so greatly increase the intelligence and care of the 

cultivator that estimates of cultivable area that consider these varying factors must of necessity 

vary, and the variation tends to increase the estimate of cultivable area as time passes. The 

increase, however, must be slow, and for present methods of cultivation 18 to 20 per cent is 

probably a liberal estimate for the area ·that may be cleared safely. The present cleared area, 

24 per cent, is undoubtedly in excess of the limit of safety under the existing conditions of 

agriculture. · 

Tobacco growing has in the past been peculiarly injurious to the soil. The plant requires 

clean cultivation, and when planted year after year soon exhausts the fertility of the soil, 

depletes the humus, and leads to erosion and early abandonment. Some 15 or 20 years ago 

tobacco growing became quite profitable in some sections and lands were rapidly cleared, 

. worked in tobacco a few years, worn out, and abandoned. The effect of this clearing and 

cultivation on the streams in general will be discussed later. 

LUMBERING. 

Lumbering has been so active in this region that practically all the timber that is easily 

accessible to the railway or to streams large enough to float it has been cut. As prices of lumber 

have advanced the mills have been moved farther back from the railroads until now a part of 

the product of the small mills is hauled 15 to 25 miles over rough mountain roads, and the 

owners of the larger mills have built their own logging railways or tram roads back into the 

heart of even the more distant mounta1ns. 

Most of the valuable timber has already passed into the hands of lumbermen, who are now 

actively buying lands in even the most remote and almost inaccessible localities.. Prices of 

timber lands are rapidly advancing, and if cutting is continued at the present rate the primeval 

forests of these southern mountains will soon be a thing of the past. 

A few large forest tracts are being preserved by private individuals or corporations or are 

being lumbered according to modern conservative methods, but except in these few areas 

lumbering is carried on so as to yield the largest possible im'mediate returns without thought or 

care for the future. 

In recent years a number of large tanneries and several tanning-extract plants have been 

established in the region, and these insure the destruction of most of the chestnut, chestnut 

oak, and oak left by the lumbermen. Recently, also, one o~ the largest wood-pulp plants in the 

country has been built in the region and has begun to strip the forests and to pollute the stream 

on which it is located. 

Forest fires may follow in the wake of the lumberman and complete the destruction of the 

young growth, and th_e blackened waste may be abandoned to the county as not worth pay{ng 

taxes on. In many places destructive forest fires have not occurred and there the young growth 

retains possession of the land and begins the production of a second crop of timber, though only 

a few of the lumbermen in the region are looking ahead far enough to count this second crop 

as an asset of ally value. Very many of them would part with the land for a small price when 

they have once thoroughly lumbered it. 
RELATION OF INDUSTRJES TO EROSION AND DENUDATION. 13 

MINING. 

The southern Appalachians are noted for the great variety of their mineral deposits. 

Although many of these have never been developed~ others, such as the deposits of gold, copper, 

marble, mica, corundum, talc, asbestos, slate, baryta, and kaolin, have become ·the basis of . 

important mining operations, and annually yield mineral products to the value of several 

million dollars. 

Mining is affecting erosion in several ways, one of which ·is locally important. The 

timbering required in underground mining creates a demand for mine props and other timbers. 

So far this has not been a serious menace to the forests, partly because underground mining 

operations are not generally extensive throughout the region and partly because the rocks are 

ancient crystallines that below the limit of surficial weathering are strong enough to stand 

without much timbering. 

l\1uch of the mining, especially of gold and monazite, is of the placer type. The gold 

mining is centered chiefly around Dahlonega, Ga. Stream gravels are washed to some extent, 

but mining is most active in the saprolite or surface rock that, though decomposed, is still in 

place. Entire hipsides are washed dovfn into the streams by hydraulic giants. Careful .examination and inquiry, however, failed to show that much damage is being done along the streams 

within the Dahlonega region itself as a result of this placer mining, partly because there are 

in most places little or no bottom lands susceptible of cultivation, but chiefly because most of 

the streams have much fall and sweep away the sand and clay as fast as the mines furnish it, 

or the frequent floods carry away any material that tends to lodge along the streams. Much 

of it lQdges farther out along the Piedmont part of the streams, where their grade is less and 

their transporting power is correspondingly reduced, and there it may aid in doing damage. 

In the Dahlonega region very little of the upland is cleared and the normal amount of 

waste furnished to the streams from agricultural lands is small. The streams are consequently 

able to transport the additional waste furnished by the hydraulic mines; but should the 

clearing of uplands be extended, as is to be expected, the increased agricultural waste, together 

with the mine waste, will soon overload the streams and cause the accumulation along· their 

courses of sa~d and clay which they would then be unable to carry. 

Dredging for gold is carried on in some of the streams of the Dahlonega region and 

large quantities of stream waste are moved in this way. The effect on the stream channels and 

on the adjacent bottom la?ds depends on the extent of the pay gravel and on the mode of 

disposing of the tailings. Where pay gravel underlies the bottoms they are worked and their 

future agricultural value is largely or entirely destroyed. . 

After the streams have left the Dahlonega region their slopes and velocity decrease and 

the waste carried out from the mining region is being deposited along the way, filling the 

stream channels, lodging on bars, and causing islands to form; thus further obstructing the 

channels and making overflows easier and the destruction of the bottom farming land more 

speedy, certain, and cm~plete. With the further clearing of lands that may normally be 

expected this condition will become constantlt worse. · 

The third and most injurious kind of mi:hing studied in the region is that at Ducktown, 

Tenn., where sulphur fumes from the roasting and smelting of the copper ores have killed all 

vegetation for a number of miles around and the perfectly bare surface has eroded with 

wonderful rapidity (see pp. 24-25, 78-79). I 

POWER DEr ELOPMENT. 

Careful estimates made by competent engineers show that the streams of the southern 

Appalachians afford, in units of considerablJ size, about 3,000,000 undeveloped horsepower, 

and probably as many more in small units suitable for a great variety of minor industrial uses. 

Nearly all of the water power in the mountains has heretofore remained undeveloped because 

of its inaccessibility, but since the electrical trdnsmission of water power has been made prarti- l 
14 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN AI'PALACHIANS. 

cable, its utilization has oecome possible. As the opening of new railroads through the mountains renders the water powers more accessible, as population steadily increases and turns for 

a livelihood to new avenues of industrial activity, and as cotton mills and other manufacturing 

enterprises in the South utilize the available power sites in the Piedmont, the demand for 

this mountain stream power must yearly increase and will naturally" lead to its utilization. 

At any reasonable valuation per horsepower. the undeveloped power of these mountain streams 

is an important industrial asset. In Georgia and the Carolinas more than 100,000 horsepower 

has been developed and is being used by cotton mills alone, and public-service corporations in 

these three States are to-day developing 300,000 to 400,000 additional horsepower to turn the 

hundreds of mills and light the many towns and cities in the region. One of these power 

plants is shown in Plate I (opposite) and views of others are given in Plate XII, A and B 

(p . . 36). In the operation of the power plants already constructed and in the financing and. 

building of those yet to be developed the erosion problems of the region are becoming important 

factors, deserving serious consideration. 

From the slopes along these streams a steadily increasing amount of waste is working its 

way down their channels, filling the dams and destroying their storage capacity; and this loss 

of storage means a decrease of efficiency that is calculated by the most experienced mill engineers 

to amount to 30 to 40 per cent in plants that have .been built especially for storage and a somewhat less marked decrease in other plants, the exact amount depending on the topography of 

the basin and the regimen of the particular stream on which the plant is located. So universal 

is this silting of storage basins that a prominent mill engineer of wide experience in his reports 

on the construction of power plants no longer calculates on power or on anything except the 

flow of the stream, and he has· increased his usual construction estimates by an allowance for 

increased storm waters that must be taken ·care of without endangering the dam or plant. 

Experience has shown that storage basins constructed in this region in recent years are 

rapidly filled with sand and silt, through which the stream maintains a channel only large 

enough to carry the ordinary flow. On a few streams diversion dams without storage furnish 

the most economical development, but the dams at most of the cotton mills have been built to 

store water over night or over Sunday, and ~t one dam, at least, the original st0rage capacity 

was sufficient to hold a week's ordinary flow. 

At one large plant storage basins that originally had capacity to hold the water accumu4 

lated by several days of ordinary stream flow have been so filled that they can not now hold 

even the flow of a single, night. When the filling first began to cause serious trouble efforts 

were made to keep the material 'dredged out with centrifugal pumps, but the cost was soon 

found 'to be prohibitive. It has been necessary to maintain this dredging plant, however, in 

order to keep the channel to the wheel pits open. 

At one dam where two years before, when the dam was first closed, there was a depth of 28 

feet, an island had recently appeared. At another place, where a high dam had been built on a 

small stream, the pond has been so filled that its storage capacity has all been lost. At another 

place a pond in the Spartanburg region, cleared out by the bursting of a dam in the flood of 

June, 1903, and since rebuilt, was in 1905 again almost full of sand and silt. A pond about 4 

miles long and 40 feet deep at the lower end was in four years entirely filled in its upper part 

and near the dam was three-fourths full. Another pond, seven-eighths of a mile long and 35 

feet deep, filled within 300 feet of the intake gates in less than two years. 

On one river eight dams were built within a few miles of one another. The upper pond 

soon filled with sand and clay; then the second; then the third; soon all the rest will be . filled. 

The mills can then utilize only the unregulated stream flow. Auxiliary storage reservoirs built 

on the stream above the power plant have filled completely with sand and silt and are useless. 

Wide ponds fill most rapidly because the current through them has less velocity. In other 

words, they act as settling basins. Long, narrow ponds fill less rapidly because of the greater 

velocity of current through them, and they scour out more during floods. 

All the power plants recently built practically ignore storage and depend on the fl·ow 

·of the stream only. When sluicing out is attempted the stream cuts merely a vertical walled 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIO AL PAPER 72 PLATE I 

• 

COLUMBUS POWER COMPANY'S PLANT ON CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT COLUMBUS, GA. 

See page '4· 
NATURE ANf EFFECTS OF EROSION. 15 

channel down through the material and rtmoves only enough for a channel way. The expense 

of dredging has been found to be' prohibitive. The dredge merely keeps open the way to the 

wheel pits. · 

. Another result of erosion is the grea er frequency, greater suddenness, and greater height 

of the floods, since the run-off from bare washed slopes is more rapid than from wooded 

slopes. These floods endanger dams and~property ·of all kinds within their reach. During a 

sin.gle year recently the flood loss in the e souther. n mountains reached some $18,000,000, and 

during the succeeding year the loss was bout $9,000,000 more. 

Still another result is a change in t e normal stream flow. When so large a proportion 

o. f the rainfall rushes at once into the st~ams and is carried away, a correspondingly smaller 

proportion is left to soak into the grou d and feed the springs that sustain the ~tream flow 

during periods of no rainfall. The flo of the springs is weakened, and low water in the 

streams follows more rapidly after floods than it formerly did. The period of high water is 

shortened and made a}:mormally high; th period of low water is correspondingly lengthened 

and made abnormally low. 

NATURE, EFFECTS, ND REMEDIES OF EROSION. 

Erosion may conveniently be regard d as o:f two kinds. One kind occurs along streams 

as a result of either normal or flood flo and may be called stream erosion; the other kind 

occurs over all other parts of drainage ba ins and may be called general surface erosion. 

In the humid regions stream erosion results from the activities of the perennial streams-, 

large and small, and hence is a continuou process, though its effects vary greatly in intensity, 

being at a minimum during low-water st ges of the streams and at a maximum during flood 

periods. Its work is restricted to that p rtion of the basin within reach of the flood waters, 

or, in other words, to the flood plain. Stream erosion involves the transportation of the 

eroded materiaJ and the deposition of mu h of it along the reaches of lower slope and lessened 

velocity~ During a single great flood a stream may first cut great runways across its flood 

plain or dig great holes in it, and then, i later stages, deposit upon it a thick covering of sand 

and· bowlders. 

General" surface erosion results from the ·complex interaction of a number of forces, chief 

among which are the various atmos heri a encies ·producing rock disintegratioJL!lnd 

~sition and preparing the material for removal, and the more active effect of the rainfall 

striking the groun,! . The stee ness of t e slo e, the nature of the soil, and the forested or 

cleared condition of the sur ace are also 1rect actors. In the regwn under consideratiOn the 

ac ua erosion or removal of surface mat rials is due almost entirely to the work of the rain 

as it gathers into rills and rushe dow the surface slop~s to join the permanent streams. 

Genera surface erosion is therefore most active in periods of rainfall, and might be regarded 

as an intermittent rather than as a cant· nuous process. This view, of course, disregards the 

erosive activity of the wind, since it is unimportant in a region like the southern Appalachians. and the slow but more importa t creep of the surface material down the slopes, due 

to :freezing and thawing and to the actio of plants and animals. -... 

· During heavy rainfall a grass sod ill absorb le ·_water than a good humus cover in a ~~ 

forested area and r..l!Jl.;.Q.ff from e grass land will therefore be ?Teater tlian from tlie forest, 

and flood heights in areas left in grass st show a corresponding increase. 

N FORESTED AREAS. 

ner ace ero ion is at a minimum. The force of the blow struck 

by the raindrops is lessened by the fares cover, and, indeed, very many of the drops do not 

strike the ground at all, but hit the litt r of fallen leaves and twigs or the mat of moss or 

other low vegetation that completely car ets and conceals the soil surface. The forest soil is 

72091 o -No. 72-11--2 
16 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

thus effectively protected from the blows of the raindrops that would cause the loose soil on 

the bare surface of a freshly plowed field to melt away like snow before a summer sun. 

As the fallen drops gather to flow down the slope they are checked in their movement by , 

the leaves and litter or they are absorbed by the spongy mass of soft moss or turf~ so that very 

much of the rainfall flows slowly and gently down beneath the actual surface and within or 

through the matting of leaves and moss . . The movement is so gentle that scarcely any soil 

particles are removed, and so slow that for hours after a rain has passed the soil covering is 

filled with water and even days later is still moist. 

This protective effect of the forest cover was observed by the writer many times while he 

was at work in the region. Forested surfaces showed no signs of erosion; bare gullies or 

other indications of general surface or sheet wash were notably absent. The bottoms of the 

gullies in many forested areas were covered with leaves, soft vegetable mold, or moss, and 

the vegetation growing in them showed that though some material was being removed along 

their immediate courses, this removal was proceeding at an exceedingly slow rate. A small 

gully under these conditions is evidently the result of long years of erosive activity. Indeed, 

under conditions of a stable forest cover the gullies or channels for the removal of surface 

rainfall doubtless slowly assume a slope and 'vidth that are in adjustment with the usual 

intensity of rainfall, and when this adjustment is once established the woodland rain-water 

channels become stable and would change exceedingly little, perhaps, even in hundreds of 

years, were it not for an occasional cloud burst or storm of extraordinary intensity which 

furnishes them a volume of surface water with which their cross section and slope are not 

commensurate. At such tim'es erosion takes place along their courses and holes may be gouged 

out that during succeeding years once more become clad with vegetation. 

In the course of the long geologic ages that these southern Appalachians have been subjected to atmospheric erosion there has come about, in all but a very small part of the area, 

such an adjustment b'etween the steepness of the forested slope and the average rainfall ~nd 

other erosive agencies that the wasting of the slope is reduced to a minimum. In places 

where the surface may have once had excessive slope erosion was rapid and the slope was 

gradually reduced; with lowered slope erosive power decreased until the two were brought · 

into harmony. The material prepared by disintegration and decomposition for erosion then 

became just equal to the removing capacity of the erosive agents, and somewhat later, with 

further decrease of slope and of erosive power, more loose material was furnished than could 

be removed and it began to accumulate and form a soil covering. This soil covering has continued to increase in most of the area until now it is many feet deep over much of the region 

and mantles and conc eals the underlying hard rock from which it has been derived. 

This long-continued process of adjustment between surface slope and erosive action has 

given these mountains the rounded contours and softened outlines that characterize the southern Appalachian landscape and constitute one of its chief charms. Jagged ridge crests have 

long since become rounded domes and vertical cliff faces have given place to the gently flowing 

outlines of graded, forest~clad slopes. Cliffs are rare and are due to some rapid change in 

rock texture or structure or to a situation especially favorable for stream erosion. 

On these graded forested slopes the removal of the soil cover of disintegrated material is 

perhaps due more to soil creep than to direct surface erosion, and it is probable also that under 

such conditions soil creep reaches its maximum of efficiency as an agent of general surface 

reduction. Movement of the soil layer due to such creep is necessarily slow, does not result in 

producing bare earth or rock surfaces and is not attended with danger to the surface, the forests, 

or the future · industrial development of the region. 

Streams that .flow from such forest-clad graded slopes show certain well-defined characteristics. During rains they rise more slowly than similar streams in cleared areas; they also 

continue longer in flood and fall to normal stages again more slowly because of the retardation 

of the surface run-off by the leaves and litter of the forest. 

Such streams, even when highest, are, as a rule, only slightly discolored, and this discoloration is due largely to macerated leaf fragments and decaying organic matter and only to a very 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF

& LdSOUTHEAST FACE OF WHITESIDE MOUNTAIN, SHOWING ROUNDED PRECIPICES OF ROC

Much of th e rock is bare and part of it is covered by a thin layer of soil held on the rock only by the mat of forest roots
. I 

I 
NATURE ND EFFECTS OF EROSION. 17 

slight extent to soil particles held in s spension. Some of the streams flowing from forested ' 

regions are perfectly clear, even whe swollen by continued rains far beyond their normal 

size. Such, for example, are many of the !?treams in the Toxaway region, the headwaters of 

Pigeon River, the numerous small streams flowing from the Balsam and Great Smoky Mountains, the headwaters of Cane River flowing north from Mount Mitchell, and others that might 

be mentioned whose basins are unbroken forests. 

Streams of this class carry almost no load of waste from the general surface of their basins 

and so are free to expend their energies in eroding materials from their bed and banks. Hence 

over all the territory examined such streams were generally found to have scoured their channels between steep and usually high banks, to be flowing over beds of cobbles and bowlders 

or across ledges of hard rock, and to have gouged out deep and quiet pools here and there in 

softer rock. Such stream channels change slowly. They are in stable equilibrium-an equilibrium or adjustment which would remain undisturbed for ages, during which the region would 

continue to waste away as slowly as in the past, were it not for the work of man in clearing 

the land and throwing out of equilibrium both the surface slopes and the stream gradients. 

The removal of the forest brings the slopes that represent the adjustment of a forested 

surface to erosive agencies into unstable equilibrium, active erosion begins, the soil accumulated, 

it may be through centuries, is quickly swept down into the valleys, and the mountain side 

is left a scarred waste of bare rocks and bowlders. For such areas the only safety is the retention of the forest now there, for once removed neither the soil nor the forest cover· can be 

replaced. 

Bare rock surfaces are more numerous in granite or granite gneiss areas along the eastern 

face or scarp of the Blue Ridge than elsewhere in the southern Appalachians. Such, for 

example, are the surfaces of Table Rock, S. C., Mount "\Vhiteside (Pl. II, p. 16), and numerous other bare, steeply domed or precipitous rock scarps in the Highland-Toxaway region, 

in the Hickory Nut Gap region and at other places northward. Rock surfaces of the same 

type are also found in the upper Davidson River country and at a few places elsewhere in 

the region west of the Blue Ridge. These granitic rocks weather spheroidally, and wherever 

erosion produces very steep slopes the surface soil and underlying rotten rock tend to shell off 

and leave a bare domed or precipitous granite surface. In these particular areas, where this 

tendency is so strong that nature has not been able wholly to counteract it, it would be especidly regrettable should man cut away the forests which, even when unhindered, are scarcely 

ahle to hold a soil covering, and thus permit the few feet of soil now overlying the granite or 

gneiss to be swept away, as it would be swept away in a few years after extensive clearing, 

dmvn to the bare rock. 

The effectiveness of such a thin root-matted soil layer in protecting steep surfaces from 

erosion may be observed when its continuity is once broken by the clearing of a field, the cutting 

of a road, or even the upturning of a tree. On the lower side of the break the turfed soil 

layer-it may be a foot or even less in thickness-may be seen to slip off bodily in avalanche 

fashion or to roll back from the bare granite like the bark when stripped from a tree. 

Fortunately for the region, this spheroidal type of weathering, with its peculiarly disastrous consequences when erosion becomes ~ctive, is restricted almost entirely to granitic and 

gneissic rocks and even in them is not found in all types and under all conditions, so that a 

large part of the mountain region, where such rocks either are not found or do not possess the 

requisite texture or mineralogical character, is free from that particular danger. 

Another type of forested area in which the soil cover is thin occurs in the belt of steeply 

tilted and folded quartzite and slate rocks found chiefly along the North Carolina-Tennessee 

line. These rocks disintegrate so slowly that a soil mantle sufficiently thick to conceal the rock 

nowhere forms, but the meager residual material lodges in the chance crevices and irregularities 

of the surface, between which bare jagged ledges project. On such areas the growth of trees 

and other vegetation is too scant to aid greatly in soil development. The projecting ledges, 

as well as the poverty of the soil itself, render the land useless for agriculture, and it can be 
18 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

utilized only for the growth of such timber as it can support. The undergrowth is sparse, 

and during the summer the surface becomes very dry. These areas need guarding from forest 

fires and protection from deforestation. · 

Though forest tracts in the southern Appalachians are, under natural conditions, subjected 

to relatively little erosion, yet man's activities are causing destructive erosion. Much forest 

destruction may be caused by gullying attended ~y · undercutting and caving (see pp. 19-20) 

starting in cleared areas and extending upward into higher forested areas. Where the slopes 

are too steep to be cleared, many of the more gently rounded crests are cleared as far down as 

possible, and the surface drainage from these ridge-crest clearings, gathering at the lower 

edges of th~ fields into a few channels, rushes down across the steep forested slopes below, 

excavating deep channels where otherwise the surface would remain unbroken . . 

A much more common and far more destructive cause of erosion in steep, forested slopes 

is the dragging of logs along the ground in lumbering. The logs quickly wear in the soft 

earth smooth grooves or trenches, which during rain are converted into chutes, down which the 

water rushes with great velocity, sweeping, rocks and soil before it. The effects of this log 

dragging may be seen in the many runways opened through the forests and in the great amount 

of soil and loose rock swept down the slope and deposited as cones at the lower ends of the chutes 

on little 'flood plains or narrow stream channels. The principal injury is not usually confined 

to the lumbered area itself, though this becomes furrowed wherever logs have been dragged, 

but extends to the lands and property along the streams below, where the floods are increased 

in height and in destructive effect. These dragways exist wherever lumbering has been carried 

on, for few of the lumbermen have taken precaution to prevent this danger. Caring little for 

the land after the timber is removed, they feel neith.er ·moral nor legal responsibility for the 

condition of the lands and other property along the stream below. 

EROSION ON CLEARED SLOPES. 

The clearing of graded forest-clad surfaces destroys the slowly reached adjustment between 

slope and erosive power and gives great impetus to erosion. In this erosion of cleared slopes 

the influence of the geology on the rate and the results of erosion becomes plainly apparent. 

Other things being equal, the extent and character of the general surface erosion observed 

varies with the geology. It may be said that in a large measure geology controls erosion, for 

the nature of the rock determines the character of the soil~ and variations in th'e character of the 

soil determine corresponding variations in the liability, manner, and rate of erosion. Two 

areas that are equally steep may when cleared differ greatly in character and rate of erosion. 

One may not erode at all; the other may erode rapidly down to the barren s~bsml or the bare 

rocks. . 

In some parts of the region the soil on even the steepest cleared slopes was obser~ed to be 

scarcely at all affected by erosion, although tilled year after year, and inspection usually 

verified the truth of the general reply to questions concerning erosion asked in such regions-

" Our mountain-side fields do not wash away." It was found that such soils were permanently 

more or less loose and porous, and that their resistance to surface erosion varied directly with 

their porosity or permeability to rain water. A large proportion of the rainfall immediatelv 

soaked into the ground and found its way downward through underground channels; very 

little flowed off over the surface. Generally such resistant soils were also characterized by 

many small undisintegrated rock ,fragments, which aided both in keeping the soil open-textured 

and in checking the velocity of the downward-moving surface portion of the rainfall by 

opposing themselves as obstacles to its flow and causing it to drop many of the finer soil particles 

it might have started to carry. Certain schists and gneisses, especially the more siliceous types 

with mica and hornblende and those of nonhomogeneous grain, were the rocks found to weather 

most commonly into erosion-resisting soils. Some quartzites were also found to produce opentextured stony soils that did ' not erode badly. In general it may be said that a porous or a 

stony soil, whatever the type of rock from which it has originated, will be apt to resist general 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE Ill 

A. INCIPIENT GUL~YING OF SHOESTRING TYPE; BUNCQMBE COUNTY, N. C. 

See page 19. 

MARION, N. C. 

See pa ge 2o. 

NATURE AND EFFECTS OF EROSION. 19 

surface erosion more or less effectively. Such soils may be cleared and cultivated with safety, 

even when they slope at an angle that would be quickly destructi e to all other types of upland 

soil examined in the region. 

. The aggregate area-of such erosion-resisting soils, however,! is not great :vhe~ compar~d 

w1th the total area of the mountain country. By far the larger part of the regwn 'lS underlam 

by rocks that. weather into soil that is easily eroded when exposed on deforested slopes. 

In some places it was found that the entire surface wore away slowly, each heavy rain 

removing a thin layer or sheet of material, so that the fertile soil layer gradually wore thin and 

po.or and the field was at last abandoned as worn out. Erosion of this type, which may be called 

sheet-wash, occurs characteristically on close-grained, compact clay soils whose particles cling 

together firmly and do not readily yield to corrasion by flowing water, so that channels are not 

readily cut beneath the surface and undercutting and caving are not possible. Soils of this 

kind usually result from the weathering of the finer grained and mor~ basic varieties of igneous 

rocks, such as diorites, diabase, and gabbro, and also from the weathering of fine clay shales 

that are free from mica particles. Sheet-wash erosion is so slow and gradual that some farmers 

fail to recognize it and believe that their soils have <lleteriorated through exhaustion of the 

fertility, whereas they have slowly and almost imperceptibly worn away to the subsoil. Such 

farmers, ignorant of the process by which ruin has been wrought, clear other fields and start 

anew the same destructive process. I 

One of the most common types of general surface erosion is that which is characterized by 

the formation of parallel gullies, and which occurs on slopes covered with clay soils, homogeneous in texture and somewhat softer and more loamy than those described in the preceding 

paragraph. Such soils result from the weathering of sandy shales or, more commonly, of 

granite ·or other crystalline rocks which contain cons'derable quartz but no mica. Certain 

schists also produce soils of the same texture. (See Pis. III, A, and XVII, A, pp. 18, 78.) In 

such soils erosion begins by producing innumerable sm ll parallel gullies that extend straight 

up and down the slope and divide the surface -into a minute fluting of sharp grooves and ridges. 

As these gullies deepen they become wider, and the fmaller ones are encroached upon and 

obliterated by their larger, more active neighbors until, instead of a dozen or more in a yard's 

width, their number is reduced to one in a yard or one in a number of yards. Their bottoms 

·are sharp~ their sides steep and convex, and the tops oflthe divides between adjacent gullies, at 

first jagged, afterwards become rounded and sharply or broadly convex, the differences depending on differences in the soil texture and in the rate of vertical downcutting along the gully 

ways. (See Pl. XVII, B, p. 78.) Such systems of g-qllies concentrate the surface rainfall so 

that it works very efficiently as an agent of corrasiorl, and the process once started is very 

difficult to stop. The fields attacked are soori abandonJd and left as scarred wastes while new 

ones are cleared. I 

Erosion of the parallel gully type occurs in many parts of the southern Appalachians. It 

is typically shown at Ducktown, Tenn: (Pls. XVI an4 VI~, p. 78), and near Balsam Gap, 

N. C., as well as at many other places. 1 

Of all forms of ·general surface erosion, gullyin~, characterized by rapid do~ncutting 

aecompanied by undercutting and caving, is most rapi' d in its progress and most difficult to · 

check, as well as most spectacular in its appearance and most destructive in its effects. Erosion 

of this type occurs in soils underlain by a deep, relatively soft micaceous subsoil. Deeply decomposed material of this kind results from the weathering of micaceous and feldspathic 

schists-rocks that cover considerable areas in the region and determine the type of surface 

erosion wherever they occur. The surface in such areas may have weathered to a fairly compact clay soil that offers moderate resistance to erosion, land if the slope is gentle careful attention may keep this clay surface intact; if it is once broken through, however, a gully quickly 

develops in the soft subsoil, deepens e~sily by corrasion, and the soft and arkosic material on 

the sides is rapidly undermined and slips or caves in, leaving vertical or overhanging walls. 

The head of such a gully is commonly more or less amphitheater-shaped and is rapidly extended 

up the slope by headwater erosion, in which caving plays a prominent part. Into these gullies 
20 - DENUDATION AND .EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

nmny square yards of surface soil may cave during a single heavy rain, and as the decomposed 

micaceous and arkosic material in which such gullies grow is usually scores of feet in thickness 

they may become chasms of great depth and width. This type, which may be called chasm 

gullying, is illustrated in Plate III, B, page 18. 

When begun in cleared land, chasm gullying may advance upward into a higher forested 

area and undermine and destroy even the largest trees. Once well started it is almost impossible 

to check. 

Still another form of erosion in cleared areas originates in small landslides, which usually 

occur after the ~oil has been thoroughly saturated and softened during a period of prolonged 

rainfall. 

On steep slopes the surface soil may begin moving of its own accord, either slipping bodilv 

off in a mass or becoming so soft as to flow off, when once started, as a stream of soft mud. 

This change of soil into flowing mud is likely to take place where a small wet-weather spring 

on the steep hillside happens to occur in a certain kind of soil. More frequently, however, 

landslides are caused by the trampling of cattle on steep slopes after the soil has been softened 

by prolonged rain. One cow climbing up or down such a slope may cause a number of such 

landslides, each of which, when once started, usually grows both in width and in length until 

it becomes a great bare scar in the field. 

Landslides are likely to occur where the soil is micaceous or where it has resulted from the 

weathering of slickensided granitic or gneissose rocks. The slickensided surfaces are preserved 

in the weathered soil and when wet become planes of easy movement. Such surfaces aid greatly 

in the extensive caving that occurs in some areas where chasm gullying is the characteristic 

form of erosion. Landslides are also likely to occur where weathering of the exfoliation type 

has produced a sharp line or division plane between the soil cover and the underlying hard 

rock. In such places the soil layer easily slips off. Landslides of this type may occur in the 

forest, but, like those of the other types, are more common in . cleared areas. During prolonged 

wet seasons it would be well to keep cattle or other animals off steep slopes that show any 

tendency to slide. ' · 

Level or nearly level upland areas may in themselves be comparatively safe from erosion, 

but they may nevertheless be affected by intimate relation with erosion, for water from areas 

lying still higher may erode channels across them, and the waste from such higher areas may 

cover their surface ·soil and destroy its fertility ; or their own drainage, after being gathered 

into a :few channels, may be shed upon still lower lands with the same effect as that produced 

by water received by them from the higher areas. 

EROSION ON FLOOD PLAINS. 

The typical mountain stream of this region flows so swiftly in its upper course that it sweeps 

away all loose material in its path and flows over bare rock, which it is actively eroding. 

Somewhat farther downstream, as its slope and consequently its velocity decreases, the stream 

reaches a point where, though still swift, it can no longer sweep away all loose material, so 

that the coarsest material begins to accumulate, making what may be called a bowldery or a 

·cobbly torrent plain. As the current ,;aries in velocity at flood and at low-water stages, this 

material is continually being reworked, and in the course of the cut and fill characterizing this 

reworking the stream, largely because of the heterogeneous nature and different sizes of the 

material, constantly shifts its position as it tears to pieces and rebuilds its torrent plain. The 

s'urface of such a plain fashioned by an impetuous current of greatly varying power is 

characteristically irregular or hummocky. 

Farther downstream, as the velocity of the current decreases, the coarseness of the materia] 

composing the torrent plain and the irregularity of its surface correspondingly decrease. The · 

tendency to lateral shifting of the channel also diminishes, but, if from any cause the stream 

be overloaded with · waste and forced to deposit much of the waste in its channel, this channel 

filling deflects the current and the tendency to undercut one bank and build a cobbly ?r sandy 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE IV 

A. OLD AND NEW FLOOD PLAINS. 

Extraordinary or possibly foss i l flood plain in the foreground, with dwellings, and a high terrace or older fo ssil 

flood plain in the distance. See page 21 . 

B. STREAM WITH SHIFTING CHANNEL. 

The stream is undercutting its flood plain on one side and building a cobble zone on the other. See page 21. 

) / 

· 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONA

ASHEVILLE PLATEAU AS DEVELOPED IN PIGEON RIVER BASIN 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WAY

NATURE AND EFFECTS OF EROSION. 21 

waste zone on the other becomes strong. An example of such filling and cutting may be seen 

in Plate IV, B, page 20. 

Still· farther downstream the velocity of the current diminishes until the stream carries 

and builds into its flood plain only fine material, and the flood-plain surface then becomes a 

level surface, which still lower may build in the familiar way a higher portion parallel and 

near to the stream. 

If the stream cuts down as it swings laterally, it develops on the side away fr~m which it 

swings a sloping flood plain, which will here be called a beveled or hanging flood plain~ the 

exact slope of whjch depends on the ratio of down cutting to lateral swing. Only the lower 

edge of such a flood plain is ever covered and damaged by floods. 

If the stream is not qverloaded with waste it normally develops a channel whose width and 

depth are proportioned to its volume, velocity, and flood height, and this channel usually has 

a sufficient capacity not only to carry away the ordinary flow of the stream, but also to carry 

a considerable volume of flood waters. vVith increase of flood volume in excess of the capacity 

of the channel the waters spread beyond the banks and flood an additional area on which 

deposits are laid down and a flood plain is built. . 

The inspection of many flood plains sliows that they may generally be divided into two 

classes, the forms of one class commonly differing from those of the other in width and invariably in position and height and in the frequency with which they are covered with floods. 

The stream channel is usually bordered on one or both sides by a more or less narrow shelf cut 

in the flood-plain material and rising only a few feet above ordinary stream level. The exact 

height and width of this flood-plain shelf vary with the size and character of the stream. This 

shelf, or notch, is covered by the ordinary floods of the stream and may be called the ordinary 

flood plain. It may be only a rod or a few rods in width, even .on a large river, or it may be 

much wider. 

On the side away from the stream this ordinary flood-plain shelf is bordered by a scarp 

that is usually regular and well defined and separates a higher part of the flood plain from 

the lower one. The height of the scarp or the difference in level between the two flood plains 

varies greatly on different streams and even on different portions of the same stream, but on 

all streams this higher flood plain is reached and covered only at comparatively long intervalsmeasured perhaps by years-by floods of extraordinary ·height. The floods that now and 

then cover this extraordinary flood plain deposit sediment on it in some places and so build it 

up somewhat; but more commonly they scour runways across it and thus start subaerial erosion 

lines along which it is ultimately cut to pieces. Because of these scourways its surface is 

usually uneven. Deposition during the rare flood periods does not equal erosion during the 

long intervals between floods, and the plain soon shows signs of wasting away. 

On many streams there are to be found above the level of this extraordinary flood plain_ 

more or less perfectly preserved portions of other, still older flood plains or terraces, whose 

height places them above the reach of even the highest floods. These may be called fossil flood 

plains to distinguish them from the ordinary and extraordinary flood plains, which may be 

spoken of as living flood plains. Such topographic features a:r:e so common and in many places 

so prominent along the streams, large and small, of the southern Appalachians that it has 

been thought best to define the terms, as their use in this paper will give conciseness to the 

description of flood plains. A view of an extraordinary flood plain is shown in Plate IV, .A.,; 

fossil flood plains are seen in Plate IV, .A., and Plate V, page 20. 

The ordinary flood plain may have runways cut across it by floods or may be cut or gouged 

into holes wherever the flood current becomes deflected downward, as by pouring over a rock 

wall or other obstruction, or by forcing its way under logs that have lodged on it. 

In other places the stream may be overloaded with waste and forced to drop a part of it 

until it fills its channel. It then flows here and there in irregular shifting meanders across its 

flood plain, depositing great quantities of waste and building up or aggrading the flood plain 

' (see Pl. VI, .A., p. 22). Such flood plains rapidly become useless for agriculture. 
22 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Elsewhere the flood may strip off the alluvial soil down to the underlying bowlders or the 

bare rock (Pl. VI, B) , or it rna y be checked so as to deposit a bed of sand on the former floodplain surface and convert it into a barren 'Sand waste (Pl. VII, A). Under other conditio~s 

the covering spread over the flood plain may be of cobbles or even bowlders. 

The channel of a stream that is not overloaded retains its normal depth, and the great increase 

in its depth 9-uring floods gives a channel prism so large that the stream can remove a much 

, · " greater volume of water; moreover, the speed of the current, which is greatly accelerated by 

the increase in depth, is still so much slow~r on the outer edges than in the middle of the stream 

that it deposits on the flood plain the finer material that ·was carried in suspension and thus 

benefits instead of injures the adjacent lands over which it flows. The Chattooga, for example, 

which has an unusually swift current, its average slope being 28 feet per mile, frequently 

floods its bottoms at Russells, but instead of cutting them to· pieces deposits sediment that 

enriches them. The upper Yadkin is another good example. It is enlarging its channel by 

scouring away its banks in order to handle more efficiently the steadily increasing volume of. 

flood water it is now receiving. 

The cobble zones scoured out along the main channels of many of the streams examined 

are the results of the effort of the streams to adjust themselves to changed conditions by providing themselves with auxiliary channels to carry off flood water. Where man's selfishness 

or shortsightedness or an unusual combination of circumstances make these efforts of the 

streams inadequate, disaster results. Where man has increased erosion so as to overburden the 

streams with waste and to force them to fill their channels he has foredoomed his lands to be 

cut to pieces by floods. Wherever from any cause flood heights have increased, fences, bridges, 

dams, mills and all other property, as well as human and other lives within reach of the water, 

are endangered and liable to be destroyed, a$ they have so often been destroyed in the southern 

Appalachians in the last decade., 

On the other hand, in regions such as the basins of the Holston, the New, and the ~Ionongahela, where man's agency in clearing the soil has not greatly accelerated the erosion of upland 

slopes, and so has not so increased the supply of wastB furnished to the streams from these 

slopes as to fill the stream channels, but has chiefly hastened the movement of storm waters in~o 

the streams and so augmented flood heights, the damage wrought by the streams will consist 

not so much in tearing lands to pieces as in sweeping away all classes of property within reach 

of the flood. Where stream ehannels have been filled by the progress of erosion, as in most of 

the southern Appalachians, the disaster includes lands as well as property and life . . 

REMEDIES FOR EROSION ON SLOPES. 

The most obvious method of preventing erosion is to prevent the clearing of the steep 

slopes. Just how steep a slope may safely be cleared is a problem to which there is no one 

solution. It has often been said that no -slope steeper than 15° should ever be cleared, and 

this is probably as good a general statement as can be made. In some places, however, under 

certain conditions of soil texture and rainfall, slopes less than 15° erode badly; in others slopes 

of 20° or even more may be cultivated without serious danger of erosion, the secret of the 

immunity being in the texture of the soil. In regions where slopes of more than 30° were 

cultivated the author was frequently told that the lands did not erode, and this statement was 

largely confirmed by ocular evidence. -

The allowable limit of steepness for cleared lands varies, then, _ with local conditions, but 

-it may be said that almost everywhere throughout the southern Appalachians this allowable 

ljmit is exceeded, and in many. places so greatly exceeded that rapid erosion of the cleared 

slopes is inevitable. 

All cleared slopes should be thoroughly terraced if they are to be cultivated. Terraces 

can be so constructed that ,little or no water will flow from the terraced fields during even the 

hardest rail).s. In fields cultivated under these conditions there is no removal of soil particles 

and no filling of stream channels and resultant destruction of flood-plain lands. Terracing 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE VI 

A.. STREAM OVERBURDENED WITH . WASTE AND AGGRADING. 

See page 21 . 

B. ALLUVIAL ,SOIL STRIPPED TO THE BOWLDERS. 

See page 22. 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE VII 

B. HILLSIDE TERRACED TO PREVENT EROSION. 

See page 23. 

t.r" . ' ( 

REMEDIES FOR EROSION. 23 

can be far more generally practiced than it · s all ov~r the regia~ examined and is necessary 

to insure a really safe system of agriculture. The best terraced region observed was in the 

Savannah River Basin, between Toccoa and/ Elberton, Ga. Good terracing was also noted 

about Greenville and elsewhere on the Piedflont in upper South Carolina. An example of 

crude but effective terracing is illustrated in Plate VII, B (p. 22). 

Grass will effectually prevent erosion Jfter the sod has once become well established. 

The farther south one goes, however, in the southern Appalachians, the more difficult it is to 

obtain and keep a good sod. In the W atau a and New River basins it is easy to protect the 

lands by grass, but on .the Chatt~hoochee,. i9 northern Ge~rgia, ~t would be much more difficnlt, because the elevation there IS much loWier and the climate IS therefore dryer and hotter 

and less favorable to the growth of grass. 

If erosion has already occurred on steep lopes one of the best remedies, if conditions have 

not become too bad, is to cover the surface vith straw, leaves, or forest litter, and over this 

cover to place brush to hold it in place. 'IIhis mechanically protects the soil, much as does 

the humus cover in the forest itself, and holdk it until plant growth has again taken possession 

and arrested rapid erosion. Except in a feJ places where the soil is exceedingly poor, weeds 

and briars will now spring up rapidly and /will be followed in a short while by wind-sown 

tree seedlings that will start the new forest ¥rowth on the denuded slope. Natural reforestation in the southern Appalachians is usually rapid, but if for any reason it is desired to hasten 

it or to control more closely the kind of growth, artificial reforestatio:r;t is easy, though of 

course this is more expensive than natural reforestation. 

vVhere deep gullies have once started log or rock dams may be used to prevent their 

further gro~th an~ to catch material with f hich to fill them . . The use of such dams is not 

always advisable, Since the water tends to r ork beneath them and thus to concentrate and 

increase the vertical scour. J\!Ioreover, they become in themselves mechanical obstructions 

that may interfere with the subsequent use pf the land for griculture. If used they should 

be faced on the upper side with brush or straw to prevent the water from working through 

them. If thus made tight th~y soon become fllled with the material that is being carried down 

the hillside, and tqe former gully or inclined/ trench is converted into a series of terraced steps. 

For a view of brush dams used to check erosibn see Plate VIII, A (p. 24). 

In places where the slope is not too reat and the cutting has been shallow, gullies 

may be filled with straw so as to catch the sand and clay that is being removed. This device 

affords an effective remedy for gullies and has the added virtue of not leaving mechanical 

incumbrances on the reclaimed area. 

Erosion may be checked ·by preventing the fires that usually follow in the wake of the 

lumberman and by guarding against the fo mation of erosion chutes by the dragging of logs 

down steep slopes. The mere removal of the mature forest itself need in no wise affect 

erosion or flood problems in a region like the southern Appalachians, where, if unhindered, 

the natural reproduction of the forest is rapid. In a few years the new growth makes an 

even denser cover of trunks, branc~es, and r

1 ot mattings than the old, and protects the soil at 

least as effectually. 

REMEDIES FOR ER<!>SION ON FLOOD PLAINS. 

On flood-plain areas the most important/thing that can be done to the area itself to prevent 

erosion and flood damages is to maintain Uy all possible means a deep, straight channel for 

the rapid removal of flood waters and waste. j The removal of obstructions and the straightening 

of the channels of small streams aid greatly in scouring out and improving the channels and 

hastening the run-off. Means of regulati g and confining the shifting channel of a wild 

mountain torrent are widely used in Europe, but practically unknown in America. Retaining 

walls of stone or rock-filled cribs serve this purpose wherever the interstices may become filled 

'with fine material and so closed to the free passage of water through the wall. Where such 

filling is ·impracticable a facing of sheet piling may answer the purpose. A rough rock-filled ., 
24 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

log crib used for restraining such a stream is illustrated in Plate VIII, B. In Europe the 

bottom and sides of some such channels are paved with stone, and dams or sills of rock are 

built at short intervals across the stream. 

Another protBction to banks that are being cut by streams that do not tend to shift so 

rapidly as torrents is to plant willow, aspen, balm of Gilead, or other easily propagated trees 

of rapid growth along the banks and over the entire denuded area. In starting such growth 

it is usually sufficient to plant small branches or sections of limbs at short intervals in the 

moist earth; they root readily and grow rapidly. The balm of Gilead throws up many shoots 

from its ramifying· rootlets and soon makes an efficient bank protection. 

In places protection may be had by building levees, but these are so expensive that their 

construction' is warranted only when the lands or property to be protected are of considerable 

area and value. Lands that have been badly cut to pieces by floods, such as those illustrated 

in Plate IX, A, or deeply buried beneath sand (see Pl. VII, A, p. 22) or beneath gravel or 

cobbles, can usually ·he put to little or no immediate use. There is more ultimate hope of 

reclaiming lands that have been cut to pieces than those that have been buried beneath sand or 

stone, since later floods of less height may deposit material in the eroded places and in time 

. may heal the scars and restore to use the once ruined land. A flood channel that is once 

established, however, is likely to be occupied by subsequent floods and to become a permanent 

flood runway. Planting trees and building walls across it may protect it and permit it to 

fill, but if the surface has been covered by stony or sandy waste there is little hope that it can 

soon be recovered. 

In most places in the southern Appalachians both cutting and filling tend rather to grow 

worse than to improve by subsequent changes, since they have been start-ed by floods whose 

tendency for a number of years has been to become gradually worse, because of the constant 

extension of clearing and of erosion on slopes that should have remained forested. 

Now and then it is suggested that impounding reservoirs may be built with capacity 

sufficient to hold the flood waters, but this scheme is generally impracticable because of the 

great size and the cost of the necessary dams and the large area of land that would be submerged and rendered useless, as well as the danger that the dams might break and destroy 

life and property below. Furthermore, on many of our southern streams such reservoirs 

would become filled with sand and silt in a decade or two, as a number of private power dams 

in the Piedmont region of the South already have been filled. 

Far the most efficient reservoir for impounding flood waters is a good forest humus over 

the steep slopes of the stream basins. The only thorough means to check and prevent the 

destruction now going on in the Appalachian region from erosion, floods, and droughts is to 

maintain such a humus cover where it already exists and to replace it where it has been 

destroyed. 

EROSION AT DUCKTOWN, TENN. 

In discussing processes that vary in the character or intensity of their effects, it is well, 

if possible, to show the limits of the variation. A most notable example of the ultimate 

limit or extent to which erosion may go in the area under c~nsideration is furnished by the 

Ducktown copper region, in the extreme southeast corner of Tennessee. 

This region is an old peneplain that has been uplifted some 1,600 feet above sea level 

and has since been cut by stream erosion into a series of ridges separated by narrow valleys. 

The crests of the ridges are gently rounded, but their sides slope more steeply, and near ·the 

base become in places almost precipitous. The rocks of the region are deeply decomposed 

schists: which have yielded the heavy soil to which the rounded surface slopes are due. Only 

here and there are the schists exposed in bare ledges and these exposures are as a rule small. 

The dissecting streamlets formerly flowed in relatively narrow valleys and were actively 

eroding the rock ledges across their paths, depositing along their courses little or no waste.. 

The annual rainfall in the Ducktown region is between 50 and 60 inches and is often torrential. During the downpours soil surfaces almost literally melt away. Copper is mined and 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

A. BRUSH DAMS 

See 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE VIII 

B. COBBLE ZONE AND LOd TRAINING WALL. 

Seel page 24. 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE IX 

A. ALLUVIAL BOTTOM WASHED AWAY BY FLOODS. 

The stream on the right, at the foot of the hi II, formerly flowed to the left of the sycamores in the center of 

the pictu e. See page 24. ' 

B. PART OF CATAWBA VALLEY NOT INJURED BY FLOODS. 

See I page 1 1 2. 
\' 
CHANGES IN TREAM REGIMEN. 25" 

smelted in the region on an extensive scale, 1nd the sulphuric-acid fumes from the smelters 

have in the last few years killed all vegetati 4 in an area a number of square mile~ in extent. 

In the short time since this was done erosion has deeply scarred the hills with gulhes and the 

eroded material from these slopes has overlo ded the streams and rapidly built waste plains of 

sand and silt along them. In places the soil has been entirely removed from these slopes and 

the bare red clay exposed, and in a few year the surface will be worn dmvn to the underlying 

r ock. Any small flood plain that may have ~e iou ly ex.yisted along the streams has been buried 

beneath the rapid accumulation of wa.stB fr m the hillsides, so that both hill slope and flood 

plain have been destroyed, the one by erosio , land the other by sedimentation or aggradation. 

Very little of the rainfall now soaks into e ground to feed the springs and they show the 

result of the change by their greatly dimini lied flow during dry seasons. Wells also go dry 

more often than formerly. A better idea of rresent conditions in this region may be obtained 

from the views in Plates XVI and XVII (p 78) than from a number of pages of description. 

A mo.re detailed statement concerning prooor~es and results around Ducktown will be found 

on pages 77-79. 11 

The result of erosion in the Ducktown rJ&'ion may be looked upon as the goal to which all 

erosion in the southern Appalachians is te ding. I£ elsewhere in these southern mountains 

the cover of vegetati?n be removed as comp tely as at Ducktown, the rapid e~osio_n that has 

wrought the destruction seen there may confi ently be expected to follow, and ,w1th hke results. 

CHANGES IN TREAM REGIMEN. 

I 

Wherever mountain stream basins in t e southern Appalachians have been extensively 

cleared the regimen or normal habit of flow d£ the streams has been changed. This change is 

believed to be due chiefly to increased erosio L I and consequent increased rapidity of run-off. 

In the natural forested state comparati,~e~y little rock waste is furnished to the mountain 

streams, which therefore expend their energ 9s largely in eroding their beds and cutting deep 

channels, such as may be seen in the Great r okies, much o-f the Pisgah Range, or any other 

well-wooded part of the mountains. These eep, steep-sided stream channels are very effective 

in removing flood waters, and it takes consid able rain to fill them higher than their banks and 

produce a flood. They are amply able, even in flood, to carry away at once all the waste 

material furnished to them. .. II . . The removal of the forest on steep slopef ~enerally increases the tendency to erosion. This 

increase may be very slight if the land is kept well sodded or if the soil is of a certain porous 

or stony type, but in a region like the south rh Appalachians, with its deep soil and abundant, 

often torrential, rainfall_, erosion is generall:y I more rapid--it may be very much more rapidon cleared than on forested slopes. 1 

Erosion once begun, as a rule, soon dev lops gullies that furnish so much sand, clay, and 

cobble to the streams that they become over aded and are unable to carry away all the waste 

that is brought to them. The excess waste fS therefore deposited first in the channel, until 

that is practically filled, and. then over the lluvial flood plain, 'vhich is thus converted into a 

barren waste of sand or loose stones. Such ~ sand-covered flood plain is illustrated in Plate 

VII, A (p. 22). The waste then begins wor ng downstream, filling dams and pools as it goes, 

and soon gets down into the navigable part of the grea.t river systems, such as the Tennessee, 

1naking more difficult the problem of maintdihing navigable channels. This condition may be 

readily understood by examining the Tenn 1s

1 

ee at low water and studying the growth of its 

sand, gravel, and bowlder bars and of its wheads and islands, and also by comparing the 

detailed reports made annually by the Arm engineers concerning the improvements made by 

them in the open channel of the river. The ltnowledge gained by personal examination of the 

river adds much significance to the statemen 'Jfound in these reports. Some of the most notable 

changes on the Tennessee will be described b iefly in connection with the general characteristics 

of this river on pages 79-83. 
26 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

The waste filling · a mountain stream causes an immediate change in the :frequency and 

height of floods. When, under normal :forested conditions, the channel is deep, a heavy rainfall 

is necessary to raise the .stream to the bank-full stage; when the channel has become well-nigh 

filled with eroded material much less rainfall will put the stream out o:f its banks and cause a 

flood-in other words, floods will become more :frequent. 

The channel filling has another important effect. The same amount o:f rainfall will 

necessarily cause a higher flood when the channel is filled or partially filled with eroded 

material than when it was :free :from it, partly because the capacity o:f the channel to hold 

water is diminished, but more especially because the filled channel is not so efficient an agent 

:for the rapid removal of flood waters. They pile up, as it were, and rise higher than before. 

Their height is :further increased by the :fact that the gullies on the eroded slopes and the bare 

surface o:f the cleared land deliver the storm waters to the streams almost as rapidly as they 

would flow :from house tops or along _city gutters. This rapid delivery o:f the storm water_ 

:from the steep cleared slopes aids greatly in raising floods to abnormal heights. In other 

words, floods in steep, denuded, and eroded basins assume much the character of floods caused 

by cloudbursts, not only in their very rapid rise and great velocity, but also in their destructive 

violence and rapid decline to ordinary stages. Their height and velocity are increased and 

their length is diminished as compa~ed with floods in the same stream when the stream basin 

was forested. 

It might be thought that as rivers are but the sum or aggregate of their tributaries they 

will rise to the same height during floods and become correspondingly low during droughts. 

This, however, could be true only if stages o:f stream height varied synchronously on all the 

tributaries, and i:f all these tributaries were so adjusted as to position, length, and slope that 

they discharged into the main stream their abnormally high or low flows at the same time 

These conditions, however, are manifestly impossible in any large river system whose headwaters include areas that are diverse in· geography and climate. Some tributaries may be in 

flood when others carry little water; some are long and of gentle slope, others are short and 

of abrupt descent. The river into which they flow represents, then, not the sum of their 

extremes, but more nearly their .mean, and in its phenomena o:f flow will tend to preserve a 

mean. 

The general variations in rainfall in all parts of any large river basin in the Appalachians 

are probably similar in kind though not exactly synchronous or o:f equal amount everywhere 

throughout the basin. The period of maximum rainfall, :for instance, in this entire region 

· usually occurs late in the winter or early in the spring, and the period o:f minimum rainfall 

late in the summer and autumn. The average stages of the small and large streams of the 

region vary in a general way in harmony with the rainfall, and just as the tributaries become; 

on the average, lowest late in the summer and fall, the main stream into which they flow 

becomes lowest then also, but this is a mean lo.w, not an extreme low. In the same way the 

main stream is highest when the tributaries are highest. 

It is probable that within recent years the mean low-water flow has been decreased on 

main streams whose tributary basins have been largely cleared. In the same ,way, the mean 

high-water stages of these streams have probably been similarly increased by excessive clearing. 

By this increase in high-water stages a larger proportion of the total rainfall is immediately 

carried away ~s run-off, and consequently a smaller proportion is left to supply evaporation 

and maintain the flow of springs and other ground waters. Evaporation in cleared and 

cultivated areas is at least as great as in :forested areas, and as the average annual rainfall 

has probably remained unaffected by the clearing of the forest, the increased run-off must 

constantly leave a decreased supply for the springs, which must therefore suffer partial or 

total :failure during prolonged drought. 

Occasionally it is maintained that in any large river system the flow during low-water 

stages is kept up by the run-off from freqt1ent rain storms on small areas scattered here and 

there over the basin, and that the river is consequently not dependent on the flow of the springs 

or ground water forits maintenance. The failure o~ springs, it is argued, would consequently 

I • 
CHANGES IN STREAM REGIMEN. 

not materially affect the flow of the main stream of the basin, though it is admitted they would 

stop the flow of the streamlets to which they ordinarily give rise. 

Local thunderstorms that involve considerable precipitation in small areas may, in times 

of general drought, contribute somewhat to the maintenance of the stream's flow, but these 

local storms are probably not so frequent in any particular large river basin as· to maintain 

by themselves or even to nearly maintain the low-water flow of the main stream. ln a basin 

like the upper Ohio, for instance, many days at a time will often elapse during prolonged dry 

seasons without the occurrence of enou-gh local thunderstorms anywhere in the basin . to affect 

materially the extreme low-water discharge of the river, and during some droughts in the 

Ohio basin there are so many days or even weeks together during which no rain falls anywhere 

within the entire basin that if the streams depended during such periods on the local thunder 

showers alone, the last water thus falling would h~ve ample time to flow down the entire 

length of the river and out at its mouth and leave its bed entirely dry before another local 

shower would occur. The low-water flow of a stream during· droughts depends very largely 

or almost entirely on springs and other ground water within its basin, and as they fail it will 

fail. 

It has been suggested that, assuming that there has been no climatic change, and that rainfall" is as heavy and thunderstorms are as frequent in forested as in deforested areas, it should 

be obvious that the discharge of sp~ings plus the run-off in forested areas would exceed the 

run-off from thunderstorms alone in deforested areas and that of two streams the one from the 

forested area would show the larger flow. . 

It would be interesting to compile records of rainfall at all possible stations in, say, the 

upper Ohio basin, and ascertain as accurately as possible how often and in. what areas local 

rainfall occurs during a general dry season throughout the basin, and thus test the matter so 

, far as records would afford a test. 

The streams of the southern Appalachian ~Iountain region furnish many illustrations of 

the various phases. of the change of regimen outlined in preceding pages and leave no doubt 

in the writer's mind that floods are now more frequent, rise higher, move downstream more 

rapidly, and are sooner succeeded by low water, and that this becomes lower and lasts long.er 

than formerly. The wri~er contends that the belief that these changes have occurred rests on 

so large a body of observed facts that it can not be successfully controverted. 

Rainfall records and flood-gage readings are often appealed to by those who discuss the 

effect of forests on stream flow or those who attempt to determine whether or not changes have 

occurred in the regimen of streams, but each great flood is primarily the result of qnusual rainfall, and many variable factors combine to determine the height to which a flood will rise at 

a given place or the height that will be reached by different floods. 

Gage readings and rainfall records are not necessary to prove change of stream regimen, 

nor would their failure to show an absolute increase in flood heights at any given point disprove it, since some of these readings and records are subject to error and are inexact. 

The discharge of a river can not be determined by and does not vary with the gage heights 

alone, for the velocity of the current is also an essential factor in the determination, and this 

velocity, though varying in certain respects with the depth of the current as shown by the 

gage height, also varies independently of the gage height-that is, it depends on the steepness 

of ::;urface slope of the advancing flood wave. A flood of more sudden rise and consequently 

steeper front slope at the same gage height will have greater velocity and will discharge much 

more water than a flood of slow rise but of the same height. For the same reason the front 

part of any flood wave has a greater velocity than the hinder part, and hence as the wave 

advances downstream its length increases and its height and velocity diminish independently 

of any changes in width or slope of the stream channel. On this account floods in the lower 

part of a river rise more slowly, reach less heights, and subside more slowly than those in the 

upper part of the same stream. Humphreys and Abbot state, for instance, that in the flood of 

1858 the Mississippi at Columbus, l(y., discharged more than 56 per cent more water at the 

37-foot stage as the flood rose than it did at the same stage of the same flood as the river fell. 
28 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHiANS. 

In a rapidly rising flood the transverse pro.file of the water surface is convex, being highest 

near the center or at the point of greatest velocity, and readings take11 from gages near midstream give too great a cross section, while those near the bank give too small a cross section. 

Unless the river bottom is bare rock the cross section may vary rapidly during floods because 

of scour and fill and thus introduce additional sources of error in calculating discharge. 

If a gage is situated a, short distance below an import~nt tributary, its flood records when 

there is heavy rainfall in the basin of this tributary will show abnormalities due to the superimposition of the floods of this tributary on the more general flood of the main stream. Such 

locally superimposed flood waves will usually disappear farther downstream-. This or other 

local and ephemeral factors play parts that are so important in determining the heights of 

floods at given points that a series of gages situated at intervals along the same stream will not 

give proportionately high records of a series of floods. The flood giving the highest record 

at any one gage usually fails to give the highest record at any other of the series. A 40-foot 

stage, for instance, at one gage may at the next gage make at one time a 20-foot stage, at another 

a 30-foot stage, and at another some other stage. "Vhen one attempts, then, to tabulate flood 

stages on a river his results for the same series of years will vary according to the gage station 

he selects. This is well shown by comparing for a series of years the highest gage reading of 

the year on Tennessee River at Chattanooga and at Florence. In 1867 a stage of 58.6 feet 

at Chattanooga corresponded to a stage of 31.1 feet at Florence, whereas in 1897 a stage of 

only 37.9 feet at Chattanooga corresponded to one of 32.2 feet at Florence, and in 1901 a 

37.4-foot stage at Chattanooga was synchronous with only an 18.8-foot stage at Florence. These 

differences are doubtless due partly to differences in the velocity of the flood wave and partly 

to differences in rainfall in the intervening part of the river basin. One who contends that 

floods on the Tennessee have increased in absolute height in recent years would find one of these 

stations better suited to his purpose than another, whereas some-other station would be selected 

by his opponent. 

Conclusions as to stream regimen that are drawn from tables of mean monthly and annual 

stages of a river at a given point, and that show nothing of the range of the variable heights 

that produce them, are worthless to show change of regimen. An average monthly stage at a 

given point might be compiled at one time from gage readings that at no time during that 

month varied a foot from the monthly mean, whereas at another time they might be the average 

during the month of numerous variations of wide range on either side of the mean. The mean 

telb nothing of the actual daily regimen of'the river and is worthless to prove that there either 

has or has not been a change in this regimen. 

· The writer, indeed, believes that the mean annual discharge-not the mean gage heightof. a river at any given point does not vary for a long series of years except as rainfall varies, 

but that if the region were deforested during the time the distribution of this mean di.scharge 

during the year would be affected unless the rainfall were distributed Ull:iformly through 

the year. 

The unreliability of conclusions as to stream discharge that are reached by considering 

gage heights alone is further illustrated by the fact that where large storage reservoirs, like 

those at the head of the ~fississippi, for instance, are used to supplement the extreme natural 

low-water flow, their effect in raising the level of the water diminishes downstream and is 

sometimes entirely lost within a comparatively short distance; so that although the volume of 

water flowing past a given point is undoubtedly increased by the discharge from the reservoir, 

. the fact is not shown by a notable increase in the gage height. Although the artificial reservoirs at the head of the Mississippi are said to raise the low-water level an average of 14 inches 

at St. Paul, Minn., their effect steadily diminishes as the river becomes wider and finally 

disappears entirely 51 miles below St. Paul. 

Increased flood heights and flood frequency are most evident on the headwaters and not 

down on the navigable middle and lower reaches of a large river system, and the chief destructive effect occurs both along the headwaters and at points where the streams first leave the 

mountains and run out upcm the plains. It was in and above Pittsburg, for instance, and 

• 
CHANGES IN STREAM REGIMEN. 29 

not down at Louisville or Cairo that the flood of 1907 on the Ohio was most destructive. It 

was at Elizabethton on the Watauga and at other places similarly situated on other Appalachian mountain tributaries of the Tennessee, and not down at Chattanooga, Florence, or 

Paducah, that the floods of 1901 and 1902 on that river were most destructive. 

So far as the navigable portions of any of the larger river systems are concerned, the 

effects of erosion in filling stream channels with sand, gravel, and bowlders are of more 

importance than the increased height of floods. The increased frequency of floods on the 

navigable portions of streams is, however, of greater importance than increased height, since 

floods many feet lower than the highest floods known are able to destroy crops, and their 

increased frequency makes farming more hazardous on flood plains and decreases greatly the 

value of such lands. 

There is abundant evidence on rivers such as the Tennessee of increased silting in the 

navigable portions of streams because of the" increased erosion resulting from deforestation. 

The various factors that regulate stream-flow and regimen may be classified under five 

heaas-climate, topography, geology, vegetation, and artificial control. Since the effect of 

each of these factors can not as a rule be sharply distinguished, it is difficult to determine their 

relative magnitude, so that only their general tendency can be considered. 

Many of those who have discussed the effect of forests on stream regimen have been 

disposed to consider one class, of data or one group of conditions and to overlook others. Gage 

heights, for example, have been commonly used in presenting arguments for and against the 

effect of deforestation on stream regimen, without proper regard for the conditions that have 

caused the gage heights. Therefore, some of the deductions drawn from gage heights in 

regarCI to the effect of deforestation have been unwarranted and misleading. 

The writer, though considering the various conditions affecting change of regimen, has 

based his conclusions chiefly on the record made during long ages in the flood plains, the 

filopes, and other features of the valley floors and sides. 

Flood-plain deposits built up during long ages reveal the character of the floods by which 

they were formed. If the floods have been small or gentle the deposits will consist of fine 

alluvium; if they have been great or violent, the de.posits in a region like the southern Appalachians will be coarser and will consist of sands, cobbles, or bowlders. If, then, the sands, 

cobbles, and bowlders that have been repeatedly strewn over their flood ' plains in the last 

decade by such rivers as the Watauga, the Doe, the Nolichucky, the French Broad, the Catawba, 

the Yadkin~ and other southern rivers had been the kind of material those rivers had for ages 

been accustomed to deposit, their entire flood plains would be formed of such coarse material, 

instead of being composed, as they generally are, of fine sandy loam or clay. Had they at 

any time in the past been accustomed to carry material so coarse and built it into their flood 

plains, that material would be there to-day as a mute witness of the fact. Moreover, the normal 

change in the regimen of a river as the ages pass causes its flood-plain deposits to grow constantly finer. In these rivers, however, this process has been reversed; their deposits have 

recently grown coarser because there has been a recent increase in the height, velocity, and 

power of their floods. · 

This anomalous change in the regimen of these rivers is not due to any change of climate 

nor to any earth warping or other crustal movement. It is not due to the drainage of swamps 

and ponds, for these do not exist in the region. It is not due to road building, paving, or 

ditching, nor to the building of levees or dams or other engineering works, for such changes 

in the region are quantitatively insufficient to produce the results noted. It is, therefore, 

reasonably believed to be due to the denudation of the steep mountain slopes and their consequent erosion"' 

It is difficult to fix any definite period as the beginning of the change recorded, since it 

was more or less gradual and was not synchronous in all parts of the mountains. In general 

terms, however, the period extending from 1885 to 1890 may be taken as the start, for it 

witnessed the revival of industrial activity after the long period of exhaustion and slow recuper-

~tion that followed the Civil "\Var. Railroad building then became more active; lumbering 
30 DE D I :r AX ER IQ_~ I THE THElL- APPAL ' HI -

!J uan t b timula t l. obn 

PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY. 

r om h pr djno- dj. cu i n j i 

· r la iY rna nitud and imr rtc n 

t a ricul ur and th 

THE A ,fn LT \ L PI: BLE L 

TllB F RE T l'ROBLE)I. 

t pr . 'nt. 1 wo eli. tin 

part f h r o-i n. 

m 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIO AL PAPER 72 PLATE X 

EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN TORRE 

BEE REGULATED. 

S pa ge 30. 

B. ROCK WALLS BUILT ON A STEEP MOUNTAIN-SI DE FIELD 

EUROPE TO KEEP THE SOIL FROM ERODING. 

Se pag 30 

CONDITIONS IN THE REGION. 31 

of hardwood, protect the game and fish, and enhance the· beauty and charm of the region as a 

health and pleasure resort, as well as prevent the navigable streams Hhat flow from these mountains from filling up with the sand and silt, whose removal is now costing annually large sums 

of money. 

DETAILS OF CONDITIONS IN THE REGION. 

METHOD OF TREATMENT. 

The specific descriptions embodied in the following pages give the data necessary for 

judgment as to the seriousness of the conditions now existing in various parts of the southern 

Appalachians and afford some basis, it is hoped, for the intelligent and successful application 

of remedial measures. The units considered are the major stream basins, which are discussed 

in the geographieal order in whieh they are found to succeed each other, as one encircles the 

southern Appalachians by passing southwestward from the Virginia-Tennessee line along the 

west side of the mountains to central eastern Alabama, there turns eastward around their 

southern end and then goes northward across Georgia and the Carolinas back to Virginia. 

The upper portion of the New River basin is then described; and, finally; the Monongahela 

basin, heading in West Virginia and extending northward to Pittsburg. 

The order of description follows the order in which the basins were examined. The position, 

extend, and relations of the major basins are shown in Plate XI, page 32, and the areas 

examined in detail in figure 1. The names used for tlie ·streams and other geographic and 

geologic features are those given on the topographic and geologic maps of the United States 

Geological Survey. These maps, which are listed below, will be found exceedingly helpful in 

following the discussion. 

List of atlas sheets and geologic folios (F) covering the southern Appalachian region and the New and Monongahela 

River basins.a 

Abbeville. Cranberry (F) • Kings· Mountain. Ravenswood. 

Abingdon. Crawfordville. Kingston ( E') . Ringgold (F). 

Accident (F). Cullman. Knoxville (F). Roaofl Mountan (F). 

Anniston. Cumberland Gap. Lewisburg. Rome (F). 

Asheville (F) • Dadeville. Littleton. St. George (W. Va.). 

Ashland (Ala.) .. Dahlonega. Loudon (F). Saluda. 

Athalia. Dalton. McCormick. Scottsboro. 

Atlanta (Ga.). Dublin. Mannington. Sewanee (F) .. 

Bessemer. Elberton. Marietta (Ga.). Sharon. 

Birmingham (F). Ellijay. Maynard ville (F) . Springville. 

Blacksville. Estill ville (F). Monroe. Statesville. 

Briceville CH'). Fairmont. Morganton. Stevenson (F). 

Bristol (F). Fort Payne. Morgantown. Sutton. 

Brockton. Frostburg. Morristown (Tenn.) (F). Suwanee. 

Brookwood. Gadsden (F) . Mount Guyot. Talbotton. 

Buckhannon (F). Gaffney. Mount Mitchell (F). Talladega. 

Burnsville. Gainesville (Ga.). Murphy. Tallapoosa. 

Carnesville: Glenwood. Nantahala (F). Vadis. 

Cartersville. Grantsville (F). Nicholas. Walhalla. 

Centerpoint. Greeneville (F). Oceana. Walton. 

Charleston (F). Hickory. Opelika. Wartburg (F). 

Charlotte. Hillsville. Philippi. Wedowee. 

Chattanooga (F). Hinton. Pickens. Weston. 

Clanton. Huntington (F). Piedmont (F). Wetumpka. 

Clarksburg. Huntsville. Pikeville (F). Wilkesboro. 

Cleveland (Tenn.) (F). Jasper. Pisgah (F). Winfield (W. Va.). 

Columbia (S. C.). Jonesville. Pocahontas (F). Wytheville. 

Columbus. Kanawha Falls. Point Pleasant. Yadkinville. 

Co wee. Kenna. Raleigh ( F) . 

o The atlas sheets are sold by the United States Geological Survey for 5 cents each; the folios for 25 cents each. 

72091°-No. "i'2-11--3 
32 I 

DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 

Tennessee River is formed by the union of Holston and French Broad rivers 4! miles above 

Knoxville, Tenn. An examination of these streams shows that the Holston is the direct continuation of the Tennessee up the great Appalachian Valley, and for this reason the head of 

the Holston is here treated as the head of the Tennessee.a The main tributary basins from the 

eastern or Appalachian Mountain side will first be described in order from the l-Iolston southward to the Hiwassee, and the description of these will be followed by a description of the 

Tennessee itself from Knoxville, Tenn., to Paducah, J(y. No examination was made of the 

streams entering ·from the west or Cumberland Mountain side of the basin. 

HOLSTON BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The basin of Holston River l:as an extreme length of about 170 miles, of which the lower 

141} miles, below the junction of the north and south forks near Kingsport, Tenn., is narrow 

and receives but little drainage. Above this junction the basin has an average width of per~ 

haps 50 miles. The slope of the north fork of the Holston is about 6 feet per mile; that of 

the lower 141! miles is 2.55 feet per mile. This slope is, however, by no means uniformly 

distributed, but quiet pools and ~hallow reaches succeed each other at varying intervals 

throughout the course. 

All of the larger streams of the Holston basin flow either on rock bottom or over bed · 

rock that is covered at ordinary stages by a foot or two of loose sand and gravel. During 

floods this loose material is undoubtedly set in motion and the bottom is subjected to powerful 

scouring action. The streams are thus actively degrading or deepening their channels, and 

the material consequently has no general tendency to lodge and accumulate in great quantities, 

so that bars and islands as a rule are not growing. During floods, however, more material is 

furnished than can be removed and the excess is deposited to build flood plains, which waste 

as erosion progresses; and as the channels are deepened new flood plains at lower levels are 

formed and the older ones are left as fossil flood plains, many of which may be observed . at 

different levels along the sides of the valleys. 

Flood crests on the Holston, as well as on other streams of equally high gradient, as a rule 

have steep fronts, advance rapidly~ and recede with almost . equal rapidity. As might be 

expected, such floods are usually destructive. 

HOLSTON BASIN ABOVE THE MOUTH OF WATAUGA RIVER. 

No detailed examination was made of the extreme upper part of the Holston basin, but 

in the course of several trips across it the general conditions were noted. 

The upper Holston basin is drained by the North and South forks of the Holston, which 

flow southwestward in harmony with the general trend of the mountain ridges of the region 

and which, with their tributaries, show a marked parallelism in ' their courses. This parallel 

arrangement is due to the folding, faulting, and subsequent erosion of the rocks of the region, 

whose upturned and eroded .edges trend northeast and southwest. These Paleozoic rocks offer 

unequal resistance to erosion; some weather rapidly and others very slowly, so that areas of 

soft shales and limestones have been carved into valleys and beds of resistant chert and sandstone or quartzite stand up as ridges. The country is therefore characterized by long, narrow 

valleys, separated by equally long, narrow ridges, with steep slopes and in many places sharp. 

crests. 

The valleys are usually fertile and level or gently rolling, and are largely cleared. The 

soil~ which is commonly formed of limestone or calcareous. shale, the elevation, which ranges 

a In the stream-measurement reports of the United States Geological Survey the French Broad, because of its greater 

drainage area, is treated as the upper extension of the Tennessee. · 
U S .GE.OLOGICAL SURVEY 

I DR I I 

I 

It s THE.R 

MO 

I 

• I 

at' 

AGE SI 

0• THE 

_i\P ~CHIAN 

NT AIN 

lip lor~ 

l. 1 

8 1' 

AL PAPER 72 PLATE XI 

, •. -~i l 

'I 

I 

-~ 

I 

I 

I 

I I 

JUliUS ~lf.f'f ~CO :.. ITh V 
HOLSTON BASIN. 33 

from 1,400 to 2,500 feet, and the rainfall, which averages about 4.5 inches a year, make this a 

natural grass region, and a very large proportion of the cleared area is in meado:w or pasture 

land, though some corn and small grains are raised. Many of the richer slopes also are cleared 

£or several hundred feet up their sides, and the tops of many of the ridges are also in grass. 

"\Vhere th.e land is sodded there is practically no erosion. Each year more and more of the 

cultivated)and is being put in grass. 

Most of the Holston valley in Virginia lies in Washington and Smythe counties. About 

77 per cent of the area of these counties is classed as farm lands by the Twelfth Census, and 

of this farm area about 57 per cent is cleared. The 23 per cent · not in farms consists largely 

of timber areas in the rougher or more mountainous portions of the counties. Much of the 

timber has been or is being cut, and practically ll of it is in the hands of lumber companies. 

From 45 to 50 per cent of the area of these two counties and probably 50 per cent of the entire 

Holston basin in Virginia is cleared, and much more than half of the cleared area is in grass. 

That the erosion of this cleared lana is in most places very slight is evident, but close examination of some of the slopes reveals the presence of isolated gullies or bare, eroded areas, and 

here and there a slope of shale, which weathers to a 'fine-grained, compact clay, also shows a 

tendency to gully. In flood the streams in the region do not carry so large an amount of 

sediment as is borne by streams draining areas where a larger part of. the slopes are bare, as,-

for instance, those farther. south in the Appalachians. The flood waters are usually brownish 

or grayish in color and not the deep· yellow or red shown by the more southern streams when 

in flood, the discoloration being due more to decaying vegetable matter than to suspended particles of soil. 

The upper Holston valley is traversed lengthwise by the Norfolk and Western and Southern Railways and crosswise by the Virginia and Southwestern and by several branches· of the 

Norfolk and Western, one branch extending southeastward from Abingdon, Va., into the Holston, Iron~ and Stone mountains, one going down Shady Valley, and another up W,hite Top 

Laurel Valley, making available the timber within the southeast edge of the basin. Another 

branch extends southward from Marion, V a., across the Iron Mountains into the edge of the 

New River basin. These roads furnish transportation for large quantities of lumber, crossties, pulp wood, tan bark, and tanning-extract wood. Along the main lines of railway lumbering has been active for years and most of the good timber has been cut. The construction of 

these branch roads has made it possible to extend the operations back into the mountains, and 

·only a few of the more remote and inaccessible coves of the upper Holston basin remain 

untouched by the ax. Large lumber plants are established at Bristol, Abingdon, and other 

points in the region, and many small mills are located on the branch railways or back in the 

mountain coves. Lumber from these small mills is hauled by wagon 20 miles or more to reach 

one of the railways. 

The main part of the upper Holston valley needs no protection from erosion. Most of 

the forested areas lie along narrow ridges, each of comparatively small extent, that are so 

separated that they could not be segregated from the cleared lands of the basin. Moreover, 

they do not appear to be in special danger nor are they apt to become a menace to the valleys 

betwee~. It is true that the run-off from the sodded slopes and valleys during heavy rains is 

much more rapid than that from a wooded area with abundant humus, yet undoubtedly these 

lands are now being put to the best possible use, and though they give an increased run-off 

during rains and perhaps a slightly greater flood-crest height, such conditions should prob~ 

ably be regarded as unavoidable consequences of man's use of the region. 

The upper Holston valley is not subject to extraordinary damage from floods. In some 

places, it is true, the streams are cutting; in others they are building; but no serious damage is 

being done and there is not the great volume of detritus working into the stream channels that 

is found farther' south, where the cleared areas are not sodded. The amount of destruction 

along the streams is consequently much less than along the streams farther south. 
34 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Along its southeastern edge the upper Holston basin is separated from the New and 

Watauga basins by a rough, mountainous country, which is crossed by the Holston, Iron, and 

Stone 1\-Iountain ranges, and a large portion of which is so steep, rough, and stony that it can 

never be used for farming. In this region lumbering is active. 

WATAUGA RIVER BASIN. 

Watauga River rises in the Blue Ridge near the head of New River and flows northwestward to its junction with the south fork of the Holston . . Its basin is compact in shape and may 

qe divided into two parts-a larger eastern part, lying within the mountains proper, and a 

smaller western one, which lies in the great valley of east Tennessee. The conditions in the 

mountainous portion are of chief interest fo.r the purposes of this report, but the conditions 

along the lower part of the stream will also be described. 

UPPER WATAUGA BASIN. 

The upper part of the Watauga basin has an elevation along the stream itself of 1,700 to 

to 3,000 feet above sea level, but a large part of its surface is much higher and within or around 

its margin there are many peaks 5,000 feet or more in altitude. Grandfather Mountain is 

5,964 feet high, Hanging Rock is 5,237 feet, and Roan Mountain is 6,313 feet. The surface 

is much broken by long-continued erosion. The tributary stream valleys are narrow and deep 

and are separated by steep and usually densely wooded ridges. The streams have steep gradients and high velocity, and consequently great destructive power during floods. The damage 

from floods in this basin in 1901 amounted to $2~000,000. _ 

The examination of the Watauga basin began at Johnson City, Tenn. At Wata~ga Valley, 

where the river itself was first reached, evidences of the great flood of 1901 were seen on all 

sides. The bottom lands had been badly washed and torn to pieces. In some places the roads 

had been entirely destroyed by the erosion of great holes; in others white sand had been spread 

deeply over lands that had previously been highly fertile. At one place the railway company 

now has a sand pit where large crops of corn were formerly raised. ~Iuch of this 'Vatauga 

bottom land can not be remade in years. Estimates of the average amount of damage place it 

at about 75 per cent of the original value of the land. Considerable ·areas of land~ formerly 

worth from $75 to $100 an acre, were unsalable . a-fter the flood. The greatest destruction 

occurred near the river. In many places 6 or 8 feet of soil has been stripped from a belt 100 

to 150 yards wide, exposing the underlying stream bowlders or the edges of upturned limestone 

beds. -

At Elizabethton the river broke from its .channel and swept through the town~ destroying 

one street entirely and cutting a new channel, which the town has attempted to close by building 

a stone and crib work dam across its upper end. It will be years, however, before the channel 

thus excavated in a few hours can be filled up and obliterated. 

Doe River above ]~lizabethton shows similar flood effects, much of the bordering land 

having been destroyed by the same process of soil stripping or sand covering. 

The Watauga and the Doe are in most places bordered by a narrow ordinary flood plain, 

above which is an extraordinary flood plain 100 to 1,000 yards in width. The narrow, ordinary 

plain is frequently covered by floods, so that crops growing on it are liable to destruction at 

almost any time. Formerly the higher, extraordinary plain was rarely seriously injured by 

high waters, but in recent years high water has reached it more frequently and covered it more 

deeply, and very much of the destruction in 1901, both of bottom lands and of crops, roads, and 

railways, was on this extraordinary flood plain. It can no longer be regarded as reasonably 

safe from floods, and its value has been greatly lessened, both because of this fact and because 

of the actual destruction already wrought on the land itself. _ 

Older fossil flood plains may be seen along both rivers at various heights. One that is 

particularly well preserved is 80 feet higher than the extraordinary plain now being damaged 

by floods. It contains in places an abundance of rounded bowlders up to 1 or 2 feet in diameter 

that once formed . its base, just as many present-day flood plains of fine alluvial material are 
HOLSTON BASIN. 35 

nnderlain by a bowlder bed at their base. About 50 feet higher there is another still older fossil 

flood plain or terrace, whose surface is also characterized by rounded bowlders, but is much 

dissected by erosion and is preserved to-day only in remnants. These old flood plains, formed 

when the river flowed at a distinctly higher ·level than now, are, of course, above the reach of 

even the most extraordinary floods, but long leaching and the cessation of alluvial deposition 

have left the soil little of its original fertility. · 

Five miles above Elizabethton Doe !liver passes through a narrow, precip,itous, rocky 

gorge. The railway through this gorge was practically destroyed, and above the gorge prac·-

tically all bridges as well as much of the track of the remainder of the line up to Cranberry, 

N. C., were swept away and destroyed in 1901. . 

Allentown suffered much from the same· flood·. County bridges were destroyed and many 

houses were swept :from their foundations or wrecked. A large part of the destruction here, 

a~ elsewhere, was caused by sawmill refuse-slabs and other floating timbers-which, in the 

grasp of the swift waters, acted as battering rams or lodged and formed rafts that grew until 

they ultimately swept everything before them. 

From Allentown northeastward to Watauga River a considerable area of steep slopes has 

been cleared, but the soil is somewhat porous and sandy and much of the rainfall is absorbed, 

so that there is comparatively little erosion. Along the Watauga, above its gorge through the 

Iron Mountain, evidences of flood damages are numerous; bottom lands were washed away, 

roads were torn to pieces, and railroad bridges and embankments were generally destroyed. 

The bottoms up to Butler are cleared, although the steep slopes on either side are usually 

wooded. At .Butler a steel highway bridge was swept away, much land along the river was 

injured, and cleared areas on the hillsides were b!ldly washed. Above Butler the Watauga 

Valley contains practically no bottom lands. In this part of its course the river cuts throngh 

Stone ]\fountains in a narrow, steep-sided gorge that is not cleared, and only small patches of 

flood p.lain are found until the valley widens near Valle Crucis, N. C. 

The lands about and above Valle Crucis, past Shulls Mill and on to the head of the river, 

have in recent years been much injured by floods. The channel of the stream has been filled 

with debris to such an extent that the river overflows its banks easily, and its descent is so rapid 

that many parts of the adjacent bottom lands have been much washed and gouged, or once 

fertile fields have been thickly overspread with cobbles and gravels. Along the steep valley 

slopes are considerable areas of cleared land which in places show much gullying. 

Practically all of the upper part of the Watauga Valley is an area of granite. Where the 

grani.te is coarsely crystalline in texture it weathers into a soil that is porous enough to absorb 

much of the rainfall and prevent extensive erosion; where it is finely crystalline it weathers into 

a more compact clayey soil that is not nearly so pervious, and erosion is much more pronounced. 

Steeply sloping areas underlain by the fine-textured type of this granite should, if possible, be 

kept in timber; those underlain by the coarse-grained type can be cleared with much less risk of 

destruction by erosion. 

Another effect. of the rapid erosion and filling of the channel of the Watauga appears in 

the bars and islands, which may be seen at many places above and below Valle Crucis. Sand 

and gravel lodging in shallow places becomes covered with various plant growths, and in a 

few years forms un island which deflects the stream current and causes erosion of the banks. 

At other places where the steep tributary basins have been cleared, the Watauga is unable to 

remove all the debris brought to it by the streams, and broad fans or cones of sand and gravel 

are forming at the mouths of these tributaries and are tending to push the Watauga to the 

opposite side of the valley. The obstruction of the main channel that originates in this way 

,may in time increase to such an extent as to pond the '\Vatauga apd convert the bottoms immediately above into marshes or lakes. Dutch Creek has formed an esl?ecially well-marked alluvial 

fan of this type, which has already ruined a number of acres of fine bottom land. The owners 

of the land along this upper 'part of the Watauga have tried in various ways to prevent its 

destruction by the river and its tributaries. In some places they have built stone cribbing or 

brush training walls; in others they have faced the cribbing with sheet piling. 

• 
36 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Above Shulls Mill every mill and dam was wash~d away by the flood of 1901 and bottoms 

were damaged from 15 to 25 per cent of the former value of the land. Mills, dams,. and 

bridges on several of the tributaries of the upper Watauga were also carried out, and some of 

the steep cleared hillsides were damaged more· than 25 per cent. · A considerable part of 

the damage to cleared hillsides is alleged to have been due to the snaking trails, made by the 

lumbermen on the higher wooded slopes, which furnished runways for the water and concentrated it on the lower cleared slopes. The county has, at no little cost, replaced the bridges, and 

in places has relocated and graded roads along the hillsides above the reach of :future floods. 

Above Foscoe the higher ·slopes on the south side of Hanging Rock Mountain have been 

largely cleared and many of them have washed badly, especially within recent years, so that 

they now present many bare red-clay areas. On the north and west slope of Grandfather 

Mountain v.ery little clearing has been done. The cleared land is practically all in grass and 

has not washed to any appreciable extent. The Moody Mill Creek 3:nd Boone Fork regions 

.are· not largely cleared, and erosion does not seem to be especially active in either of these basins. 

At the head of Banners Elk Creek there is a good example of erosion of a lower wooded 

slope caused by water concentrated by ditches from fields on the higher slopes above. Two 

miles above Banners Elk cleared bottom lands are seen; the stream is very swift, however, and 

in floods cuts new channels at many places and leaves the flood plain surface in a hummocky 

condition. It is, in fact, rather a cobble torrent plain than an alluvial plain and can be· made 

safe from erosion only by building extensive retaining walls or other devices for holding the 

stream in check. The land is not especially fertile and some parts are poorly drained and 

swampy. 

Much the larger part of the arel;l between Beech Mountain and Hanging Rock is wooded 

and wild. Most of the cleared areas noted were on the . slope of Beech Mountain and were not 

eroding badly, perhaps because the rocks of the Beech ~1ountain area consist of a coarse porphyritic granite, which weathers into a loose, porous soil that permits the rapid downward 

percolation of the rainfall and thus greatly decreases the run-off. From Banners Elk to Elk 

Park the stream flows in a steep-sided more or less rocky gorge, its descent is rapid, and erosion 

has been so active that, except in a few areas of soft rock, it has built little or no flood plain. 

'\Vhere flood plains have been made they are rather beveled, sloping plains than true flood 

plains, the edge near the stream being much lower than the part near the valley wall. Such · 

plains result where the stream slowly shifts laterally while cutting down vertically, forming 

<>n one side a beveled slope of which only the lower edge is ever covered by floods and which 

.embraces in successively higher portions the ordinary, extraordinary, and fossil flood plains; 

on the other side there . is usually a steep slope or an undercut bluff. Here and there where 

the gorge is not exceedingly steep the fields have been cleared and in places these show the 

effects of erosion. · 

Forty to 60 per cent of the area. from Elk Park northward across Beech Mountain to 

the valley of Loggy Gap is cleared and some of it is rather steep, but it show$ little erosion, for 

its soil is made up of decomposed granite of coarse texture and is usually porous enough to 

absorb a large portion of the rainfall. Near Loggy Gap, however, the rocks weather into a 

closer-arained soil that is more liable to erosion on steep slopes. 

The mountain sides from Loggy Gap to the mouth of Beech Creek are 30 to 40 per cent 

cleared ; from Beech Creek down to Norris only the higher slopes are cleared, the lower por-

• tion of the slope forming an almost precipitous gorge. About Norris there are some small 

areas of rock which weather to a compact clay, and where cleared these areas show extensive 

gullying. 

Elk Creek, one of the important southern tributaries of the Watauga, flows in its lower 

course in a narrow valley cut in shales. At ordinary stages the stream is actively degrading 

its channel and flows almost everywhere on the upturned edges of the shales; during floods, 

however, it can not remove all the debris brought to it, and at a number of places where the 

shales are rather soft it has built a flood piain 100 to 300 yards in width. This flood plain is 

usually about 10 feet above ordinary water level, and is underlain near water level by a cobble 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XII 

A. POWER HOUSE AND BULKHEAD AT GREAT FALLS STATI0N OF THE SOUTHERN POWER 

COMPANY, ON CATAWBA RIVER, CHESTER COUNTY, S. C. 

See page 14. 

B. PORTMAN PLANT OF ANDERSON (S. C.) WATER, LIGH]T, AND POWER COMPANY, ON 

SENECA RIVER. 

See page 14. 

I 

HOLSTON BASIN. 

and bowlder bed, such as is left in this region by most streams having considerable slope and 

rapid current. At Elk Mills the flood plain is about 300 yards wide, but the stream is so active 

and restless that during floods it is constantly undercutting its banks on one side or the other 

and shifting its position. In this way it has stripped a zone 100 to 150 yards wide and converted it into a cobble· and bowlder belt. This shifting is not, properly speaking, meandering, 

for the stream is too vigorous to develop conventional meanders. The shifting is irregular 

and spasmodic, occurs during floods, and seems to be due to choking by chance obstructions or 

to abrupt bends in the channel, which during floods strongly deflect the cun _ ent against one 

bank or the other. The swift current r apidly sweeps away the alluvial soil and forms a new 

channeLThe amount of waste carried by this stream has increased notably dur ing recent years. 

A dam at Elk Mills that was originally only 3 feet high has been so filled with debris that 

the owners have been compelled to raise' it 2 feet in order to regain its storage capacity. It is 

evident, however, that this expedient will afford but temporary relief, for the dam will soon 

be full again and the owners must lose the value of the dam and either utilize merely the flow 

of the stream or abandon the mill. 

The source of this waste is easily recognized. The hills on the sides of the stream are 

unusually steep and have been so deeply cut by erosion that they have a rounded, knob-like 

appeaxance. They are very largely cultivated, and the fine, close-grained soils resulting from 

the weathering of the shales permit but little percolation and have gullied badly. Crude 

efforts have been made to check erosion by building loose rock dams a·t intervals across the 

gullies, but these dams are rapidly filled with fine · clay and have not greatly checked, much 

less remedied, the evil. The hills are planted largely in grain, only a small area being kept in 

grass, and these lands must therefore soon lose their soil and be abandoned. unless they are 

terraced and sodded. 

Some 3 miles a'Qove Elk Mills granite succeeds the shale, the flood plain disappears, and 

the valley walls remain uncleared, though of but moderate slope. In this region lumbering 

was actively in progress when the stream was visited, and a logging chute was being made 

from the eastern valley side down to the Elk. This chute will ultimately be converted into 

an erosion channel, as have other older logging chutes higher up the stream. At the foot of 

these older chutes notable fan-like or cone-like accumulations of rock and gravel have already 

formed. - . 

Near the State line there are some clearings and small flood plains. One at least of these 

plains has been formed by the complete filling of the impounding area above a milldam. 

In some places the flood plains have been covered by barren white sand during floods, and in 

these localities they are now of little or no agricultural value. In other places they have been 

badly eroded during floods and are now abandoned. At no place in this upper portion of the 

stream is the flood plain more tP,an a very few feet above ordinary water level, so that overflows are frequent, crops are extremely uncertain, and conditions are tending to become constantly worse. Under present conditions these lands may be regarded as of practically no value. 

Roane Creek enters the Watauga :from the north a short distance below the mouth of Elk 

Creek. From its mouth at Butler, Tenn., for several miles upstream its living flood plain is 

relatively broad and stands at an average height of about 8 feet above water level. In places 

this flood plain is badly washed and at a point 2 miles northeast of Butler a railway bridge 

and several acres of fertile lands have recently been swept away and some bad runs or diversion 

channels have been developed across the once fertile bottoms. Such runs are especially likely 

to form across meander curves, as· may be seen' in Plate XIII (p. 38). About 35 feet above 

this living flood plain there is a well-defined high or fossil flood plain, which is safe from any 

possible overflow. This stream channel, like that of Elk Creek, is shifting, and although it 

is not generally degrading its bed, it has developed a bowlder zone that is in places more than 

100 ·yards wide. The hillsides are steep and most of them are cleared and cultivated for a 

vertical distance of 100 to 300 feet above the valley. The soil on these slopes is porous and 

does not wash badly. 

I 
. . 

38 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Doe Creek enters Roane Creek at Mouth of Doe in a narrow gorge. Across this gorge 

has been built a millda·m, the pond above which in recent years has filled completely with sand 

and stones. In its stretch above the dam the stream is unable to remove the de0ris furnished 

to it by its tributaries and is distributing silt along its way, aggradip.g its flood plain and 

menacing its bottoms. The steep hillsides show many washes, which end on the edge of th~ 

flood plain in stony alluvial fans or cones. The aggradation in the main stream has given it 

a tendency to meander, and just below Doeville a long rock-filled crib has recently been built 

to protect the ottoms. The steep shale slopes west and northwest of Doeville are cultivated 

and are washing and gullying. Above Doeville the numerous tributaries of Doe Creek from 

the west have built long, low sandy or stony fans where they strike the Doe Creek flood plain 

and have in the aggregate destroyed a considerable area of good bottom lands. In some places 

the steep slopes erode into gullies; in other places several small, shallow gullies have coalesced 

into one broad erosion plain from which the soil has been entirely stripped. 

At Pandora the valley narrows and steep shale hills rise abruptly on its sides. These slopes 

· are cleared in large part and in many places show the characteristic results of shale erosion. 

Several miles farther upstream the valley widens again and about Little Doe a broad, sloping, 

or beveled flood plain has been developed. The valley walls are not so steep here and the erosion of the cleared slopes, though under way, is not so vigorous nor so destructive as along the 

lower course of the stream. 

At Mountain City the slopes jn general are moderate, and, though largely cleared, do not 

suffer badly from erosion. 

At Rhea Forge, and for a number of miles down Roane Creek, there is a relatively broad, 

well-developed flood plain, which has been affected in many places by recent floods. The railway along the flood plain has also been seriously damaged. Forge Creek, one of the tributaries 

of Roane Creek, has done much damage. :Many of its valley slopes are badly washed, and the 

ponded area above the dam that once furnished power for an iron forge and furnace has been 

completely filled with sediment and is now converted into a cornfield. 

Along Roane Creek, above Rhea Forge, there is very little bottom land. The hillsides are 

exceedingly steep and in many places are cleared, especially on the east side of the creek, 

and are washing to a considerable extent. Still farther upstream the forest-clad gorge is wild, 

rocky, and · narrow. Just below Key Station the valley widens again and the slopes become 

gentler. These slopes have been cleared and are mostly in small grain or corn. Much of the 

clearing has been done recently, and the soil still retains a portion of its humus and has not yet 

begun to erode badly. The granite rocks of this region weather into a porous soil, which tends 

to minimize surface erosion. 

About Trade and on to the State line 70 to 80 per cent of the steep mountain slopes have been 

cleared. Perhaps over half of this cleared area is in grass and is not being injured by erosion; 

the remainder is kept in corn and small grain and would rapidly wash away were it not for the 

porousness of the soil. Notwithstanding this; however, considerable areas have been badly 

gullied, and the only safe course for the farmer to pursue in order to prevent erosion is to 

keep the lands in grass. 

At Zionsville many of the steep hillsides are cleared to the very tops. Cove Creek is a 

steep torrential stream that is frequently shifting its channel, so that its narrow flood plain is 

composed of coarse material and is repeatedly being cut to pieces and refashioned. Along the · 

stream there are indications that aggradation is going on rapidly. A few miles below Zionsville the stream gradient is not so steep and the position of the channel is consequently more 

stable. The alluvial flood plain in this lower part of the creek is composed of finer material 

and is more valuable for agriculture. It has not yet been seriously injured by floods. 

Farther down Cove Creek valley there are numerous mountain-side clearings, and although 

the rocks of the region are granitic many of the cleared slopes are so steep that erosion is active. 

At a point a mile north of Mast, for instance, many steep mountain-side fields have been abandoned to gullies, briers, and broom sedge; others, though badly washed, are still cultivated. 

From these cultivated areas most of the fertile soil has already been removed, and the crops 
.'\ 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XIII 

B . CULLASAGEE RIVER CUTTING A NEW CHANNEL (TO THE RIGHT) ACROSS A MEANDER 

CURVE. 

See page 37· 
.. 

... 
. • 

HOlLSTON BASIN. 39 

now grown scarcely warrant the little work bestowed upon them In general, little or no effort 

is being made to prevent the erosion of these' steep fields, and it will not be many years before 

they, too, must be abandoned. Milldams along this valley, eve those built only a few years 

ago, are nearly full of sand and gravel. ~ 

These granitic soils erode into long, narrow, parallel gulli s that run straight down the 

steep slopes. They gradually deepen and widen until the en ire original surface has beeu 

removed and the edges of adjacent gullies coalesce, leaving th once fertile fields a maze of 

erosion-formed ridges and grooves, whose cross section has a serr te profile. From some cleared 

areas on these granitic slopes, as, for example, near Sugar Gro e, portions of the surface have 

slipped off and left bare spots. Erosion by such landslides is ore likely to occur where the 

granite is micaceous or is of a gneissoid type, or has suffered spheroidal weathering and is 

:fractured in planes of easy parting that may be inclined at angl s favorable for the production 

of landslides. Such slides occur usually in wet weather, especi . lly late in the winter or early 

in the spring. and may be started by the trampling o£ cattle. 

The flood plain of the lower valley of Cove Creek is 100 to 00 yards wide, and the position 

of the stream channel is mainly stable, aUhough here and the e it shows a tendency to shift 

and has produced a narrow zone of cobble. The stream is a so aggrading somewhat. The 

mountain-sides are cultivated up to a vertical distance of 30 or 400 feet above the valley. 

Cove Valley is bounded on th~ east by Beech ~1ountain Ran e, which rises to a height of 

5,369 feet. The upper slopes of this range are densely wooded, but some clearings occur on its 

lower slopes. These, as well as clearings on other high mount ins in the vicinity, are kept in 

grass and grazed, so that erosion here is not active. 

The cleared lands on the steep slopes on the sides of some tributaries of Cove Creek have 

been kept largely in grass, and the condition of the narrow flo d plain along these streams, as 

well as that of the steep slopes themselves, is ve.ry much bette than where clean culture has 

prevailed. ~ 

The inhabitants of the Cove Creek region generally realize that erosion is becoming worse 

and that damages from floods are becoming greater. They say ·.hat destructive floods are more 

frequent than in former years and attribute these changes to t e operations of lumbermen and 

the clearing of steep lands, but they are taking practically n measures to remedy the evils. 

The steep fields are cultivated as long as possible and are thenjbandoned. 

Lum?ering is active in _most: of the Watauga basin, and lon trains of wagons carry lumber 

to the railways at Mountain City, Butler, Cranberry, Elk P rk, and other places. In some 

localities destructive forest fires have followed in the wake o the lumberman; in others the 

forest is reproducing itself where the area lumbered has not subsequently been cleared and 

placed in cultivation or grass. 

For about 3 miles from the head of Wi1son Creek the tream. flows with a rapid current in a narrow valley devoid of flood plain. The mountai sides are steep and generally 

wooded, so that the valley may be said to remain in a stat of nature and to be occupied 

merely by the stream and railway. Farther down the creek t e valley widens gradually and 

the stream has formed a flood plain. At the mouth of Shell C ·eek this flood plain is some 200 

yards wide, but about half of it has recently been ruined by fl ods and abandoned. From this 

point down to Roan Mountain station from one-half to thre -fourths of the flood plain has 

been similarly destroyed. The principal belt of destruction i. a cobble zone on either side of 

the stream, where the soil has been entirely stripped from th flood plain. This zone of destruction is 'nlore nearly straight than the stream channel itsel , which winds irregularly back 

and forth across it and is constantly shifting its position. s a rule the belt of destroyed 

flood plain is wider just below the mouths of tributary stre ms, undoubtedly because of the 

cross currents set up during floods by the entrance of such trib taries. 

Along its entire course, from above Shell Cr·eek downw rd, Wilson Creek is overloaded 

with debris and is depositing on its flood plain the material it is unable to remove. The flood 

plain is consequently building up or aggrading, and distribu aries are given off. by the main 

channel at short intervals. These streamlets cut narrow cha nels, which are only 2 or 3 feet 
40 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. . I 

below the surface ·of the flood plain, and after short courses many of them end in fans of sand 

and cobbles that they have spread over the once fertile surface. 

The valley walls are retreating, and at many places poorly preserved remnants of an old 

stream terrace stand between 100 and 150 feet above the present surface of the flood plain. 

The valley sides are largely cleared and cultivated. If after clearing they are kept for a year 

or two only in gra1n and then sodded the surface is protected from erosion reasonably well, 

but if they are cultivated for several years until the original humus has been lost it becomes 

difficult to establish a sod, and erosion almost invariably occurs. Several such eroded areas 

may be found, especially on the south side of the valley. The surface generally cuts into deep, 

narrow gullies that run radially down the rounded hills. In a few places sheet wash was 

observed. 

At Roan Mountain the flood plain is 300 to 400 yards wide and the tributary entering 

from the south has built an alluvial fan of sand, cobbles, tree trunks, and other debris that 

extends entirely across the main flood plain and has pushed the larger stream against the 

opposite valley wall. A mill here develops 40 horsepower, but the owners report th'at during 

the last twenty years the character of the stream has materially changed, its flow having become · 

less constant, so that during the low-water season in September and October they are now able 

to develop only about 20 horsepower, and are then forced to cease operating a part of their 

1:nachinery. 

Below Roan Mountain the valley narrows ·and the little .flood plain that was once there 

has been largely destroyed by floods i:q. recent years. A few years ago the raih oad was almost 

entirely washed away and had to be practically rebuilt. All of the small mills and dams on 

the stream were torn away and many of them have never been replaced. 

The stream was formerly almost always clear and was stocked with fish. Now it is usually 

clouded with silt; the pools that were once the home of the fish have been filled with sand and 

mud and the fish have disappeared. The people of the region attribute this change to the 

greater erosion caused by the lumbering and the increased clearing of steep slopes that have 

resulted from the building of the railway up the valley, and they realize that conditions are 

becoming worse yearly. In places the cutting of timber on high slopes and the dragging of 

it down have caused serious damage to the lower slopes. No special effort is "being made to 

guard against erosion, either along the valley or on the slopes. 

For some distance south of Roan 1\tfountain station, on the road to Cloudland, the flood 

plain is relatively narrow, the stream is rapid, and the bottom lands have been largely washed 

away. Three miles south of the station the valley widens somewhat, but about half of the 

flood plain has been rendered useless by recent floods. Above this the flood plain again narrows, becomes more stony and hummocky, and is constantly shifting and reforming under 

the influence of the torrential stream. Above Burbank the flood or torrent plain is so stony 

and rough as to be practically worthless. Below Burbank 40 per cent of the hillsides have 

been cleared. From Burbank upstream practically all the hillsides are in forest, though the 

. best timber has been removed. 

Well up on the north side of Roan Mountain there are a few small clearings, above which 

· the mountain is densely wooded almost to the top, where it becomes an open, naturally treeless 

sodded slope-a "bald." Most of these balds are well grazed, but the trampling of cattle 

hat: broken the turf on the bald of the Roan and started gully erosion in many places. The 

porous, disintegrated granitic or· gneissose soil, 2 to 6 feet deep, is quickly removed down to 

the solid rock. The gully then widens until it has become a channel 10 to 15 fest wide. No 

effort is being made to check this erosion. From Cloudland the spurs of the Roan to the north 

are heavily wooded and show no clearings. To the northwest, near the head of Big Rock Creek, 

some of the steep slopes have been cleared. About half of the cleared area is in grass and 

the other half shows some erosion. At the head of Little Rock Creek there are many mountainside clearings, which show little erosion, undoubtedly because they are underlain by a granite 

whose disintegration produces a porous soil. · 
HOLSTON BASIN. 41 

LOWER WATAUGA BASIN. 

The valley of the Watauga below Johnson City, Tenn., is relatively .narrow for about 8 

miles. In this stretch the Southern Railway bridge and a $7,000 county bridge has recently 

been swept away. At De Vaults Ford the valley again widens and fo~ a few miles the stream 

is bordered by excellent bottom lands, which were damaged about 20 ·per cent in 1901, when . 

half of De Vaults Island was destroyed. From the ford down to the mouth of the Watauga 

the bottoms are in relatively narrow strips, many of which were utterly destroyed, and just at 

the mouth of the Watauga the piers for a railway bridge were wrecked. These bottom lands 

were previously worth $75 to $100 an acre, and the average damage on the entire lower portion 

of the river was 20 to 25 per cent. . 

The lands at De Vaults Ford had not been covered with water since the first settlement of 

the country in 1768 until the floods ofl860 and 1867, which ran through them but did prac-

-tically no damage. The flood of May 21~ 1901, and that of February, 1902, which was almost 

as high, completely covered and seriously injured these lands. This land of De Vault's lies 

on an extraordinary flood plain-that is, one so high that only floods of exceptional height 

-ever reach it-hence it is rarely subject to flood damage. It is bordered on the stream side by 

a narrow ordinary flood plain that stands 8 to 10 feet lower and on the other side by an older 

terrace, 40 to 50 feet higher, which is covered with stream cobbles and separated from it by a 

.sharp scarp. About 75 feet ·above this older terrace is a spur with stream bowlders that mark 

.another old flood plain. A third old or fossil stream plain, with rounded bowlders up to 1! 

feet in diameter, lies 60 feet higher still, at an elevation of 1,555 feet above sea level. 

The flood in the lower valleys of small tributaries of the "\Vatauga was ponded at places 

where they enter the main stream, and at these places rich soil was deposited which greatly 

-benefited the lands. 

HOLSTON BELOW THE MOUTH OF WATAUGA RIVER. 

Much damage was dqne on the south fork of the Holston from the mouth of the Watauga 

-down to Kingsport. "\Vhere the north fork enters, 25 per ce~t of Long Island was destroyed, 

and though a farm here and there was improved by being covered with rich silt deposits borne 

·by the eddying waters, the .assessment for taxation of the bottom lands of Sullivan County 

was lowered 20 per cent on the average because of damage done by the floods of 1901 and 1902, 

. .and the assessment on some farms was reduced 75 per cent. Besides the damage to the lands, 

considerable additional damages resulted from the sweeping away of fences and young growing 

-crops. The damage to buildings was slight for few of them stand within the reach of floods. 

Near ICingsport the ordinary flood plain, or first bottoms, as it is called, is about 12 feet 

above ordinary water stages. About 8 feet higher there is another flood plain-the extraordinary one. Both of these were covered by water and greatly damaged. About 65 feet 

higher there is a third high-stream terrace -or fossil flood plain, and 75 feet still higher there 

is a fourth, at an elevation of 1~300 feet above sea level. This last is broad and flat and is 

·well strewn with stream cobbles. 

Down the Holston the ordinary and extraordinary flood planes are ·typically developed 

·and together average probably 200 yards in width. These lands are worth $50 to $60 an acre. 

About two-thirds of the farmers in this region report recent fl.ood damages ranging from 20 

per cent to 50 per cent of the land's value, while the remaining one-third were benefited by 

rich silt deposits from eddy water. The average damage for the entire area would amount to 

·perhaps 25 per cent. A number of islands were badly damaged, the upper, more exposed ends 

having been washed off and the lower ends covered with sand. Some new islands were formed 

·wher:e the strea_m cut across bends. 

At Stony Point the bottoms are a half mile in maximum width and the river meanders 

from side to side, cutting bluffs where it touches the valley walls. In some places the river 

:had cut across these meander curves and ruined the lands on the concave side. In others, 
42 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

where it had kept to its channel around curves, the land within them had been benefited. 

Lands situated just below a bluff that deflects the current toward the opposite side of the 

valley were usually protected from erosion and benefited by rich silt deposits. Bottoms on 

convex sides of river curves were almost invariably badly damaged by the scour from the 

swift current. 

At Stony Point a rise of 10 feet covers the ordinary flood plain, but this is so broad that 

the extraordinary one, though only 6 feet higher, is never flooded. Where the maximum width 

of the two is half a mile or more this extraordinary flood plain would seem now to be passing 

into a fossil one-that is, one permanently above the reach of even the highest floods. There 

are abundant indications that the Holston as a whole is actively cutting its channel deeper or is 

degrading its course, so that any flood plairi is constantly becoming higher above ordinary 

water level, and as a result ordinary flood planes are becoming extraordinary ones, and extraordinary ones in turn pass into fossil ones, while new ordinary flood planes are formed along 

the margin of the deepening channel. 

The actual difference in elevation between these flood planes on any stream or on any 

· portion of the same stream is determined by flood heights, and this is in turn dependent on 

stream slope and on the width of the channel and of the valley, and these are functions of 

the geology of the area and vary with the resistance of the rocks to the forms of erosion to 

which they are subjected. Differences in the interval between these several plains may be 

seen along the Holston or almost any other river in the region on which the valley width or 

the stream slope varies: As a rule they tend to lie farther apart on the upper reaches of the 

stream, where stream erosion is more active and the valley is narrower and flood crests are 

higher, and nearer together on the lower reaches of the stream, where opposite conditions 

prevail. vVhere the valley is locally CO"lstricted the interval is greater; where locally broadened it is less. 

Just above the bend at Surgoinsville the bottom is three-fourths of a mile to a mile wide. 

One-half or one-fourth of this width is occupied by the ordinary flood plain and the rest by the 

extraordinary one, which here rises along a somewhat indefinite marginal line to a height only 

3 to 5 feet above the ordinary one. Just on the point within the bend there is a large area 

which has recently been ruined and abandoned. 

Near Chissolms Ford there were no signs of destruction, and, in general, where the course 

of the river remained straight the destruction of bottom lands was at a minimum; where it was 

most curved the destruction rose to a maximum. 

At Spear's mill the sawmill, cabinet shop, and stave mill were destroyed, and much machinery was ruined by the flood of 1901. The high-water mark of 1867 is there 36 feet above ordinary water level. The high-water mark of 1901 is 3 feet 8 inches lower. The flood crest in 1901 

then, though higher than that of any previously recorded flood on the Watauga, did not reach 

an equally abnormal height on the lower Holston, but was lower than that of the flood of 1867. 

The heaviest rains in1901 were in the North Carolina·mountains, and not on the headwaters of 

the Holston, in Virginia. 

At Spear's mill the river turns westward, and for several miles cuts across the trend of the 

upturned Paleozoic rocks in a narrow valley that is bordered by a narrow flood plain~ The 

bottoms on the small tributary streams in this reach were benefitted by the rich silt deposits 

left by the high water that backed up on them. 

At Three Springs the valley widens and good bottoms occur. Some of these, especially 

those on the convex sides of bends, were badly injured. The average damage reached about 20 

per cent. At Williams Ferry some farmers reported a damage of 50 per cent, and a few others 

have been benefited. 

Just. below Longs Ferry a farm in the bend, which the current swept across and ruined in 

1867, had about made back again and was in cultivation in 1901, when it was badly damaged 

and again abandoned. From Longs Ferry to Noeton the river flows westward across upturned 

hard strata and is bordered by a narrow flood plain. Below N oeton the river turns southwest-
NOLICHUCKY BASIN. 43 

ward along softer rocks, and the flood plain again broadens. The river has there cut away 

some bottoms and has covered others with barren white sand. 

Turleys Island has been badly damaged by washing and by covering with sand. About 

one-third of the farmers on the island report damage, some of which has been repaired by the 

settlings from later lower floods, so that scour or deposit is a function of flood height as well a,s 

of position with refere~ce to stream curves. -

From Turleys Island down to the mouth of the river, just above Knoxville, the damage 

was confined largely to points on the inner sides of bends. The current very generally swept 

across these and ruined them, but a few farmers whose lands were protected from the forces of 

the flood current reported that their lands were benefited. The average damage for miles 

along this lower stretch of the river will amount to about 10 per cent. The damaged lands 

were as a rule thrown out of cultivation in the hope that they would ultimately make back 

again, unlesS' other eqmilly high floods prevented. 

NOLICHUCKY BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

Nolichucky River is formed by the junction of Toe and Cane riv~rs about 8 miles east 

of the Tennessee State line, flows almost due north for several miles, then turns and flows in a 

general northwesterly direction to its junction with French Broad River just above Leadvale, 

1tbout 7! miles southeast of Morristown, Tenn. Its basin lies south of that of the Watauga, is 

about 75 miles long, and has an average width of about 25 miles, and, like that of the Watauga, 

~omprises an upper part lying in the North Carolina mountains and a lower part extending into 

the great valley of east Tennessee. 

The upper or mountainous part of the basin is itself part of a far greater basin whose 

surface forms the Asheville plateau. Beneath its general surface the many branches of the 

Nolichucky have cut gorges that are mostly sharp bottomed and steep sided and range in depth 

from a hundred to several hundred feet. Here and there rise above its general surface higher 

residual peaks or ranges that bound and delimit this basin from the neighboring basins. One 

o:f these ranges-the Black Range-includes :Mount ~Iitchell, the highest peak east of the 

Rockies. To the southeast the basin floor rises gently to the crest of the Blue Ridge, but to the 

110rtheast it is separated from the Watauga basin by a steep-walled, sharp-crested divide that 

in Roan Mountain reaches a height of 6,313 feet. On the southwest are other bounding ridges 

that in places reach elevations of 6,000 feet or more and that separate it from the basin of 

French Broad River. To the northwest this upper part of the Nolichucky basin is separated 

from the lower or valley portion in east Tennessee by the high wall ·of the Unaka Mountains, 

through which the river has cut a deep and narrow gorge, 12 miles or more in length, whose 

sides rise precipitously in many places and in a short distance from the river reach elevations 

-of 3,000 feet above its surface. vVest of this mountain wall, with its wild and narrow gateway, 

the river enters the great valley of east Tennessee, where its immediate valley is not so deep 

-or so steep sided as in the upper mountainous area, and the mood of the river changes from an 

impetuous to a gentler one. 

In the mountain basin the deeply dissected surface of the old Asheville plateau or peneplain 

is composed of ancient granitic or metamorphic rocks that are deeply decayed and in many 

·places form rich soils. The numerous residual ridges rising above this old plateau level have 

been cleared to a considerable extent, and in many places, as, for example, about Burnsville and 

toward Bakersville, the plateau itself has long been cleared and farmed. Comparatively few 

-of the farmed areas have been kept in grass. The culture is usually clean and the principal , 

·crops are corn and small grain. As a result the soils on many of the steep slopes have 

washed badly, and the destructive effects of mountain-side erosion and of floods along streams 

';have probably been worse in this basin than anywhere else in the mountains. The detailed 

discussion of the basin begins with the lower or great valley portion of the river and follows 

it upward. 
44 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Where the Nolichucky enters the French Broad it is wide and shallow, and for a short distance above its mouth its current is broken by numerous islands. In the last few years some of 

these islands have b~en completely ruined by floods, and for 6 or 8 miles above the mouth of 

the river the farms on the bottoms have been damaged 10 to 20 per cent. Farther upstream, 

below Beulah, where the river makes some sharp bends, the damage was heavier, ranging from 

15 to 25 per cent. In some places the alluvial soil was stripped down to the cobbles; in others 

sluices or runways were cut across the bottoms; in still others white sand was deposited on the 

lands. . 

From Beulah up to Bird Hill, a distance of 5 or 6 miles, the valley opens out into a 

kind of flood-plain basin, at whose lower end, just below Beulah, the hills close in and constrict 

the river. During floods the lower portion of this tract has acted as a great settling basin and 

farms just above the lower end received deposits of rich sediment and were benefited by the 

flood. The current in the middle and upper part of this stretch, however, was strong enough to 

do mucli,injury to lands on both sides. Above Bird Hill there is another similarly inclosed 

flood-plain basin, whose lower end was likewise benefited by the flood, but whose upper end 

was ruined. It was generally found that in broad basins lying above constricted valleys the 

flood waters were ponded by the constriction, and lands at the lower end of the basin were 

benefited instead of injured. ln the reach above Bird Hill there is an ordinary flood plain · of 

varying width, and 5 to 10 feet above it an extraordinary one, and the two appear in this 

relation along most of the course of the Nolichucky, although the relative width and the difference in altitude of the two flood plains differs from place to place, as controlling conditions 

vary. Commonly the lower flood plain is badly washed, .gouged, or sand covered; the higher 

one is almost invariably scored by channels cut acro~s it by extraordinary floods. When by the 

further down-cutting of the stream this extraordinary flood plain is finally abandoned, these 

stream-made scorings or flood channels guide the rainfall and determine the pattern of subaerial erosion forms that will develop "Q.pon it as a fossil flood plain. Above the extraordinary 

flood plain there are almost everywhere remnants of other old stream terraces that are still 

more or less cpvered with well-rounded cobbles. In one place there was a second old plain, 60 

feet above the present ordinary flood plain; 50 feet higher there was a third; and a fo'urth 

occurred 50 feet higher still. These old terraces are usually cleared, and their steep scarps are 

in places eroded as badly as any lands in the region. · 

On the south side of the valley, at All ens Bridge, rounded cobbles occur on the general 

country level at an elevation of 220 feet above the present flood plain; 150 feet above the 

flood plain there is another prominent plain with rounded cobbles; and 100 feet above is 

another with a very heavy cobble bed. Still another old plain, whose surface is irregular and· 

undulating, occurs at an elevation of 60 to 80 feet above the present plain and is well developed 

on the north side of the river, where it contains river sands and gravels, in places 10 to 12 feet 

thick and much indurated and reddened. 

From Allens Bridge up the river for 15 or 20 miles the flood plain is relatively narrow and 

in many places a belt adjacent to the river was entirely ·ewept away; in other places it was 

gouged or covered with sand. Islands, except those protected by timber on their upper ends, 

suffered severely. All bridges and ferries were destroyed. Some of these bridges were replaced or rebuilt, but these new bridges were also swept away, and other bridges have since 

been built. 

From Henshaw, where a large mill was ruined, up to Brownsboro, all bridges were destroyed and the bottom lands were greatly damaged. 

From Brownsboro up to Embree Furnace, a distance of 10 miles, the valley of the river is 

much wider than in many other places. The first bottom, or present living flood plain, ranges 

in width from 100 to 600 yards; the second or fossil flood plain, which is not now reached by 

even the .l).ighest floods, ranges in width from 1 to 2 miles and in altitude from 20 to 60 feet 

above the present flood plain, and has a surface that is quite irregular. Throughout this stretch 

of the river flood damages were very general and very heavy. On some farms the entire 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XIV 

B. SAME PLACE AFTER THE BRIDGE AND PIERS WERE SWEP AWAY BY THE FLOOD OF 

. MAY, 1901. 

See page 45· 

NOLICHUCKY BASIN. 45 

tax assessment has since been removed; on many others 50 per cent has been deducted; and on 

practically all others 25 per cent reduction has been made. ' One farm, however, which lay in 

an area that was washed by an eddy, was so greatly benefited that its assessment was raised 25 

per cent-a notable exception that serves only to emphasize the rule. Along a belt of varying 

width adjacent to the main channel of the river the alluvial surface was removed down to the 

bare rock. Farther from the d ver holes were gouged out, some of· them of considerable size 

and d · th; in other places immense quantities of white sand were deposited in a belt that 

exten . usually from 100 to 200 yards from the main channel. In some places no attempt 

Iiad beeri made to cultivate this barren white sand; in others a few melons were being grown on 

it. The great extent of this sand deposit made it an especially striking feature in this region. 

Its occurrence is easily comprehended when it is remembered that just above this stretch of 

broad valley the river emerges from its long and narrow gorge in the Unaka Mountains, in 

which its current had sufficient velocity to sweep everything before it. On emerging from the 

gorge the stream spreads across a broad flood plain and its velocity is immediately checked, 

so that it deposits large quantities of the coarser materials it carries. A sand waste of similar 

origin is shown in Plate VII, A (p. 22). At Embree Furnace the railway bridge and all other 

bridges were swept out and a 60-acre island was converted into a rock bar. Near Erwin the 

river has made considerable changes in its channel and is undercutting a portion of its flood 

plain. 

At Chestoa a large lumber plant and dam had recently been swept away; at Poplar and at 

Unaka Springs railway bridges have been destroyed. Views of the bridge at Unaka Springs 

before and after the flood of 1901 are shown in Plate XIV (p. 44). Through the 12-mile 

gorge in the Unaka Mountain much of the railway track and roadbed were destroyed, and at 

present the rails and ties are anchored to the rocks by cables to prevent their loss when the 

roadbed underneath them goes out. 

In Greene and Washington counties, Toonessee, along the west slopes of the mountains 

forming the North Carolina-Tennessee line the headwater portions of the many small streams 

tributary to the Nolichucky are being extensively logged. This logging is causing increased 

erosion, and the eroded material is carried down to the middle or lower courses of the steams 

where, because of the lower gradient, much of it is being deposited. These bottoms were once 

fertile and valuable corn and wheat lands, but by the present process of aggradation they have 

been made so much Iriore difficult to drain that they ·are coming to be used for meadows and 

grass. The owners of the many small mills situated on these streams assert that the water 

power now fails much more frequently in dry. weather during late summer. and fall than in 

former years, and that low water comes earlier, goes lower, and lasts longer than formerly. 

They attribute this change to the clearing and logging on the headwat~rs of the streams. 

Hollow Poplar Creek has comparatively little flood plain except near its mouth and does 

not seem to have suffered much damage. Its basin has not been cleared to any considerable 

extent and shows no traces of active erosion. Much of the soil is derived from quartzite and is 

poor and sandy. 

From Poplar to Huntdale the Nolichucky flows in a steep-walled gorge 300 or 400 feet 

deep, whose sides are, as a rule, rough and. almost entirely uncleared. Along the stream itself 

there are no bottom lands worthy of mention. Above the top of the gorge the higher slopes are 

gentler and soon reach up to the old Asheville Plateau level, where farms are numerous. Where 

they have not been well cared for the fields usually show distinct evidences of active erosion. 

TOE RIVER. 

( 

Above Huntdale the gorge-like character of the river continues beyond the junction of the 

North and South Toe, although the gorge gradually · decreases in depth upstream. A view of 

this part of the Nolichucky Gorge and of the Asheville Plateau surface beneath which it is cut 

are given in Plate XV, A (p. 46). 
46 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

The North and the South Toe flow in similar gorges £or a number o£ miles above their junction. In £act only near their headwaters do their gorges entirely disappear and their valleys 

open and almost merge into the· old plateau surface. No important flood plain appears throughout the gorges, though here and there narrow strips occur, especially on the concave side o£ 

bends and near the mouths o£ small tributaries. These flood-:plain areas have been much damaged by flood. In some places the soil has been entirely swept away, leaving the bare rock; in 

others it has been buried beneath sand and cobbles. 

CANE RIVER. 

From Huntdale to the mouth o£ Bald Creek, Cane River also flows in a sharply cut gorge, 

300 or 400 feet deep in its lower portion and 200 or 300 feet in its upper. In this distance there 

is almost no alluvial land, and the steep valley walls are but little cleared. Back £rom the brink 

o£ the gorge the old plateau slopes are more gentle and in places are cleared and show signs of 

considerable erosion. Some o£ the fields have been abandoned. 

Bald Creek is the only important tributary along this portion o£ the Cane. Its narrow 

flood plain and steep-sided valleys slopes are generally cleared and in cultivation £or a distance 

o£ 300 or 400 feet from the stream bed. The higher slopes· and the entire upper portion of its 

basin are in original forest, which is now rapidly being lumbered and carried by tramway to 

Huntdale for shipment. 

At the mouth o£ Bald Creek the gorge opens into a wide valley in which there is a broad 

fertile flood plain that stands about 8 feet above ordinary water level. A belt 150 yards wide 

adjacent to the stream has been denuded o£ its soli, and attempts have been made to protect and 

reclaim the devastated area by building rock walls and cribwork and by planting balm o£ Gilead 

trees over the denuded area as well as along the undercutting banks. From this point upstream 

to the vicinity o£ Athlone there is comparatively 1\ttle bottom land. Along Cane River 50 to 75 

per cent o£ the slopes are cleared and in many places show erosion of the worst type. The rocks 

are fine-grained gneisses and are deeply weathered into soils that are generally micaceous. and 

loamy and easily eroded. 

As a rule the valleys o£ all o£ the creeks and other small tributaries of the upper Nolichucky 

are receiving £rom their bo.rdering hillsides more waste than they can remove. This waste is 

accumulating along their courses, filling their channels and spreading over the bottoms and 

rendering it impossible, without expensive ditching, to drain these once fertile and valuable 

lands. In many places these bottoms have been abandoned and are growing up in rushes and 

willows, so that they do not now furnish even good pasture. 

On Bald Creek the hill slopes are extensively cleared and in many places badly eroded. 

Hinton Creek shows badly washed uplands and its bottoms have been greatly damaged by 

the sand and clay washed upon them from the eroding slopes. 

Jack Creek basin has, perhaps, th~ most cleared land and also the worst eroded, land to be 

found in the entire region. Nearly a!l of the erosion has occurred in recent years. 

Though the severe erosion of this region is due primarily to the steepness o£ the cleared 

slopes,- the heavy rainfall, and the nature o£ the soil, much of it is due also to the reckless 

system-or want o£ system--of cultivating these slopes, for most o£ them have been planted 

year after year in corn or small grain. Farmers are now beginning to realize the danger of this 

practice and are putting more of their mountain-side fields into clover and grass, so that grazing 

and haymaking are becoming important industries. It is only by some such practice that these 

lands can be saved and at the same time used £or agriculture. A better and safer e.se o£ many 

of these slopes would be to reforest them. . 

Above Athlone, Cane River flows in a steep-sided valley in which there is a heavy torrential 

flood plain that is 100 to 400 yards wide· and that stands in most places between 3 to 6 feet 

(locally as much as 8 feet) above ordinary water level. This flood plain has a rather undulating 

surface and, although £or the most part fertile, is in places composed o£ micaceous sand and 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XV 

A . NOLICHUCKY GORGE CUT INTO THE ASH EVILLE PLATEAU. 

See page 45 · 

B . A WELL-DISSECTED PART OF THE ASHEVILLE PLATEAU. 

Resi d ua l mo unt a in s in t he dist a nce. See pag e 50 . 

NOLICHUCKY BASIN, 47 

rounded cobbles that make an exceedingly poor soil. It is practically all cleared and in grain 

or grass. In its lower portion there is a stream-swept waste zone of bare cobbles, 50 to 100 yards 

wide, and in places along the edge of this cobble zone the stream is undercutting the flood plain. 

Rock walls and cribbing, such as are illustrated in Plate VIII (p. 24), have been used at many 

points to protect the lands from further erosion. 

In the upper part of this basin the slopes retain their primeval forest cover. The stream 

flows with a clear, swift current, the flood-swept cobble zone disappears, and the flood plain itself 

becomes narrower, and above Big Tom Wilson's is but little cleared. It is still a natural trout 

stream. Its flow is fairly constant throughout the year, and the mills somewhat lower down do 

not lack water during the dry season in late summer and autumn. 

LITTLE CRABTREE CREEK. 

About Burnsville, which is practically on the level of the old Asheville Plateau surface~ 

the uplands and the slopes down to the drainage-ways have in many places been cleared for 

years and present all too frequently the bare red-clay surfaces that indicate the entire absence 

of .soil. Many of these fields are deeply gullied; in others bare red areas have taken the place 

of the former gullies. When the fields have reached this stage it is almost impossible to reclaim 

them in any reasonable time or at any outlay which would be warranted by their value. , Many 

of them are abandoned as worthless and remain indefinitely as bare red-clay spots on the face of 

the country; others are turned into pasture lands, and the trampling of hoofs, together with the 

too close grazing to which they are usually subjected, effectually prevents their reclamation 

by plant growth; others, from which cattle are kept off, eventually grow up in briars and broom 

sedge; a few sprouts of locust, pine, or persimmon take root, and in several generations a 

forest cover once more becomes established. At intervals, however, prominent bare-sided 

gullies may remain, and these slowly undermine the forest cover and prevent the land from 

ever again being used for agriculture. · 

In some places about Burnsville the aggrading flood plains have been extensively ditched 

in the effort to lower the subsurface water level and keep the lands dry enough ~or the culture 

of corn and small grain. Many of these ditches are filled with sand and gravel during a 

single rain. While examining the region just east of Burnsville the writer noticed that the 

rain of the previous day had in many places washed a foot or more of sand and clay over 

the roadbed. In one place a loaded wagon, left by the roadside when the rain ·began, had 

been buried almost to its axles by mud washed from the hillside above. The roadside ditches 

were entirely filled, and in many places extensive areas of bottom lands were covered with 

muddy alluvial fans and the growing crops of 24 btours before were buried and utterly destroyed. 

So rapid had been the erosion that in a few hours fences had been buried, on their upper sides, 

to their tops. This particular rainfall was not extraordinary in amount but had come soon 

after most of the fields had been plowed, so that a considerable layer of loose material was 

ready for rapid removal. Results of this kind are liable to happen at any time under the 

conditions that prevail so widely in the Nolichucky basin and plainly teach that such slopes 

should not be farmed but should be held in timber or grazed. 

East of Burnsville, the tributaries entering Little Crabtree Creek from the north have been 

especially destructive, spreading alluvial fa:ns of rock and sand in many places well across 

the once good bottom lands on each side of this small stream. · When seen, these tributaries 

were still muddy from the heavy rainfall of the day before and the muddiness persiste4 for 

several days after the rain had ceased and the streams had fallen again to their ordil!ary level, 

indicating that large quantities of very fine clayey material were still being carried. In this 

respect these streams showed decided contrast to the tributaries of the South To~ River, which 

flow northward from the steep wooded slopes of the Black Mountains. When the tributaries 

of the South Toe were examined it had been raining almost steadily for 24 hours or more, and 

although the streams were much swollen they were practically clear; they flowed from basins 

72091°--~0.72--11----4 
::18 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

entirely forest covered and were- carrying almost no sediment This contrast between the 

amount of sediment carried by streams flowing from cleared and those flowing from wooded 

basins was observed time and again throughout ·the entire region, and it would be exceedingly 

ip.teresting, were it possible, to determine quantitatively the relative amounts of silt carried out . 

during the year by streams of these two types. The difference is perfectly constant and characteristic and must quantitatively be very considerable. 

The rocks along Little Crabtree Creek, as elsewhere in the Burnsville region, are deeply 

decomposed micaceous gneisses and · granite, which erode readily when once the forest cover 

is removed. 

BURNSVILLE SOUTHWARD .TO MOUNT MITCHELL. 

Bowlens Creek, which enters Cane River about a mile south of Burnsville, has a torrential 

flood plain 200 to 300 yards wide alo'ng its lower course, and 100 to 200 yards wide along its 

upper course. This plain has an exceedingly irregular surface, due to the choking and 

abandonment by the stream · during floods of certain portions of its winding channels and the 

fo~ced cutting of new channels before the flood plain had been cleared of timber. Many of the 

w~oded , flood · pl~ins of the small streams, especially of those on the east slope of the Black 

Mop.ntain1 range, show this process actively in operation. Rafts form at favorable places on 

the wood~d flood · plain and the stream cuts a new channel and abandons the old. This is 

especially true where the descent ot the ,stream is steep and its consequent velocity is great. The 

!llaterials of this' Bowlens Creek flood plain are heterogeneously mixed sands, clays, and 

.cobbles . . The . soil ,is fertile and the principal damage to-day is that caused by the constant 

shifting of channel due to the high velocity of the stream and its tendency to undercut its 

banks. The high slopes of the basin are wooded and so are·not damaged. 

SOUTH TOE RIVER. 

From Micaville southward to the ford of South Toe River above Celo much of the road is 

on the well-dissected plateau level. The region is generally rough and for the most part 

wooded, but there are a few scattered farms, some of which have been cleared too recently to 

show pronounced erosion. Some fields that were cleared long ago have eroded badly and are 

abandoned. The river itself flows in a narrow trench, which is generally uncleared. 

· Along the upper part of the South Toe the valley broadens and the stream is shallow 

and clear, with a swift current that in most places flows across and is actively eroding the 

upturned edges of the ancient gneiss and schist. It is bordered by an ordinary flood plain 

that stands 4, 6, or locally as much as 8 feet above ordinary water level. At and just above 

water level this plain consists of cobb.les, which are overlain by 3 to 5 feet of silt and sand. 

Much of the sand is too poor to sustain more than a scanty vegetation. This ordinary flood 

plain, though about 300 yards wide, is badly gouged or cut by flood channels and is cultivated 

in but few places. At a vertical distance above the ordinary flood plain that varies considerably 

but in many places reaches 15 to 20 feet there is an old, high-level flood plain or terrace, whose 

surface is ·undulating from ancient flood channels that are similar in origin to those on the 

present flood plain. This terrace is largely cultivated and .many houses are built upon it. It 

had been considered safe from all danger of overflow, but during the floods of 1901 and 1902 

it was covered in numerous places. 

·Above the mouth of Rock Creek the river is slowly shifting laterally as it cuts down and 

'is forming · a sloping or beveled flood -plain, only the lower edge of which is ever covered by 

floods. This flood plain is cleared in many places but the land is mostly sandy and poor .and 

is now largely in pasture. 

· On the-headwaters of the river there are very few clearings, the slopes being covered with 

·virgin forests, especially on the -Black Mountain side. Some lumbering has been done in this 

region, the product being hauled by wagon to the rai~way at Old Fort. Most of the timber, 

however, remains standing -a-nd s.ome -of it. is. held. in large tracts. 
NOLICHUCKY BASIN. 49 

NORTH TOE RIVER. 

The country about Sevenmile Ridge, Crabtree Creek, eastward to the North Toe, up its 

basin to Elsie, and eastward to the Blue Ridge is largely in :forest, except along the stream, 

ways, where narrow flood plains occur, either continuously or in broken strips: The uplands 

are generally poor and these narrow flood plains are by :far the best lands o:f the region. Some 

of the best timber has already been removed, but renewed activity has been manifested in 

lumbering since the building of the Carolina, Clinchfield & Northern Railway to Spruce Pine 

and beyond. In some places, notably on Crabtree Creek and along North Toe River', the· 

alluvial bottom lands have been much damaged in the last few years by floods, and those who 

are :familiar with the region say that these floods are rapidly becoming more severe. The 

~verage damage to bottom lands in this section duri~g the last :few years is 25 to 35 per ce~t. 

FROM CLOUDLAND TO MA_GNETIC AND BAKERSVILLE. 

From Cloudland the road to Magnetic :follows the top o:f Roan Mountain :for about 2 

miles and then rapidly descends the western slope, which is densely wooded down to an elevation o:f about 3,800 feet, where fields begin. A short distance below this level 7.5 per cent of 

the mountain side has been cleared, though the slope in places is exceedingly steep. Fields 

that have been kept in grass have been measurably sa:fe :f_rom erosion, but on others :the soil, 

which is a compact red clay derived :from the weathering o:f diabase, has been badly eroded, 

leaving a maze of steep-sided gullies where it was thick and an area of bare rocks where it 

was thin. On the headwaters of Big Rock Creek above Magnetic there are many mountain-side 

clearings, and the flood plain o:f the stream has been much damaged by recent floods. The 

owner of the mill at Magnetic says that he can now run only about half the machinery during 

seasons o:f low water that he once could; 

Below Magnetic the creek cuts across alternate belts of diabase and granite. In the 

areas of diabase it occupies a narrow, rocky gorge having ~teep · walls, which in many places 

are cleared and have eroded badly; in the granitic rocks its valley walls have gentler slopes 

and it shows a tendency to develop flood plains. These granitic areas have a more porous 

soil and are not washing as badly -as those in the diabase, but many o:f the flood-plains lands 

have been ruined by debris washed down upon them :from the narrow, sharp-bottomed diabase 

gorges above. Some :fences on hillsides are banked to the top on the upper side with soil 

washed :from the field above, and in some places new fences have been built on this filling. 

Practi_cally every mill and dam below Magnetic was swept away by the floods of 1901 and 

1902. 

On both Big and Little Rock creeks every milldam pond examined was :full or almost 

:full of sand and clay, so that it had become valueless. 

The Asheville Plateau is strikingly developed in the region about Bakersville at elevations o:f 2,600. to 2,700 feet above sea level. Cane Creek and its upper' tributaries have cut. · 

200 to 300 :feet below this old level and 50 to 75 per cent o:f the remnants of the plateau and. 

the slopes :from it down to the present streams are cleared. The rocks are granitic or. gneissose 

and in many places are micaceous, so that the deep soils that have been formed :from them. 

usually erode easily. During the flood o:f 1901 Cane Creek destroyed practically its entire 

flood plain throughout a distance o:f some 10 miles. At Bakersville a number of houses, mills,. 

and dams and a quantity of logs and lumber were swept away and several lives were lost. 

Roads and bridges in the region were almost entirely destroyed and had to be rebuilt at ·great 

cost to the county. Some o:f them had not been replaced in 1904. 

The stream now flows practically on its flood-plain level, and the waste o:f sand .and cobbles: 

is almost without drainage so that the land would be unfit :for cultivation however fertile it 

might be. Before the recent change in stream regimen that has resulted in destructive floods: 

these lands were the best in the region. The stream is now constantly aggrading and shifts 

its position with every flood. In .some places land owners have attempted to restrain it by 
50 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

building walls and planting trees, such as willow, cottonwood, and balm of Gilead, but for 

the most part they have cea'sed all attempts at reclamation and have abandoned the land_s as 

worthless. People in the region are generally a ware of the danger that the clearing of steep 

slopes has brought upon them and some attempts have been made to check the evil. 

FRENCH BROAD BASIN. 

GENERA!. FEATURES. 

The French Broad rises in the Blue Ridge and flows northwestward across the entire width 

of the Carolina mountains and halfway across the great valley of East Tennessee to its junction with the Holston near l(noxville. Its basin, 45 miles wide by 90 long, lies between the 

Nolichucky basin a on the northeast and the Little Tennessee basin on the southwest, from 

both · of which it is separated by mountain ranges, some of whose peaks rise to elevations of 

5,000 or 6,000 feet above sea level. 

The basin is divided transversely by the high range of the Great Smoky Mountains, which 

form the North Carolina-Tennessee line, into a smaller, lower part lying in the valley of east 

Tennessee, and a larger, upper part, 60 miles long by 45 miles wide, lying wholly in the North 

Carolina mountains and forming an elevated plateau, bounded on the northeast, northwest, and 

southwest by high mountain walls, but rising gently to the crest of the Blue Ridge on the 

southeast and there · overlooking the steeply sloping, eastward-facing scarp of this so-called 

ridge and the Piedmont Plateau, which li~s at its base. This upper part is known as the 

Ashe.ville Plateau. · I 

UPPER FRENCH: BROAD BASIN. 

GEN~RAL FEATURES. 

The plateau-like floor of this old river basin slopes gently northwestward. From its 

bounding mountain walls spurs project into the basin, and at numerous points within it isolated 

residual peaks rise above its general level. Below this level the French Broad has cut a channel to a depth ranging from a few feet along its upper course to 400 feet or more at the place 

where the river cuts its way through the Great Smoky Range, which forms the western rim of 

the basin. The larger tributaries have, in like manner, sunk their channels beneath this general surface, and with their many branches have cut the once continuous plain into a maze of 

rounded, domelike hills or subacute ridges such as are illustrated in Plate XV, B (p. 46). The 

smaller tributaries have not been able to keep pace with the rapid downcutting of the French 

Broad, but flow practically on the old plateau surface and descend to the level of the French 

Broad, generally in the last mile or less of their course, in a series of rapids or falls, so that 

they may more properly be called hanging valleys. The rocks of almost the entire basin are 

granites and gneisses, which are nearly everywhere deeply decayed. Only along the sides of 

the steeper and deeper stream gorges do bare rocks appear. Elsewhere the surface is mantled 

with a deep soil, usually of red clay. The soils of this basin are among the most fertile in 

the entire mountain region. It was one of the earliest-settled areas and has been cleared 

longer and farmed m9re extensively than perhaps any other stream basin in these mountains. 

Disregarding the residual peaks and ridges that rise steeply above the plateau surface, more 

than 50 per cent of the basin is cleared, and some of the minor valleys or parts of the basin 

may be more than 75 per cent cleared. 

Grass does not seem to flourish in this basin as well as it does nearer the Virginia line at 

the same elevation, probably because the basin is somewhat warmer and dryer by reason of its 

more southern position and exposure. Therefore a smaller proportion of the cleared land 

is in grass than in the Watauga Valley, for instance. In places, however, especially on the 

higher cleared slopes, grass seems to thrive well and is extensively grown. The principal crops 

are corn, buckwheat, and small grains. Apples are grown in· considerable and increasing 

quantities. Some years ago tobacco was an important crop, especially in the region north and 

a The Nolichucky, though a tributary of the French Broad, is discussed separately. See pp. 43-50. 
FRENCH BROAD BASIN. ' 51 

northwest of Asheville, in the basin of Ivy River and its tributaries. The destructive effects 

of the clean culture required by this crop were quickly manifest, and, although it has been 

abandoned almost entirely, the erosion induced by its cultivation has continued to injure 

the lands where it was once grown and has caused profound changes in the streams. . 

Many of the hillsides sloping from the old plateau level down to the streams throughout 

the entitre French Broad basin have been badly gullied and in places abandoned. Here and 

there the soil has been entirely stripped off in sheet fashion, leaving bare red-clay hills. 

FROM ASHEVILLE EAST TO SWANNANOA GAP. 

The valley of the Swannanoa, one of the principal tributaries of the French Broad, is 

relatively wide, its bounding mountain walls standing in places 1 to 2 miles back from the 

stream itself. The channel of the Swannanoa is broad and shallow and is usually much filled 

with sand and gravel. Its flood plain rises but a few feet above stream level and a considerable part of it has a rather porous sandy or gravelly soil. In some places this flood plain is 

only a few rods wide; in others, as at Swannanoa, it is several hundred yards wide. Its narrower portions have been cut into holes or covered during floods by sand and have thus been 

practically destroyed, and along most of its broader parts a belt near the stream has been 

injured in like manner. Its surface is so low that a rise of only a few feet covers it with 

flood water, and within the last few years floods have become so frequent that the production 

of crops on this flood plain has become very un<:;ertain and, as a consequence, much of it that 

was formerly successfully cultivated is now growing up in weeds and bushes. 

Where it is narrow this flood plain is bordered, at an elevation of 15 to 20 feet, by a fossil 

flood plain which is safe from inundation by even the highest floods, whose undulating surface 

is covered with stream-borne materials and whose soil is usually of good quality. It is very 

largely cleared. Above this ·old flood plain level, low, gently rounded or flat-topped hills ·rise 

100 to 150 feet, their tops marking the position of the surface of the old Asheville Plateau. 

Their lower slopes are steep and subject to severe erosion when not properly cared for. Fifty 

per cent or more of the entire valley is cleared and only the second bottom and the flat plateau 

surface are safe from destructive er~sion. 

The lower slopes of the bounding mountains, especially on the south side, are cleared at 

intervals up for a short distance from the valley level. In a few places the higher slopes show 

isolated mountain-side fields, but most bf them are in dense forests. . 

At Black Mountain station the riv~r has a broad, beveled plain rather than a flood plain, 

and this has not been eroded. / 

The North Fork of the Swannanoa has a .broad valley, much like that of the upper part 

of the main Swannanoa, and it is clear~d and has been eroded in much the same manner. Its 

bounding mountain walls are heavily ::IIorested. Like the other mountains of the Swannanoa 

basin, they are accessible to -railways apd have therefore been stripped of much of their best 

timber. In the lumbering operations many runways ·have been formed, which have caused 

considerable erosion on their steep slope? and consequent damages by floods along the streams. 

Beetree . Creek is largely torrential 1<\nd has very narrow bottoms. Its bounding slopes are 

cleared for only short distances up thie mountain sides. 

Bull Creek has less descent and has broader and better bottoms, only the upper parts of 

which have been greatly eroded. SomJ lands near the head of the main creek have been abandoned within late years because of damhge by floods. On Elk ~1ountain side some of the high 

slopes and much of the mountain top hr· ve been cleared, but the clearin.gs are kept in grass and 

are thus protected from erosion. . 

The valley of Gazes Creek is perhaiPs 60 per cent cleared, and there is more than the usual 

proportion of clearings on the steep slo ! es of the Swannanoa Mountains. These high mountain 

lands, like those on the Elk Mountains, are protected from erosion by being kept largely in sod. 

Throughout the Swannanoa basin there are many small streams at whose head are coves 

·large enough for individual mountain farms. When first cleared these lands are fertile, and 
52 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUT.HERN APPALACHIANS. 

they do not erode badly until the humus has been destroyed; but when long cultivated, unless 

carefully guarded, they are subject t/o erosion, and in many places they have been abandoned as 

worthless. · 

FROM ASHEVILLE SOUTHEASTWARD TO FRUITLAND, EDNF.:TIILLE, THE BLUE RIDGE, AND HENDERSONVILLE. 

In the Busoee Mountains there are some clearings but no marked signs of erosion. The 

soil is sufficiently porous to prevent serious washing. On the steep slopes near the head of 

Caney Creek and of its tributaries there is much cleared land that has washed badly in the 

last few years, and floods on the main stream have risen higher than usual and been especially 

destructive to the bottoms in the middle and lower portions. 

On Hoopers Creek the soil is as a rule thin, and the lands have. not been extensively 

cleared except in the small coves at the heads of the various tributaries around its basin. The 

channel of the main stream has in recent years deepened because many of the fences, with their 

obstructing water gaps, have been removed in consequence of the adoptipn of the stock law. 

As ·a result, flood water is now carried away more effectively than formerly 'and floods are not 

so destructive. 

Fruitland, in the valley of Clear Creek, is situated on the rolling surface of the old 

Asheville Plateau. The stream here has not cut deeply below this old surface, so that the slopes 

are gentle, and erosion may be easily prevented. The rock in this region is deeply decayed 

porphyritic granite-gneiss, which weathers into a porous soil that does not suffer much from 

£rosion. There is no reason why this area may not be entirely cleared and farmed without 

jnjury if proper precautions are taken. On the mountains around Fruitland there are a few 

clearings, especially on the domelike crests and gentler upper slopes·; the lower slopes are 

steep and are almost entirely wooded. Floods on Clear Creek are reported as having been 

worse for the last three years than previously, and in some places bottom lands have been 

damaged; in other ·places, however, they have been improved, so that the average condition 

along this stream is about as. it has been for years. Just west of Edneyville there are some 

steep cleared fields that show considerable erosion, which was said to have occurred within the 

last three years. 

The entire region from Fruitland to Edneyville and southward to the Blue Ridge and 

Hendersonville is characterized by gentle slopes and may be cleared almost anywhere without 

serious danger of erosion. Mud Creek and its tributaries flow :for the most part in broad, flat 

valleys and are either aggrading their channels or at a balance between cutting and filling. 

Near and above Hendersonville, Mud Creek and its tributaries have broad, swampy flood 

plains and the stream channels. are practically on the surface. These flood plains are grazed 

to some extent, but are too wet for cultivation. In most places they ·are bordered by a fossil 

flood plain with an undulating surface that is covered by rounded gravel and cobbles.. At 

Hendersonville this old terrace is 20 to 30 feet high and part of the town is built upon it. 

Above Hendersonville it is· usually from 30 to 60 feet high and includes nearly all of the 

cleared land .of the upper portion of Mud Creek. The mountain sides there are rarely cleared. 

The valley of Crabtree Creek, to the west, has a narrow flood plain bordered by an 

undulating terrace plain 30 to 50 :feet higher, both of which are cultivated; the mountain 

slopes on either side are almost entirely forested. The stream channel is deep and the current 

swift, so that flood waters are quickly carried away and do little or no damage. 

The mountain slopes and some o:£ the knobs south of Crabtree· Creek show considerable 

areas of rounded, precipitous, bare, granitic rock, and much of the wooded area has an 

exceedingly thin soil layer a'Qove the hard granite surface. A large part of this wooded area 

is made up of steep slopes; and deforestation, which, :fortunately, has not yet begun here, would 

soon convert much more of it into bare rock surface, :for. when once the cover of vegetation has 

been removed from these domelike granitic masses there is nothing to hold the thin soil layer 

on the smooth surface of the underlying rock. When once removed by erosion it would be the 

work of ages to disintegrate the granite sufficiently to produce a second soil cover. 
FRENCH BROAD BASIN; 53 

Just south of Grange, Little River flows from a narrow rock-bound gorge · out upon a 

broad, somewhat sandy, but comparatively fertile flood plain, all of which is cleared· and 

fa~med. The stream has recently ~ut channels across portions of this flood-pial.n· surface, and 

here and there has been undercutting its banks. At a number of places rock walls or brush 

and earth embankments have recently been built to protect the lands from floods, which have 

not yet been so disastrous as they will be when the upper part of the basin of Little River 

has been further cleared. More or less logging is being done in the area, and on steep slopes 

runways for flood waters are increasing in number; and as they become converted into rills 

'they deliver storm waters an·d rock debris with greater rapidity to the main stream ways. 

Above this there are no important bottom lands on the river north of Sheep Mountal.n; south of 

it up to Cox's store there are some comparatively' large · separate tracts. Above Cox's store 

the flood plain is continuous, has an average width ·of 1o'0 to 250 yards, and is fertile. 

Throughout this distance the river is not materially'injuring tne bordering bottom lands. Its 

channel is comparatively deep and has not been filled by sand and, as a rule, the adjacent lands 

have not been cut away nor covered with sand. The b'6rdering ·slopes are cleared only in small 

areas and at considerable intervals for a distance of 100 to 200 yards up from the bottoms. 

The higher and more remote slopes are entirely wooded. Indeed, ·away from the immediate 

stream ways there is comparatively little clearing · ariy.where in Little River basin. At the 

time of examination the river was considerably swollen but the waters were aimost clear. It 

is a good example of a stream still fairly well protected. by natural forest cover. 

Carson Creek flows in a narrow, rocky gorge id') 'df'basin that is almost entirely forested. 

When examined it was much swollen by several days "itf heavy rain but was nevertheless almost 

as clear as crystal. " 

BETWEEN ASHEVILLE AND LAkE TOXAWAY. 

At the mouth of Carson Creek the French Broad has a flood plain averaging a half mile 

or more in width. The stream itself is 100 to 150 feet wide, and flows with a swift current 

between banks whose exact height could not be determined, but which were perhaps between 

6 and 10 feet. At the time it was examined the stream was considerably swollen from 

intermittent but sometimes heavy rains that had continued for a ·week. 

Almost the entire basin of the river above this point is forested and the absence of. a sudden 

and destructive flood at any time during the week furnished a .good example of the slowness 

with which the run-off from these continued rains had been carried away by the river. On 

the contrary the rise of the river had been slow, and residents reported that it would take 

some days for the water to fall to normal stage again after the rain had ceased. The bottoms 

nowhere along the stream, either above or for a number of miles below, showed any signs of 

material injury from floods, and the reports of farmers in the region agreed with the observations. The lands are not being injured by floods, and for explanation one needs but to turn tQ 

the forested slopes of the entire basin. · 

Above Rosman the many branches into which the river separates are bordered by very 

little bottom land and are but little cleared; the . steep slopes are in forest, practically untouched by the ax until the recent building of a railway to Toxaway. Now lumbering operations have been b~gun, and before many years conditions will change a~d the rich valley lands 

wil] begin to suffer from the floods resulting from the cutting of the forests, the erosion of the 

steep slopes, and the filling of the stream channels. Be.tween Rosman and Lake Toxaway 

there are a few plateau clearings, but the area is so small that the total erosion is negligible. 

In the trip from Rosman down the west side of the French Broad Valley to Brevard, taken 

on the following day, the many tributaries flowing from the wooded :mountain slopes on the 

west were still much swollen, though the rains had cea$ed 24 hours before. A few of them 

were slightly discolored by decaying vegetable matter, but most of them were perfectly clear. 

Practically the only discoloration 1n the French Broad itself was due to decaying vegetable 

matter. It is carrying exceedingly little silt in this upper porti~n and it~ basin is being eroded 

at an almost infinitely slow rate. These conditions can not long be preserved if the reckless 

'· 
54 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

cutting o:f timber is once started here as it has been in almost every other stream basin o:f the 

region. 

Davidson River flows :from the Pisgah Range southeastward into the French Broad just 

below Brevard. Near its mouth it is 75 to 150 :feet wide, is shallow, and flows swiftly over 

gravel and cobbles. Here and there along its way are gravel bars and tree-grown islets. Its 

banks are but 2 to 4 :feet high, and its flood plain has an average width o:f a :fourth of a mile 

and is level, but is composed of sands that are poorly adapted to agriculture. So swift is the 

current o:f the stream that flood crests can reach · no considerable height, as is indicated by the 

lowness of the flood-plain surface. The stream has not materially injured this flood plain. 

The hills rise abruptly from the edge of the flood plain and are entirely wooded. The soil 

is produced by the weathering o:f a micaceous schist in most places and is relatively poor. 

Avery Creek, a branch of Davidson River, has for about 2 miles up :from its mouth some 

narrow flood-plain areas that, with the lower slopes, especially on the south side of its valley, 

had once been cleared, but are now within the Pisgah :forest reserve o:f Mr. G. W. Vanderbilt, 

and are being reforested largely by the natural growth which is springing up abundantly 

everywhere. The middle and upper part of the basin of Avery Creek is :forested to the summits oft e surrounding mountains. At Bennett Gap and just beyond, on the south slope o£ 

the ridge, there are a few old fields that show some erosion but 'are now being reforested. From 

this elevated viewpoint southward and westward the entire region is an unbroken forest, no 

clearings whatever being visible. 

In the Pink Bed country the surface is generally level, and the porous, coarse-grained 

granitic soil has but little natural fertility, and in some places is dry enough for the growth of 

pines. There are no large clearings in this region. The streams run with clear currents, but are 

discolored in some places by swampy vegetation. From the Pink Beds northeastward through 

Yellow Gap to Rocky Fork o:f Mills River the country is an unbroken forest, with usually deep, 

rich soil and an excellent :forest growth. Some of this has been culled o:f its best timber, but the 

logging was under forestry supervision, as, indeed, is the entire Pisgah reserve, so the conditions there are excellent throughout. Fireways and other means for protection have been liberally provided. · 

On Rocky Fork of Mills River clearings along the narrow flood plain begin within a mile 

from the point where the road reaches the river and gradually widen downstream until .they 

are :from one-fourth to one-third of a mile wide and contain some e.xcellent lands. The river 

flows with rapid current over a bed of gravel and cobbles, with a channel 3 to 4 :feet below the 

flood-plain level. The flood plain, like that o:f Davidson River, is flat and the stream is clear. 

Flood crests are low and there has been practically no flood damage. 

In this region low, rounded hills rising to a common elevation, 100 to 120 feet above the 

flood plain, appear as the valley widens. They are remnants of the old Asheville Plateau surface 

and are generally cleared. In places their steep slopes show the erosion forms elsewhere typical 

of the steep slopes of the dissected Asheville Plateau. They are largely kept in grass, however, 

as are also the lower slopes of the higher ridges where cleared, as they are in places up 100 or 

200 yards, so that there is comparatively little erosion. 

From Angeline northward to Sandy Bottom the road is mostly on the rolling surface of 

the Asheville Plateau~ Sixty per cent of the land has been cleared, but much of it has lost its 

original :fertility through careless :farming, and has been cut to pieces with gullies and abandoned. The higher knobs to the west o:f the road are beingeleared in their upper portions and 

are being put in grass. All the land is rather thin and will need careful protection to prevent 

eroswn. 

From Stradley Mountain to the southeast and east less than 50 per cent o:f the plateau 

appears to be cleared; to the · northeast about 50 per cent is cleared; and to the north and 

northwest 60 to 70 per cent is cleared. The peaks that rise above the plateau surface, such as 

Spivey and others northwest o:f it, are 40 to 50 per cent cleared on the sides visible from Stradley. This area is mostly in grass and shows very little erosion. The rounded hills of the 

plateau surface are badly scarred in numerous places by gullies and have been abandoned. 
FHENCH BR0AD BASIN. 55 

They appear as bare red-clay areas, visible for long distances iri their contrasted setting in the 

green of summer field or forest. Near Asheville the proportion of cleared land becomes greater, 

but agricultural conditions have also improved and there is less erosion than is usual in this 

-region in areas having similar topography. 

BETWEEN ASHEVILLE AND HOT SPRINGS. 

Between Asheville and Hot Springs the French Broad flows in a narrew, steep-sided gorge, 

whi~h is about 200 feet deep at Asheville, but gets gradually deeper until at Hot Springs it is 

approximately 400 feet deep. Throughout most of this distance the walls of the gorge are wild 

and rocky and are covered with a scant forest. Here and there, where they are composed of 

granite or gneiss, they have weathered so as to produce a fertile soil. In such areas they are 

largely cleared, though they are entirely too steep for most agricultural uses. Many of these 

areas have not been properly cared for, but have been worn-out and are abandoned. 

The river is 100 to 300 yards wide, has a rapid descent, and flows over exposed ledges of rock 

throughout this part of its course. Just below· Asheville it is bordered by a beveled flood plain, 

which is in places 200 or 300 yards wide, but as a rule is found, in any given stretch, on but one 

side of the river~ The portion of this flood plain nearest the river has in recent years been cut to 

pieces by floods or covered with sand, and its outer, J;ligher portion, near the gorge wall, has 

been badly injured by overwash from the steep slope above wherever the slope has been cleared. 

Most of this flood plain just below Asheville has been abandoned and now makes only a very 

poor pasture. Farther down the river the flood plain soon practically disappears, and in much 

of the distance to Hot Springs there is scarcely room in the bottom of the gorge for the river 

and the railway. In some places a road lies along on the river bank, but in others it has been 

forced to climb out of the gorge to the old plateau level. 

There is abundant fall along the entire distance, but the development of water power has 

been attempted at only a few points, and is, in fact, practically prevented by the slight elevation of the railroad above ordinary water level. Power has, however, been developed just below 

Asheville and also at Marshall. In recent years the scant flood plain, the highway bridges, and 

the railway tracks have been much damaged by floods, the railway being the chief sufferer, 

though at Marshall a number of houses were carried away. 

All the tributaries, including even Ivy River, flow in narrow, steep-walled, and usually 

rocky gorges in their lower courses, and enter the French Broad by a series of rapids or falls. 

One must go some distance up their channels to find open valleys and flood plains. 

The country back on either side from the brink of the French Broad gorge is a rolling or 

hilly upland, once a part of the Asheville Plateau surface, but now deeply dissected. Many of 

the hills near the river are exceedingly steep, but those farther back from the river, down to a 

point below Barnard, have gentler slopes. · 

The valley of Shut-in Creek is in an area of quartzite, shale, and limestone. The land 

is rough and poor. The bottom lands are narrow and of no great value, and the hillsides are 

only slightly cleared. T.he land is soon worn out when once the humus has been destroyed. 

Spring Creek enters the French Broad at Hot Springs, and for 5 or 6 miles above its 

mouth has no flood plain and but few tributaries. At Bluff, Meadow. Fork enters it from a 

valley that for some miles is likewise narrow and rough, but that widens farther up and contains 

some excellent bottom lands. These bottom lands have not been injured by floods, for the surrounding mountain slopes are very largely forested, only about 20 per cent being cleared, and 

most of this is in grass and pasture. It shows, as a rule, no signs of washing. The valley of 

Spring Creek itself, above the mouth of l\feadow Fork, is narrow for several miles, but broadens 

at Spring Creek post office and. contains some of the very best lands in Madison County. These 

lands have not been injured by overflow. Farther upstream bottoms exist only in isolated 

patches or narrow strips and are relatively unimportant. Probably 80 per cent or more of the 

steep mountain slopes in the upper pari of the basin are in timber, but most of the merchantable 

trees have been cut in the last 15 or 20 years. 
56 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Big Pine Creek is very rough along most of its course, the valley walls being close to the 

stream and rather steep. They are, however, very productive where cleared, but are inclined 

to wash except when kept in grass, as most of them have been. Only a relatively small _ proportion, perhaps 15 or 25 per cent, of the valley slopes have been cleared. 

Little Pine Creek shows about the same conditions as Big Pine. There is a narrow flood 

plain here and there, and the lower slopes have been cleared in slightly greater proportion. 

The stream has done no notable damage to lands along its course. 

Sandymush Creek has no bottoms for 4 or 5 miles from its mouth; farther upstream some 

small separate flood-plain areas occur, but there are no important bottom lands below the forks. 

On Little Sandymush the bottoms are good but narrow, but on Big Sandymush they are considerably broa·der and more valuable. The hillsides have been cleared in larger proportion than on 

the streams already mentioned, the cleared area averaging perhaps 40 to 50 per cent. These 

clea-red lands contain a smaller proportion of sodded area than is usual, and as a consequence 

they show many more signs of serious erosion, and it is not surprising that the bottoms along 

both Little and Big Sandymush had in some places been greatly damaged by floods. Below the 

jundion of the two streams several mills, as well as the soil on many small flood-plain areas, had 

been swept away. From this difference in these neighboring streams it would appear that under 

such climatic and other conditions as are found in these mountains the danger line between a 

safe and an excessive amount of clearing would lie somewhere between 20 and 40 per cent. It 

would, of course, vary considerably with local conditions of soil texture and slope. If this conclusion is correct, then the French Broad basin, as a whole, is already cleared to an excessive 

extent. 

From Marshall to Leonard and the mouth of Big Laurel Creek the road is on the old 

plateau surface, here steeply rounded by many sharply incised streams. The land has been 

cleared to a varying extent, dependi:pg on the nature of the soil and the geology. Where the 

rocks are granitic the soil is deeper and better and 75 to 80 per cent of the area is cleared; where 

the rocks are slates or quartzites the soil is thinner and much poorer and only 10 to 20 per cent 

is cleared. The granitic areas show considerable hillside erosion, and the small streams are 

being choked with debris, so that in many places the narrow strips of bottom lands along them 

have been ruined. In the slate areas the streams show no signs of aggradation but are actively 

cutting away the rock along their courses. 

Big Laurel Creek has no flood plain for a number of miles up from its mouth, and its 

valley sides are steep and rocky and practically uncleared. Little and Big Hurricane creeks 

flow from quartzite and slate areas, in wild, rough, narrow gorges, with no flood plains worthy 

of mention, and their basins show very few hillside clearings. Little Laurel Creek is bordered 

here and there by a few acres of poor, sandy bottoms which do not show material damage from 

floods. The lower slopes are in some places cleared for short distances up the mountain side 

and many such areas are k~pt in grass. The higher slopes are practically uncleared, and much 

of the basin is rough and wild. Shelton Laurel Creek has somewhat more bottom land than 

Little Laurel, and about 20 per cent of the lower mountain slopes are cleared; the higher slopes 

are largely in forest. The amount of damage by floods has been inconsiderable. There are 

no mills, dams, or bridges to be washed away, and only exceptionally have the lands been much 

eroded. All the tributaries of Big Laurel, as well as Big Laurel itself, flow most of the time 

with clear currents and are as a rule bordered by little or no flood plain. 

From the mouth of Shelton Laurel Creek to the mouth of Spillcorn the hills rise to the old 

plateau level, are deeply incised by many small streams, and are steeply rounded. The land, 

however, is very fertile and 75 to 80 per cent of it is cleared. Some of it is in grass, but much 

of it resists erosion to a remarkable extent even when kept in clean culture,, owing undoubtedly 

to the porosity of the soil, which is the result of the weathering of a coarse porphyritic granite. 

Along Big Laurel itself in this stretch there are no bottoms for a number of miles. In some 

places 20 to 25 per cent of its lower valley sides have been cleared, in others they are practically 

untouched. 
FRENCH BROAD BASIN. 57 

The basin of Spillcorn Creek contains very little bottom land. Almost all of the cleared 

land is on the lower slopes of the mountain sides, some 25 per cent of which has been cleared. 

Much of this cleared land has been under cultivation for a number of years, and probably a 

fourth . of it has been practically ruined by gullying within the last few years. No mills or 

dams have been destroyed along the stream. · 

From Big Laurel post office, near the mouth of Spillcorn Creek, to Little Creek post 

·office, the occasional flood plain areas are more or less sandy and stony and show some tendency 

to undercutting by shifting of the stream channel during floods. Above Little Creek post 

<>ffice the valley is somewhat broader and the flood plain more continuous and better. A considerable area on both valley walls has been cleared. That on the northern side is old and 

worn with gullies; that on the south side is fresh and as vet uneroded. More of the cleared 

area is in grass than farther downstream. -The bottom l~nds along Little Creek show some · 

signs of stream aggradation, so that the drainage is not so good as it should be, and it is said 

to be slowly becoming worse. 

An old resident .of the region, a highly intelligent and close observer, believes firmly that 

there have been marked changes in the regimen of the Big Laurel in the last 25 years, during 

which time most of the lumbering and clearing has been under way. The floods in former 

.days rose more slowly, reached lower heights, endangered property less, and went down more 

slowly, so that it was no unusual thing for the stream to remain up during flood periods for 

.several days. Within recent years,' however, floods have come abruptly, rising within a few 

hours to heights previously unknown, sweeping away everything in reach, and subsiding almost 

as rapidly as they rose. Many springs that were formerly perennial now go dry or practically 

·dry late in summer. During this season the small grist mills along . the stream are unable 

to grind the grain, and steam mills must soon be built to replace them. Houses that several 

decades ago were high and dry above the greatest known floods have in recent years been 

repeatedly surrounded by water. There can be little doubt therefore of the truth of the contention that there has been a change. of stream regimen. This material change in the character 

of the stream, especially in its flood flow, has been a result of the lumbering and subsequent 

dearing away of the forest, which have caused the more thorough drying out of the soil and 

the more rapid surface run-off of the rainfall. 

About Windy and Ivy gaps there are numerous old mountain-side clearings that have been 

€roded and abandoned and are now practically covered with second growth. South of Ivy Gap 

the valley of Little Ivy River abruptly broadens until it is several miles wide. For the most 

part it is made up of rounded hills, 100 to 200 feet high, whose tops form part of the old 

Ashevil1e Plateau level. The flood plain itself is narrow at the head of the river but gradually 

broadens until it averages 100 to 300 yards in width in the middle and lower parts. The 

stream is broad and shallow ·and flows over sand and cobbles, and in many places the water 

level is very little below the flood plain surface. Parts of the flood plain can be drained with 

difficulty and in recent years have been converted into a somewhat swampy meadow of no great 

value. This stream is unable to remo've the eroded material · furnished it and is aggrading 

and ruining its flood plain. 

The history of changes in the basin of Little Ivy River during the last twenty years is 

exceedingly interesting, and typifies the general tendency of changes in all mountain basins that 

have been extensively cleared. Some 15 or. 20 years ago a certain grade of tobacco was found 

to grow well on the gneiss soils of the region, and its culture was so profitable that in a 

few years the low rounded hill lands and the lower slopes of the higher mountains about the 

edge of the basin had been largely cleared and planted in tobacco. The cultivation of tobacco 

was continued year after year until a decrease in the pric~, together with a decrease in the yield 

through the depletion of the humus in the ·soil, finally caused it to be abandoned. As soon as 

the humus had been destroyed the hills began eroding badly, and to-day the old red-gullied 

fields and an occasional tobacco barn are the only evidences of this agricultural episode visible 

on the hills themselves. Other evidences are, however, visible on the bottom lands. My 
58 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

informant stated that when he was a boy, some 40 years ago, the stream channel was bordered by high banks, contained but little sand, and in may places its bottom was rock. The 

water was clear and contained abundant trout and other fish. Deep pools, he said, were numerous, and he pointed out the location of several that were memorable as boyhood swimming 

and fishing holes. The bottom lands near his residence were never known by his father, or 

by himself in his early years, to be covered by floods; floods resulted only from several days of 

continued rains, and even when at their highest the water was measurably clear, the discoloration being of grayish cast. A mill erected 30 years ago, had the dam so arranged that half 

of the water was turned into the race and went to turn the wheel. Since then ilo change has 

been made in the height of the dam, in the wheel, or in the gearing, nor has any additional 

machinery been put in; the power demands, in other words, have not been changed. Note, however, the other changes. Since the rapid clearing incident to the introduction of tobacco culture 

in the basin, sand is everywhere. The deep channel has been filled with it, so that the water level 

is now close to the flood-plain level, and a slight rise suffices to raise the stream over its banks. 

Floods are frequent, and the growing of crops has become uncertain, even where the land itself 

has not been destroyed by being washed away or covered with sand. A heavy rain of a few 

hours now produces a flood that rises rapidly and as quickly subsides; the water becomes red 

with mud and remains so for several days after it has fallen to normal height. The sand and 

the mud have filled the swimming holes and driven away the ·trout and bass; a mud cat or sun 

perch .i.s the only fish now to be found. The bottoms, formerly never covered by high water, 

were flooded for the first time six or eight years ago, and have been covered several times since 

then. The low-water flow of the stream is so much less than of old that all of it is now turned 

into the mill race, and yet there is more difficulty in grinding with the entire stream flow than 

there formerly was with but half of it. Springs that in former years were never known to 

fail now go dry in summer and remain dry for several months. 

Paint Fork and California Fork have similar topography and soils and have had the same 

agricultural history, followed by the same disastrous results as those just described in detail 

for Little Ivy River. 

Holcomb Branch and Poverty Branch have small basins with narrow flood plains and 

steep slopes, both of which have been much eroded and abandoned. A few daY.s before Holcomb 

Creek was examined the worst flood in its history occurred; it swept away the growing corn, 

the shocks of oats, and the ~ences, and in many places washed off the soil to the bare rocks and 

tore up the road. The flood was scarcely less severe on Poverty Branch. 

At Democrat a milldam pond on Ivy River has so filled with sand and clay that it has no 

storage capacity, and the low-water flow permits but very little grinding in late summer and 

fall. The miller claims the stream volume is less than half of what it was some years ago· 

during this season. There are no bottoms worthy of mention along this portion of the river. 

The miller at Barnardsville says that in autumn he now has only about half the water that 

he had some years ago and is in that season forced to shut down a part of his machinery. Above~ 

Barnardsville much of the valley land forms part of the old Asheville Plateau surface; about 

50 per cent is cleared. The mountain slopes proper are probably not more than 15 per cent 

cleared.· 

On the day before it was examined Martins Creek, a small stream flowing into North Ivy 

at Barnardsville, had a flood that was described as coming downstream with an almost precipitous front and subsiding almost as suddenly as it came. Although the basin is insignificant in. 

size, the incident is important as showing the character of the floods that have become so destructive in these mountains. 

From Barnardsville southward to Reems Creek the uplands have been cleared to a consid-· 

erable extent, but in many places have been kept in grass. Along Reems Creek and Ox Creek 

the slopes have been largely cl~ared, and where they have not been properly cared for show much 

erosion. These streams are small and rather torrential and in places are undercutting their· 

bottom lands or have washed runways across them. The higher slopes of the mountains to the:-
RENCH BROAD BASIN. 59 

east are largely uncleared. Portions f the crest of the Elk Mountains are cleared and in excellent grass, as the soil is fertile. 

FROM HOT SPRINGS THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN. 

Below Hot Springs the French road flows for 20 miles in its mountain gorge. · Its current 

is very swift and its channel in plac contains abundant cobbles and bowlders. Here and there 

it is bordered by small flood plain ar as, most of them on the concave side of a meander curve, 

which, as a rule, are sloping, are so ewhat stony, and have a sandy soil that is rarely fertile. 

Around the curves the bottom lands ave been gouged into holes or in places have washed away. 

The total amount of injury done in t is gorge portion of the stream, however, is inconsiderable,' 

because of the small amount of floo plain that could be destroyed. The mountain slopes are 

generally very steep and many of th m are rough and rocky. They are practically uncleared, 

though nearly all of the timber on t em has already been cut. · 

GREAT VALLEY PORTION OF THE FRENCH BROAD BASIN. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

For a few miles below the point t .which the river leaves the mountain it has no flood plain, 

but about 4 miles above the mout of Big Pigeon River a broad flood plain begins and 

extends thence to the mouth of the ri er-75 or 80 miles-on one side or both. Its width ranges 

from a half mile to a mile or even ore. It is composed of fine sands and clays that almost 

invariably make fertile soil. None f these bottom lands are worth less than $60 and many of 

them bring $100 or more an acre. I many places the yield per acre is 80 to 100 bushels of corn. 

From Leadvale down to its mo th-a distance of 70 miles-the river is navigable. The 

bottom. lands on the concave side o the bend at Leadvale had been damaged to the extent of 

$3,000, and the railway pier on the s me side had been partly undermined by the floods of 1901 

and 1902. l\'lorris Island, below Le dvale, was not greatly damaged, but on the bend immedintely below it there was much wash ng, and at Aliens Ford an 8-acre island was washed completely away, and .the' western bank f the river was badly scoured. Much of the surface soil of 

the :farm in the bend just south of A lens Ford had been swept away by the current. In general 

it may be said that on this river, as n the Holston and the Nolichucky, farms within bends are 

more injured than those elsewhere. Many of them have been scoured down to the hard clay or 

the bare rock. At Oak Grove two or three farmers reported damages ranging from $500 to 

$1,000, and conditions at this point re typical for this portion of the river. 

Between Oak Grove and Elliot Ferry the bottom lands lie on the west side of the river. 

They are about three-fourths of a m'le wide and are protected in a large measure by a levee built 

across their upper end. Their surfa e ranges from 12 to 20 feet above stream level and only the 

.lower parts of it are covered by floods. These parts have been slightly injured in recent years, 

but the damage has been much less than the average in other places. 

From Elliott Ferry down pract cally to Dandridge the flood plain has an average width of 

. three-fourths of a mile and is confi ed almost entirely to the north side of the river. At the 

ferry there is on the north side an ordinary flood plain 10 to 20 yards wide and 6 feet above 

·ordinary water level. It is bordere by an extraordinary flood plain some 10 to 15 feet higher . 

and 250 yards wide. From the ferr to Dandridge the flood plain has been injured not so much 

by the river current as by the cutti g of channels during the return of the flood waters to the 

river as it falls. These channels ar transverse to the main river channel and have scarred the 

flood plain in many places. 

S\·Van Island, with an area of 1 0 acres, has had 30 or 40 acres of its upper end scoured off 

down to hard clay; its lower end however, has been benefited by a deposit of fertile silt. 

Another small island near by, com rising 22 acres, had a.ll of its top soil washed away. 

At Dandridge a farm on the s uth side, just above the ferry, was in an eddy and was con-

.siderably benefited; the soil on a f rm on the same side just below the ferry was washed away 
60 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

to hard clay. McManns Islands appear to have been benefited by deposition of silt. These 

islll;nds, however, deflected the currents, so that the bottom lands west of them and below them 

were badly injured. In the first farm below on the south side of the river numerous holes, 6 to 

10 feet deep, were cut; the next farm below was covered with sand 4 to 5 feet deep and rendered practically worthless. Other farms jn Jefferson County have been damaged, chiefly by 

the cutting of holes and the washing of the surface, to an average of about 10 or 15 per cent of 

their value. In some places later floods have deposited sedill_lent where earlier ones had washed, 

so that some lands show improvement and may be reclaimed in a few years; in other places the 

damage seems permanent and there are no signs of the land making back again after three or 

four years of disuse. 

In general, the areas covered by white sand become fewer toward the lower end of ·Jefferson 

. County, but near the mouth of Little Pigeon River, in Sevier County, the damage from the 

covering with white sand becomes greater. It is evident that the Pigeon delivers a larger 

amount of such material than the French Broad can remove and the latter is consequently 

forced to deposit its . excess of load within a short distance below the· mouth of the Pigeon. 

Throughout this portion of the French Broad there are many changes in the channel, some 

of which have interfered with the ferries, and many channels back of islands have either 

materially filled or scoured in the last few years. Places that are .shallow after one flood 

are scoured out deep by another, and vice versa. At Huffaker Island the north channel has 

practically filled. At Pickle Island, just below, the south channel has in like manner filled. 

The height of the flood determines whether deposition or scouring shall occur in a given 

place, and as the flood height varies from time to ti~e the frequent changes in the depth of 

the river may be easily explained. River men and boatmen claim that the channel, as a whole, 

shows a tendency to fill. It is believed that the average depth of the stream is not so great 

as it formerly was, and it is confidently asserted that boats can not run as far upstream in 

summer and fall or as constantly as they could in former years. 

The changes in depth and the tendency to fill, because of the great and increasing volume 

of sand now being carried down the river, repeatedly make diffic~lties for steamboats and 

largely nullify the efforts of the Army engineers· to maintain a navigable channel. Sand 

bars dredged to-day may be re-formed to-morrow, and as long as the sand and cobbles are 

permitted to get into the stream no permanent improvement is possible. Dredging must be· 

continued. 

PIGEON RIVER BASIN. 

Pigeon River rises among the Balsam and Pisgah ~fountains, cuts its way through the 

Unaka Mountains, and joins French Broad River on the Tennessee plain . . It drains an interior 

agricultural basin which is oval in outline, the longer axis extending northwest-southeast, 

parallel to the general course of the stream, and almost entirely within the Appalachian Mountain region. It is circumscribed by lofty mountains, many of the peaks reaching altitudes 

above 6,000 ·feet. Many minor ranges springing from the surrounding mountains converge 

toward the middle of the basin, dividing it into deep, narrow valleys, except nE>.ar its upper 

end, between the towns of Canton and "\Vaynesville, where there is a broad, open valley of . 

alluvial plains and rolling hills, dotted with low mountains. 

The basin has an area of about 667 square miles . 

. - The soils are loams and sandy loams, mostly fine grained, aerived from gneiss and schists, 

though in the mountains they are more siliceous and coarser, being the product of metamorphosed sandstones, quartzites, and conglomerates. 

Waynesville is situated on a part of the old Asheville plateau that has been dissected by 

the river and its tributaries in the same manner as the region about Asheville has been dissecteq.~ The soils are eroding much as they are elsewhere on this old plateau. 

- From Waynesville eastward to Davis Gap much of the country is cleared. The surface is 

,:r;olling to hilly and eroded areas occur here and there. In the gap itself, especially on the 

QO~~h side, the lands ~ave been badly gullied. East of the .gap, toward Sonoma,_ about 85 _per 
FRENCH BROAD BASIN. 61 

cent of the lower and 30 per cent of the higher slopes are cleared. Some clearings extend well 

to the tops of the ridges. 

At Sonoma a prominent terrace lies 25 feet above the broad semitorrential flood plain. 

Viewed broadly, this terrace appears level, but viewed in detail it presents minute undulations 

caused by numerous obscure runways and small hummocks over its surface. It is rather 

fertile, as such torrential flood plains usually are, and is now fossil. · 

Above Sonoma, nearly up to Lavinia, the West Fork of Pigeon River has considerable 

flood plain, practically all of whicb is cleared. A large proportion of the lower mountain 

slopes is also under cultivation, much of it being in grass. From Lavinia up to Three Forks 

.the narrow flood plain and the lower 100 to 200 yards of the valley sides have largely been 

cleared. In places the older of these mountain-side fields are badly eroded. 

Above Three Forks the basin of the Pigeon is practically uncleared and is largely in original forest, untouched as yet by the lumberman. 

On Little East Fork there are few flood-plain areas, as the valley is narrow and the stream 

torrential, but the valley sides are cleared to a greater extent than on the West Fork. These 

lands are more fertile and are largely kept in grass, so that their condition is usually good. 

Along the East Fork a 1

large part of the flood plain is torrential, a poor, sandy soil, 2 to 

3 feet deep, overlying a cobble stratum. It is crossed by flood channels and cut by holes, 

especially where it is forested. The scouring out of holes during floods is commonly 

caused by the lodging of logs and the formation of rafts. Such obstructions are especially 

likely to form on forested plains and the water deflected beneath them exerts great scour.:. 

ing force and quickly removes all loose material down to the underlying rock. For some 

distance up East Fork the mountain sides are practically uncleared, but at and above Springrlale considerable areas of fertile land are being cleared and put into apple orchards. Grass 

is usually grown on the same land until the trees come into bearing. A very large part of this 

basin~ however, consists of the steep slopes of the Pisgah Mountains, whose peaks include many 

that stand more than 5,000 feet and several more than 6,000 feet above sea level. 

From Sonoma down to Canton the flood plain is broad and fertile and the larger part of 

it is cleared and cultivated. Many remnants of a well-developed fossil flood plain rise by 

a steep scarp about 25 feet above the living flood plain. The stream is doing comparatively 

little damage to the lands along it. Perhaps 50 per cent of the mountain slopes on each side 

are cleared and on some of them fields reach to the tops. 

At Canton a large pulp mill, having a capacity of 500 cords of wood a day, has been 

erected. Much of the wood comes from the upper Pigeon basin, but a considerable part is 

shjpped in by the 'Southern Railway. 

From Canton westward to Clyde the river has not seriously damaged its bottom lands, 

which are, in general, sandy and lie less than 10 feet above ordinary water level. The rapid 

current of the river prevents floods from reaching even this height, though they are said to 

have become higher in recent years than they were formerly. The removal of the timber in 

the upper basin will probably cause floods to become ~teadil~r worse. 

From Clyde to Waynesville the uplands are hilly and have a deeply rotted gneissose soil 

that in many places has been cultivated for years and has become badly gullied. A few miles 

below Clyde, Pigeon River valley closes in and has very little flood plain down to the mouth 

of Jonathan Creek, but a large proportion of its valley slopes are cleared. Many of these 

cleared slopes are kept in grass and are uninjured by erosion, though some of the older fields, 

not so protected, have eroded badly. 

Below the mouth of Jonathan Creek the river cuts for 25 miles through the Great Smoky 

Mountains in a steep-sided gorge whose walls rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet above stream level, are 

generally rough and rocky and in many places precipitous and are uncleared. There ·is no 

flood plain in this part of the river. 

After the river leaves the mountains its flood plain for 10 miles is narrow and has been 

badly washed or has been covered by sand . . A few miles above its mouth its valley broadens, 

jts slope decreases, and .it has developed a wide flood plain, chiefly· of sand and therefore only 

• 
62 DENUDATION ANI> EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

moderately fertile. The floods of the last few years have injured it about 15 per cent and in 

. places have washed away the railway embankments. 

On the north side of the Pigeon, below Canton, the sides of the basins of Crabtree, Fines, 

and several smaller tributaries include many areas of fertile land, a large part of which has 

been cleared. Much of it is kept in grass and is generally in good condition. The flood-plain 

lands along these streams are narrow but have not been materially injured by floods. 

Soco Gap, at the head of Jonathan Creek, is a small cleared area which is well grassed and 

thus completely protected from erosion. The upper part of the basin for 2 miles below the 

gap is in forest that has recently been lumbered and is now cut by numerous runways made by 

the lumbermen. Below this lumbered area the entire narrow flood plain has been cleared and 

is partly in grass and partly cultivated. It is a torrent plain, 2 to 15 feet above stream level, 

and ranges in width from 200 to 600 yards. The rounded stones on its surface are prominent 

in the portion above Tito, though its soil is fairly fertile. Fertility is, indeed, a common 

characteristic of su.ch torrent plains, but whether because or in spite of the stony debris is 

not always apparent. If in spite of, the source of the fertility is to be sought in the large 

amount of humus usually present in cove soils, much of which would readily be washed down 

the steep slopes and incorporated in. the torrent plain; if the stony debris aids fertility~ it must 

be because it helps to keep the soil more open and loose by preventing baking during the 

drought and by retarding evaporation. 

The stream itself is rough and swift and its bed is made up of a succession of small bowlders and gravel bars. In many places it is bordered by a cobble zone 50 to 100 yards wide, and 

over this cobble zone the stream constantly shifts its position. Log and rock cribs have been 

built to restrain and confine it. · 

The valley walls on each side rise steeply and are cleared in an irregular manner; in some 

places both sides are in timber; in others clearings extend up the mountain side 300 to 600 feet 

above stream level ; on the west side there is a large cleared area on the higher slopes. Most 

of the cleared land is in grass and in good condition; perhaps 10 per cent of the remainder 

shows gullying, though much of that not gullied has been cleared within the last :few years. 

At Tito the creek turns sharply northward from its old course to the Pigeon and flows for a 

mile or more in a narrow gorge, below which its lower valley opens and broad bottoms appear. 

These bottoms are generally in good condition. The valley wall on the east side shows occasional clearings on the high mountain slopes, but no erosion was seen. 

Along Hemphill Creek, on the west, the small flood plain is cleared, and also some 60 per 

cent of its valley walls up to an elevation of 600 feet above its channel; on the north side there 

are many fields up to the tops of Purchase and High knobs, nearly 3,000 feet above the stream. 

'Vhen newly cleared these are in good condition, but somP of the old clearings are badly 

gullied. 

Below Hemphill Creek the flood plain on Jonathan Creek is broad and in good condition. 

It is bordered by a terrace whose surface stands about 75 feet above the stream and is almost 

entirely cleared. Areas comprising about 20 per cent of the low valley slopes are also cleared 

and are largely in gr.ass. Below the mouth of Cove Creek there is no flood plain. 

In Cove Creek valley all of the bottom lands and 60 per cent of the valley walls, for 300 to 

400 feet vertically, have been cleared. About 10 per cent of the cleared land is in old fields 

that show erosion. 

West of Camp 9"ap the entire country from the Balsam Mountain across to Pigeon River 

and from Camp Gap to the Great Smokies on the Tennessee line is almost entirely uncleared; 

the clearings would include perhaps 2 per cent of the area. Some of the lands in these clearings 

are fresh and part of them are in grass; On most of them the soil is loose and porous, containing as a rule many small rocky fragments, so that even the few fields that have long been cleared 

show much less erosion than might seem probable from the steepness of the slopes. 

At the time of the examination hoth Cataluchee and Big creeks were much swollen by 

several days' rain. Cataluchee Creek was almost clear and Big Creek was quite so. The 

explanation of their clearnes~ lay in the alm_ost completely forested condition of their basins, 

• 
FRENCH BROAD BASIN. 63 

which therefore furnished no eroded mineral soil particles to their flood waters. A lumbering 

railway has recently been built from Newport up the Pigeon and up the valley of Big Creek. 

The lumbering operations will probably produce important changes in the stream's regimen, 

and the results so :familiar in other basins where :forests have been extensively cut will be 

repeated here. 

From the State line westward across the headwaters of Cosby Creek and 'V ebb Creek 

to Little Pigeon River much of the road is on an old, well-dissected plateau, which in the great 

valley of east Tennessee is regarded as the equivalent of the Asheville Plateau, though it lies at a 

somewhat lower elevation. vVest of the Great Smoky Mountain this old plateau is :from 1,900 

to 2,100 feet above sea level and is rem.arkably well preserved in its broad features, though 

cut to pieces in minute detail. Isolated peaks or short ridges rise steeply above it, and 

innumerable streams and streamlets have cut sharply beneath it. In many places a large part 

o:f its surface is cleared. The slopes downward to the streams are cleared in like or greater 

proportion. The slopes upward on the mountain sides have been practically untouched by the, 

farmer, though the lumberman is actively at work and in many places has already removed the 

best timber. · 

The creek bottoms vary in width from 100 to 30Q yards. As a rule a narrow cobble zone 

borders the stream channel, but the general condition of the bottom lands is good. There has 

been no marked increase in erosion recently. In many places the streams flow over the upturned 

edges of Paleozoic rocks and are actively eroding their channels. Their bounding mountain 

slopes are forested and furnish to the streams very little sand and gravel. 

At the mouth o:f Webb Creek Little Pigeon River flows with a very swift and perfectly 

clear current over ledges o:f upturned slate or bars o:f cobbles and bowlders. In some places 

its valley sides close in so narrowly that the river is bordered only by a cobble zone; in others 

they recede and there is a fertile flood plain 300 to 400 yards in width and 10 to 15 :feet in 

a.verage height above stream level. On the higher parts o:f the flood plain houses, barns, and 

churches have been built. From the mouth of vVebb Creek well up to the head of the stream 

the bottom'S are cleared and much o:f the lower mountain slopes are also in cultivation. 

Though floods on Little Pigeon seldom do serious damage, they are generally thought to 

be growing worse. The stream is slowly cutting away its flood plain and widening its bowlder 

zone; :fences and roads on the edge of the flood plain next the stream have had to be moved 

back repeatedly. The flood plain appears to have been a fossil one, but within recent years 

seven houses, two barns, and a schoolhouse, as well as much fencing and roadway, have been 

swept away by high waters. It may, however, have been an extraordinary flood plain, reached 

by floods only at long intervals; or it may have been a plain abandoned by floods because o:f the 

constantly deepened stream cutting under natural forested conditions, now reoccupied by 

floods whose height has been abnormally increased by man's activities. 

Between Middle Fork and Gatlinburg the flood plain of Dudley Creek is entirely cleared 

and is in good condition. The bounding valley slopes up to a height of 100 to 200 :feet above 

the stream are 60 per cent cleared, and there is at rare intervals a cleared field on higher slopes. 

The high mountains here, as practically everywhere else on this west slope of the Great Smokies, 

are uncleared. 

At Gatlinburg the conditions are about the same as on Middle Fork. The destruction· by 

floods is growing, the zone of bowlders bordering the stream channel is slowly widening, and 

roads, fences, and small houses have to be moved back :from the crumbling edge of the flood 

plain. 

Alum Cave Creek is a typical clear mountain torrent, with a descent o:f 200 to 400 feet per 

mile in a channel that in places is cut 30 to 40 feet below an exceedingly rocky or bowldery but 

:fertile torrent plain. The channel is filled in many places with bowlders, the largest 10 or 15 

feet in diameter. On the steep mountain side there are a few clearings whose soil is usually 

stony but has not eroded appreciably. The higher valley slopes are timbered and from a point 

·about 6 miles above Gatlinburg to the crest of the Great Smokies at Indian Gap there are no 

72091 °-No. 72-11--5 
64 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

houses or clearings and the forest is primeval, untouched by the ax. The region east of the 

gap belongs to the drainage system of the Little Tennessee. 

LITTLE RIVER BASIN. 

Little River heads on the west slope of the Great Smokies, flows northwestward, and 

enters Tennessee River 12 miles below Knoxville. Its basin lies between the basin of .the 

French Broad and that of the Little Tennessee and is divided by the Chilhowee Mountains 

into a lower northwestern part, in the great valley of east Tennessee, and an upper southeastern 

part, inclosed by the Great Smokies and their spurs. 

The lower or .valley part of the river is bordered by a narrow flood plain that is in most 

places fertile and is in generally good condition as regards erosion. The upper, mountainous 

part of the stream has as a rule no important flood plain, although here and there a narrow, 

ruther sandy strip of bottom land occurs, and at one place the erosion of a small area of 

limestone infolded among the ancient schists of the region has produced a beautiful broad 

valley known by its Cherokee Indian name of Tuckaleeche Cove. The land in this cove is very 

fertile and is practically uninjured by floods. In it a lumber company has in recent years 

erected a large sawmill, around whicb has sprung up a considerable town. From the town 

a logging railway follows the river up practically to its head, at the very base of the Great 

Smokies. Above Tuckaleeche Cove there is practically no flood plain and almost no mountainslope farm clearing, so that until lumbering began the region was an unbroken forest. The 

timber is now being rapidly removed. The cutting is close and leaves the land almost bare. 

Much of the area is steep, rough, and stony, and not suitable for agriculture. It needs 

protection from fire and should have careful attention until the forest cover is reproduced. 

LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The headwater tributaries of the Little Tennessee rise along the Blue Ridge in North Carolina or ' northeastern Georgia, and the main stream flows northwestward across the mountain 

region to its junction. with Tennessee River in the middle of the great valley of east Tennessee. The basin lies southwest of the basin of the French Broad and northeast of that of the 

Hiwassee, and · is 85 miles long, from southeast to northwest, and 40 miles wide. It is more 

nearly inclosed by high mountains than is the French Broad Basin. ~fany peaks on the Blue 

Ridge along its southeastern rim rise sharply to heights of 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. 

Along its northeastern side the bounding rim is a nearly continuous chain that in numerous 

places is between 5,500 and 6,500 feet high. The Great Smokies, on the northwest, reach elev~­

tions of 3,500 to 6,000 feet, and though the bounding ridge on the southwest is somewhat more 

broken, yet parts of it are more than 5,000 feet high. 

The immediate river valley is broad and has gentle slopes where the rocks are less resistant 

to weathering, but is narrow, ste.ep walled, and in many places rocky where they are more 

resistant. In commem with the other westward.:flowing streams in this region, the depth of 

the gorge increases downstream, being 1,500 to 2,000 feet deep where the river breaks through 

the Great Smokies on the Tennessee line. The open, flat-floored basin-like character of the 

Little Tennessee Valley is much less perfect than that of the French Broad, its interior being 

broken by numerous high ranges, some of which extend for several miles and reach elevations 

of 4,000 or 5,000 feet above sea level. The Cowee Mountains, for instance, are 30 miles long 

and reach heights of more than 5,000 feet. The Plott, Balsam, and Hughes Ridges, though 

less than 12 miles long, rise to elevations between 5 000 and 6,000 feet and culminate where the 

Plott Balsam joins the main Balsam, at an elevation of 6,399 feet. Other ridges, such as 

Cheoah and N antahala mountains, are of almost equal extent and height. 

The old plateau surface which forms the floor of the basin is identical in age with and 

similar to the Asheville Plateau and is well preserved about Webster, above and below Franklin, and in the Cheoah basin about Robbinsville. These places are situated on its level. 
LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 65 

TUCKASEGEE BASIN. 

BALSAM GAP. 

West of Balsam Gap 40 per cent of the steeply rounded hills at the head of Scott Creek 

have been cleared. Many of these cleared areas have been cultivated for years and have 

become deeply gullied. A large number of such gullied fields have been abandoned, and in 

numerous places nature has not yet succeeded in repairing the damages wrought by man, so 

that the bare red clay surface on these scarred hillsides is becoming constantly larger, and 

new fields are being cleared whose ultimate fate will be the same as that of these eroded areas. 

This region vies with the Burnsville and Bakersville regions in the amount of damage 

caused by erosion on the steep uplands, but, luckily, conditions elsewhere in the Little Tennessee basin are not so bad as in the part of it just west of Balsam Gap, although badly eroded 

areas are by no means unknown or even infrequent in many other parts of the basin. 

Down Scott Creek many hilltops and hillsides have long been cleared and show serious 

gulleying and sheet-wash erosion. The small streamlets flow in narrow, sharply incised valleys. 

On Scott Creek from Hall down to Dillsboro areas of bottom lands from 100 to 400 yards 

wide occur here and there in bends of the river. Many of the steep valley slopes are partly 

cleared and cultivated, and almost every field has been badly eroded before the deadened trees 

that were left standing when the land ' was first cleared have disappeared. The old fields 

are abandoned. This policy of clearing, temporary cultivation, and abandonment is, indeed, 

general; and in many places throughout the mountain region the succession from forest to 

freshly cleared fields, old fields, and abandoned badly eroded fields may be seen on adjoining 

parts of the same mountain side. 

At Webster, as indeed through most of its course above Dillsboro, the Tuckasegee is deeply 

incised beneath the old plateau level and is bordered by little bottom land. A county road 

follows it throughout almost its entire course, and within recent years the many high floods 

have torn to pieces long stretches of this road and have swept away a number of bridges. 

Just below Dillsboro the river has little or no flood plain. For a short distance it flows in 

a narrow gorge and has a considerable fall, and this section has recently been purchased for 

use as a power site. Between Wilmot and Whittier there are good bottoms 100 to 300 yards 

wide showing comparatively little injury from floods. In some places sand has been washed 

over them to a slight extent. The uplands on the north side of the river are cleared but not 

to the extent that they are above Dillsboro. The slopes here are gentler and the surface is 

not washing so badly. 

Below the mouth of Oconalufty River the bottom land is made up of poor, micaceous sand, 

and additional deposits of such sand are being brought down from the Oconalufty, evidently 

from the basin of Soco Creek, since that is the only tributary of the Oconalufty in whose basin 

conditions as regards erosion are bad. 

Just above ·and at Bryson 'City the flood plain is 300 to 400 yards wide, and most of it 

is either an extraordinary or a fossil flood plain, usually or always safe from flood damage. 

From Bryson to Bushnell the river flows in a narrow, rocky trench in which there is practically 

no flood plain, and the sides are too steep and rocky to e cl~ared and cultivated. Above this 

trench the uplands back on the plateau level are 30 to 40 per cent cleared. The soil is gravelly 

to sandy, is porous, and shows very little erosion. The steep slopes of the higher mountains 

are not cleared. 

At Bushnell, where the Tuckasegee joins the Little Tennessee, there are no flood plains 

worthy of note, but some houses are being built within the reach of extraordinary floods. 

The highest flood reported at Bushnell occurred in 1867, and it is said that one in 1840 was 

nearly as high. Since 1867 there have been several floods that have reached within 3 to 4 feet 

of the 1867 stage. In recent years several bridges and a mill· or two in the vicinity have been 

destroyed by high water, and in 1900 some 2,000,000 feet of logs were swept away by the 

breaking of a lumber company's boom, and the company went bankrupt. 
66 · DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

OCONALUFTK RIVER. 

'Oconalufty River is tributary to the Tuckasegee on its north side, and its basin contains 

much of the highest, widest, and most densely forested land to be found in western North 

Carolina. It is bounded on the north by the Great Smokies and the Balsams, which rise to 

a height of more than 6,000 feet. The larger part of the basin is occupied by the Qualla Reservation of the Cherokee Indians, and this fact accounts for the large proportion of uncleared 

land within it. The Indians usually do but little farming, and the clearings are confineq. to 

the better bottom lands and the lower valley slopes, many of which are rented and farmed by 

whites. 

From Indian Gap for several miles down the headwaters of Mingus Mill Creek the region 

is in virgin forest that at the time of the examination was just beginning to be lumbered on 

an extensive scale. Thousands of feet of the finest poplar and other hard woods had been 

felled and cut into saw lengths but had not been moved to the mill. A tramway down the · 

valley was being built to carry the lumber to the railway. Some 4 or 5 miles from the head 

the narrow flood plain begins to be cleared, and from there to the mouth, at Oconalufty, it is 

almost continuous and averages somewhat less than 200 yards in width. Some parts of it 

are flat, but most of it is a beveled plain and is above the reach of floods. The valley walls 

are cleared to a slight extent only, and then merely for a short distance above stream level. The 

higher slopes are in unbroken forest. 

Below the mouth of Mingus Mill Creek Oconalufty River has a bottom 200 to 500 yards 

in width that is, as a rule, fertile and is uninjured by floods; the upper portion of the Oconalufty is in practically the same condition as to clearing and flood damages. The forested 

slopes have everywhere protected the bottoms from serious injury. . 

Soco Creek, also . in the Cherokee Indian Reservation, has moderate fall and a flood plain 

that, though here and there quite narrow, averages 200 to 400 yards in width. This ilood 

plain is in some places normal, having a flat surface and rising 4 to 6 feet above stream level; 

in other places the stream is receiving more waste than it can carry away and is aggrading its 

flood plain, so that the part next to the channel is higher than that more remote from it. The 

flood-plain surface is accordingly convex, and, during floods, distributary channels are frequently 

cut :from the main stream to lower parts· of the flood plain nearer the valley wall. Here ·: and 

there these channels are occupied by the stream, which consequently widely shifts its position. 

The surface is being scored by such channels, and islands are frequently formed and as frequently tied to one side or the other of the flood plain by the abandonment of one of the channels 

around them. The material deposited by the stream is for the most part coarse and stony, and 

the hill slopes are moderately steep, and only some 25 per cent of them up to an elevation of 

about 200 feet above stream level is cleared. Part of the cle~red area has been worn thin and 

abandoned, but does not show profound gullying. The higher slopes are entirely forested. The 

soil has resulted from the weathering of granites and gneisses and is somewhat stony and 

porous. It is much like that on the Oconalufty, and yet there is a notable contrast in the 

flood-plain conditions on the two streams. On the Oconalufty the flood plain is generally in 

good condition; on the Soco much has already been ruined, and the remainder will soon be in 

like condition. An explanation of this difference is found in the fact that from about 1896 to 

1898 the Soeo basin was thoroughly lumbered and many runways were opened down the steep 

slopes, and these have furnished the coarse material that has since overloaded the stream and 

is ·now accumulating on its flood plain, burying and ruining the alluvial soil. 

From Hall station southward to Painter, o:n the Tuckasegee, many old fields have been 

eroded and abandoned. Where these have not been turned into pasture lands they have generally grown up in timber and the erosion scars have in time been covered by vegetation, 

though in many places the surface is left too rough for subsequent clearing. They are, however, 

more frequently fenced in for pasture, and, when grazed and trampled, erosion conditions grow 

constantly worse until many of the fields become areas of bare red clay. Throughout this region the best timber has been culled and hauled by wagon to the railway. 
LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 67 

Cove Creek has a narrow flood plain and 25 to 40 per . cent of its slopes are cleared; the 

older fields are eroding. 

Weary Hut Creek has almost no flood plain and its valley sides are not greatly cleared . 

. Caney Fork is inl places bordered by some good bottom lands,. but its cu~rent is relative~y 

swift, and though many of the lower slopes have been cleared, all of the higher ones are In 

forest. Conditions throughout the basin as regards erosion are generally satisfactory. In 

recent years, however, some damage has been done to the flood plain on the lower course of 

the stream. 

Floods on the Tuckasegee are said by old residents, some of whom have known the river 

for 60 years, to be generally higher, to come more suddenly, to disappear quicker, and to be 

much more destructive than 50 years ago. Both the river and its tributaries are said to be 

much muddier during floods and for a consicl.erablH time afterwards than they formerly were. 

and many springs that were once perennial now go dry in late summer. During the fall the 

river and the smaller streams tributary to it get lower than of old, and mills have more difficulty 

in running. It is thought that the increased height of floods and irregularity of flow are the 

result of clearing for agriculture, andl especially of logging, by which chutes have been formed 

on many steep slopes. 

At Painter a few years ago the Tuckasegee swept away its north bank and shifted its 

channel so that it left the north end of the iron bridge that spanned it standing in what then 

became the middle of the river. The building of rock walls and planting of trees have not as 

yet repairf'd the damage caused by this change or effectually regulated the river's course. 

The highest flood known at this point is said to have occurred in 1840; one in 1867 was 

nearly as high, and the next highest was in 1876. Though recent floods have not been as high 

as these earlier floods, it is asserted that their average height is greater than that of the usual 

flood of former years, and that their destructive powers have been increased by the greater 

velocity of the flood crest combined with its greater average height. This greater velocity 

with which floods pass a given point is due to the more sudden gathering of the storm waters 

from tributaries and the consequent increased steepness of the front slope of the advancing 

flood wave or crest as well as its greater height. This increased steepness of the front slope 

of the advancing flood crest and its greater velocity cause a more rapid rise at any given point 

than formerly and a more rapid fall to ordinary stages. 

General conditions along the flood plain of any stream represent the effects of the high 

floods that occu'r every year or every few years rather than those of the extremely high floods 

that occur once or twice in a century-floods due to an extraordinary combination of circumstances. The evidence is as yet too scant-for 'few such floods have occurred since the white 

man occupied the region-to determine whether or not they show tendency to become higher 

as man works his changes in the valJley. 

Cullowhee Creek has a flood plain 400 to 700 yards wide, which is entirely cleared and 

under cultivation and is fairly fertile. Some 75 per cent of the bounding slopes, up to an 

elevation of 200 to 400 feet above the stream level, are also cultivated, and those that have long 

been cleared show the effects of erosion. Above these fields the mountain slopes become steeper, 

and in many places bold ledges or prec~pitously rounded masses of gneiss project. Such a 

projecting mass causes the falls on the Tuckasegee. 

The crest of Cullowhee, Big Ridge, and other mountains in the vicinity have gentler, more 

rounded slopes than those above mentioned, and there are usually extensive clearings that in 

places have a thin, poor, gravelly soil, and in other places a soil that is more compact and fertile. 

·The general condition as regards erosion on these high clearings is satisfactory, though in some 

places where they are steep and have long been cleared they are seamed with gullies. Such 

slopes need reforesting. . 

From Cullowhee Gap to Norton and on to Highlands the small streams have, as a rule, 

narrow flood plains, many of which are quite poor. They are not eroding to any marked 

extent, as practically all of the steep slopes up to the higher mountain crests are in timber. In 

this entire basin the clearings possibly amount to as much as 2 per cent of the total area. The 
68 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

soil is a loose, light-colored, coarse-textured granitic sand or gravel. The timber is generally 

poor and thin. Some of the streams have a fall so slight that they are bordered by exten$ive 

swamp areas-as, for instance, in the valley of Big Creek, just north of Highlands. 

Many of the higher mountain masses in this region, such as Whiteside, Sealey, Satulah, 

Fodderstack, and Black Rock, show extensive areas of bare precipitous granite surfaces that 

have been produced and rounded by subaerial erosion; and in other extensive areas the bare 

rock surface is 'concealed beneath only a foot or two of soil that is held together by a dense 

turf-like matting of rootlets from the vegetation upon it. When such areas are cleared these 

rootlets rapidly decay and disappear, and in a few years the thin soil cover is swept away and 

the bare granite is exposed. Once this condition is reached the area becomes permanently 

worthless, since hundreds of years would not suffice to reproduce a soil cover. The scarp-like 

eastern face of the Blue Ridge shows many more of these steep, bare granite slopes or domes 

than the gentle western slope, and the damage from further clearing in those slopes would be 

immediately felt along the streams that flow southeastward to the Atlantic and furnish along 

their way tens of thousands of horsepower that has already been or is now being developed 

electrically to run the many mills and furnish light and power for the towns of the Piedmont 

Plateau in the two Carolinas. 

FROM HIGHLANDS SOUTHWESTWARD TOWARD RABUN GAP, GA. 

For a number of miles the road from Highlands to Rabun Gap lies on the very crest of the 

Blue Ridge, and from many points along it there is visible to the west a gently sloping and 

deeply dissected plateau, above which here and there residual mountains rise, while to the east 

there is a precipitous descent of 1,000 to 2,000 feet to stream basins that lie but little above the 

level of the Piedmont Plateau. The scarp-like character of the eastern face of the Blue Ridge 

is perhaps as well developed in the Highlands region as anywhere in its entire course, unless 

it be near Roaring Gap, N. C., and many of the scarp slopes consist of bare granite precipicesas, for example, the east face of Whiteside Mountain (Pl. II, p. 16). The Blue Ridge crest 

in this region is made of a granite which weathers to a loose, porous, light-colored, and very 

poor soil. For a number of miles there are no clearings. Along the road south of Mount 

Sealey there are a few farms. Within the next 2 miles recently cleared fields are in good 

condition, but old fields have worn thin and are abandoned. They are not gullying or washing 

away to any marked extent bt1t become poor as soon as the humus is exhausted. 

The many small streams crossed between Mount Sealey and the va1ley of the Little 

Tennessee are swampy and forested on their upper portions, but along their middle and lower 

courses are bordered by narrow bottom lands that are cleared and farmed. In some places the 

gentle side slopes are cleared up to 100 to 200 feet above the stream level, but in others these 

slopes are in unbroken forest. The streams themselves flow in relatively deep channels and 

there is no evidence of damage from floods. All of the higher slopes and ridges are timbered, 

and there has been almost no lumbering because of a lack of transportation facilities. 

RABUN GAP TO BUSHNELL. 

In the valley of the Little Tennessee, 2 miles south of the North Carolina line, numerous 

remnants of a _high flood plain stand 60 to 80 feet above the present stream level. The river 

valley at this point is unusually. wide, with lower slopes of gentle gradient and a flood plain 

averaging half a mile to a mile in width and remarkably level. This flood plain has a rich 

soil and is practically all cleared and under cultivation. The stream flows in a channel from 

3 to 6 feet deep, and has but very slight gradient. It was somewhat swollen when seen, 

and the water was discolored from vegetable matter and not reddened by clay particles.. Overflows because of the shallowness of the stream bed are of frequent occurrence, but though they 

sometimes wash the bottoms they more commonly leave deposits of rich sediment and are 

regarded as beneficial rather than injurious. The river maintains this general character down 
LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 69 

to Franklin, N. C., though the flood plain is in places contracted to a width of a few hundred 

yards. 

-Below Franklin the Little Tennessee flows across upturned edges of schists or other 

rocks that have resisted disintegration and erosion much more effectively than have the granitic 

rocks above Franklin. These weaker rocks in its upper valley have doubtless always weathered 

more rapidly than those below, and the river in its upper portion has always maintained as 

low a gradient as would enable it to remove the water and waste of its basin. The remarkably 

low grade from the head of the stream at Rabun Gap, Ga., to Franklin, N: C., has prevented 

floods from having sufficient velocity to injure the bottoms, and the unusual width of the flood 

plain, by giving a large cross section to these floods, has contributed much to the same end. 

The valley walls have weathered back with equal ease, and as a result the upper portion of the 

valley is unusually broad. This broadening has been produced by subaerial weathering and 

rill erosion rather than by cutting on the tips of meander curves by the river itself. Such 

meander curves are in reality most notable for their absence here, and it seems certain that the 

river has not widened its valley by this process. By the slow retreat of the valley walls 

material has been furnished to the main stream for building its present flood plain, and 

with its low gradient it is now just about able to remove the silt furnished from its wooded 

slopes. Once these slopes have been cleared, however, not only a much larger quantity, but 

much coarser kinds of waste will be furnished to the stream, and the present delicate adjustment of load to transporting ability will be destroyed. The stream will quickly become 

overloaded and will be forced to deposit the excess of load, first in the stream channel, but 

when that is practically full it will spread over the present fertile flood-plain surface, and by 

aggradation with barren clay and sand and rocky waste it will bury and ruin the .only really 

fine agricultural lands in the region. 

Here and there along the valley sides a fiat-surfaced terrace, 60 to 80 _feet above stream 

grade, is very prominent. In many places the surface of this terrace is covered with rounded 

bowlders, the largest 1-i feet in diameter; in other places a rich, deep red, loamy' clay overlies 

the bowlder bed, which is here and there cemented with iron crusts but not so thoroughly as to 

prevent good underdrainage. These terraced lands are above the reach of floods and if properly cared for may easily be kept in a high state of fertility, but in many places their edges 

and the scarp down to the present flood plain have been abandoned as worthless. Above the 

level of this old terrace parts of the lower 100 to 200 feet of the valley wall have been cleared, 

farmed for awhile, permitted to erode, and then been abandoned, so that in this region there 

are many old fields covered by briars, persimmon trees, and scrub timber. 

Between Otto and Franklin 60 to 75 per cent of the slopes have been cleared, and one-,fifth 

of the cleared area is worn and old. About half of this worn land is deeply gullied; the other 

half has been washed down to the underlying barren cl'ay by sheet flood erosion. 

Franklin is on the old river terrace, which is there 80 to 100 feet above stream level. !ts 

surface is of deep red loam, underlain by a cobble bed. On the east side of the river the same 

terrace level is also prominently developed, is cleared, and is in good condition as regards 

erosiOn. 

The valley above Franklin contains here and there projecting knobs, 100 to 200 feet h!gh, 

which are unreduced remnants dating from the time when the now fossil flood plain was the 

living flood plain. Some of these residual knobs have been cleared, but most of them rmnain 

wooded. 1 

At the bridge over the river at Franklin floods have caused some slight qamage, and here 

and there, especially on curves, there has been some erosion, though as a rule the flood plain of 

the Little Tennessee is remarkably free from such damage. A short distance below Franklin 

the valley walls close in on the river, and where any flood plain exists it forms either narrow 

border strips, in many places of coarse sand or cobbles, or here and there langer areas' on the 

concave sides of bends or near the mouths of tributary streams . 

.. 
70 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Through much of the distance from Franklin to Bushnell the stream flows in a narrow 

gorge without flood plain. It is broad and shallow and is actively eroding the upturned 

edges of the ancient schists which are exposed along nearly all of this distance. 

The road from Franklin northward to Watauga Gap runs for a number of miles on the 

old Asheville Plateau level, and ,its dissected and rounded surface shows the usual features of 

Clearing, erosion, and abandonment. . ' 

Along Cat Creek there is very little bottom land, and comparatively little erosion has 

taken place. On the upper part of Watauga Creek the bottoms vary in width from an exceedingly narrow strip up to 100 yards. Not more than 5 per cent of the bottoms have been 

destroyed by floods in recent years, although the lower parts of the bounding hill slopes have 

largely been cleared and many of the fields have been worn out by erosion and abandoned. 

Three-fourths of the abandoned clearings are so gullied or so thoroughly stripped of their 

soil as to appear practically irreclaimable; on the remainiAg fourth vegetation seems to be 

catching hold and erosion is being slowly checked. Near the head of the creek clearings exist, 

especially on the eastern side near the top of the ridge, and all these high fields have been 

badly gullied. The freedom of the bottom lands from serious injury, under such conditions 

of erosion of the valley walls, can be attributed o.nly to the sharp gradient and deep channel 

of the stream, which favor the rapid removal of flood waters. 

North of Watauga Gap cleared lands extend almost continuously down Savannah Creek. 

~!any of the clearings extend high up the valley sides, and practically all of the older fields 

have been injured by erosion. The inhabitants claim that it is easier to clear new fields than to 

keep the old fields from washing, and they accordingly cultivate the land as long as it is possible, usually 6 to 10 years, then abandon it and clear another field by its side. The lower portion of Savannah Creek has a relatively narrow flood plain, and the stream channel is so 

filled with sand and gravel that ordinary rains . produce floods that cover the bottoms and 

destroy the crops. Five such destructive floods had already occurred in the summer in which 

·the examination was made, and many fields have been ruined and growing crops killed by the 

deposit of sand and mud. New channels are frequently cut during such floods. 

Much of the land along Johns Creek, a tributary of Caney Fork, in the eastern part of 

the county, has also been. cleared. Erosion and abandonment of the valley slopes is common, 

and conditions are reported fo be almost as bad as in the basin of Savannah Creek. 

Webster, at an elevation of 2,188 feet above sea level, is on the deep, red soil, with underlying bowlder bed, which characterizes the old high flood plain found on the Tuckasegee. 

From Webster northeastward to Hall t~e slopes of the old dissected plateau level consist 

chiefly of red clays resulting from the disintegration of granite. Many of these slopes have 

long been cleared and in a number of places they have been abandoned because of erosion. 

Recently cleared fields, that are as yet in good condition, are numerous, but in a few years they, 

too, will begin to erode. 

On Forneys Creek, which enters the Tuckasegee just above Bushnell, there are onlv a few 

farms, and on the high slopes but two clearings were observed. On the lower slopes, ju~t above 

stream grade, there are a number of small clearings. The land was not being damaged by 

erosion. The proportion of cleared lands in the basin was entirely too small to affect floods on 

the stream itself, so that the narrow bottom lands were in satisfactory condition as regards 

erosion. 

FROM BUSHNELL DOWN THE LITTLE TENNESSEE, 

For some miles below Bushnell the Little Tennessee is bordered in many places by narrow 

flood-plain strips that extend for some hundreds of yards. Most of these areas are of medium 

fertility, and they have not been seriously injured by the river. It is generally believe~, indeed, that floods benefit the lands by depositing sediment rather than injure them by erosion. 

In a few places rock walls have been builf parallel to the stream channel. Behind these, sediment has accumulated to depths o£ 8 to 10 feet. From a point a short distance below Wayside 

through the mountain gorge to the Tennessee line the river has practically no bottom lands. 
LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN. 71 

The valley is narrow and its sides are rough and steep and scantily timbered. The soil on the 

few cleared areas is full of stones and is too poor and dry to be of much agrtcultural value. 

The stream itself flows with a broad, shallow, swift current over the upturned edges of conglomerates, quartzites, and slates. Here and there are rapids . that would seem suitable for 

power development, and between the rapids there is an occasional deeper pool-such, for instance, as the one at Rocky Point Ferry. I 

All the tributaries, except the larger ones, · such as Hazel and Eagle Creek, enter the 

Little Tennessee by a series of rapids, along which their valleys are narrow gorges; but some 

miles l>ack from the river, where their steep gradient has raised them to the old plateau surface, 

their valleys are 'broader and in many places have been extensively cleared land cultivated. 

Most of these broader valleys have gentler slopes than those farther downstream and have 

not been greatly E:roded. 

Panther Creek, which enters the Little Tennessee about 4 miles west of Bushnell, is bordered along its middle and upper course by area's of good bottom lands, which re for the most 

part cleared. Its basin slopes are practically all in forest, and its flood plain shoiWed no damage 

from floods. A lumber company has, however, built a tramway from Judson, and has prepared 

to log the entire Panther Creek basin within the next few years. I 

Along the middle courses of both Sawyer and Tuckasegee creeks are considerable areas of 

fertile agricultural land, much of which has been cleared and is in satisfactory condition as 

regards erosion. The upper portions of these creeks and the upper slopes of their valley walls, 

as well as the entire area of their lower or gorge stretches, are in forest. I 

Hazel Creek has been cleared from a short distance above its mouth p~actically to its 

head, both a~ong :its bottom and up the sides of its valley. These valley-slope fields are thin 

when not properly cared for, but do not gulley deeply. Throughout all this region, where the 

rocks are conglomerates and slates, the soils as a rule are porous and are filled !with small, unweathered pieces of stone. Such soils, it has been found, rarely erode badly. 

On Eagle Creek the land is poorer than . on Hazel Creek, and the slopes are rougher, so 

that clearings are unimportant. There is little or no bottom land. 

From Rocky Point Ferry the road up Cheoah River runs for a number of lmiles along the 

poor, dry ridge of Yellow Creek Mountain. Four or five families live along tHe road between 

the ferry and Yell ow Creek, but their clearings aggregate less than 100 acres. The lands are 

poor and sandy and do not wash badly. 

CHEOAH RIVER. 

From ,Johnson to its mouth, a distance, of 7 miles, Cheoah River flows in a narrow, rocky 

gorge and has a fall of some 700 feet. It is bordered by no flood-plain areas, and the steep sides 

of its gorge are uncleared. The mountains west of the river to the State line land beyond are, 

practically untouched by the ax, not a single clearing being visible from Yellow Creek Mountain. 

Above Johns n the valley of the Cheoah broadens, and the river has develoned a flood plain 

of varying width. This flood plain has not been damaged by erosion. Alongi this portion of 

the river there are preserved many remnants of the old Asheville Plateau sur:£ace, which here 

rises 100 feet or more above stream level and has been largely cleared. The higher mountain 

slopes are almost entirely in original forest. 

Yellow, Buffalo, and Mountain creeks have 11arrow flood plains, all of which are in cultitivafion. The stJreams are as a rule meandering, but they have deep channels and are 

doing little, if any, damage. Numerous low, flat-topped terrace spurs, 20 to 60 feet high, 

project from their valley sides. Many of these have . been cleared, and in places their steep 

slopes are eroding. The gullies formed are narrow, shallow, and stony. 

All small streams in the region from Bushnell down the Little Tennessee to the mouth 

of the Cheoah, and the Cheoah itself and all its tributaries, were clear when examined, and 

it is certain that in this immediate region no extensive erosion is in progress. With the completion of the ra:Uway down the Little Tennessee, howeyer, transportation fh-cilities will be 
72 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

furnished £or the shipment of lumber, mills will quickly spring up, and in a few years all the 

timber of merchantable size and quality will have been removed. It will be interesting to note 

the changes produced in the streams as a· result of the changed conditions brought about by the 

lumbering. 

NANTAHALA RIVER. 

In the lower 5 miles of its course the N antahala flows in a narrow gorge whose walls are 

but a few hundred feet high, but in the next 12 to 14 miles upstream its gorge is one of the 

deepest and most precipitous to be found in western North Carolina. A portion of the valley 

wall at Hewitt rises 2,000 feet above the stream and is exceedingly steep. In this stretch of the 

stream there are no flood plains ,worthy of mention, and the valley walls are uncleared. They 

have, however, been extensively lumbered, for transportation is readily accessible by the Murphy 

branch of the Southern Railway. 

The upper part of the valley of the N antahala is broader, and its walls are more irregular 

and retreating and are much dissected by numerous tributaries from both sides, but the flood 

plains comprise only isolated tracts, a few acres in extent, lying near the mouths of tributaries 

or within meander curves. Even such areas are not, properly speaking, flood plains, but rather 

beveled plains, of which only the lower edge is ever in reach of floods. The stream is actively 

eroding its channel and is constantly undercutting on curves and shifting its position, thus 

beveling its floor. These beveled valley slop~s are best developed just above and below 

Aquone. They are only moderately fertile, and their aggregate area is not great. Above 

Aquone much of the valley is without flood plain of any kind. From Aquone up to Wallace 

Gap road the basin has been lumbered, but above this road the forest is practically untouched. 

A few families live in the upper part of the basin, but the aggregate cleared area is so small 

as to be negligible. 

Between Aquone and Burningtown Gap the numerous , small streams are bordered by 

narrow~ sloping, semitorr~ntial flood plains, which are relatively fertile and in good condition 

as regards erosion. All of the higher slopes are in timber. In Burningtown Gap there are 

some old fields, long since turned into pasture, which are still grazed and are holding remarkably 

.well. East of the gap, part of the amphitheater-like head of Burningtown Creek had recently 

been cleared, and when examined its ~eep slopes were in corn. The soil contained abundant 

humus and showed no erosion. Lower down the valley walls close in, and the creek :flpws for 

some distance in a narrow gorge, beyond which the walls retreat and a torrential flood plain 

about 400 yards wide has been built. Still lower the slopes again close in, and in this alternating fashion narrow gorge and broad flood plain succeed each other well down to the 

mouth of the stream. The middle and lower portions of the valley contain remnants of the 

old plateau surface, some · of which are cleared and others are entirely wooded. The higher 

valley walls are everywhere wooded except at the head of the stream. The valley is in good 

condition as regards eroswn. . 

HIWASSEE RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The basin of the Hiwassee, the most southerly stream tributary to the Tennessee from 

the Carolina mountains, lies immediately southwest of the Little Tennessee basin and extends 

northwestward from the Blue Ridge to the point where the river enters the Tennessee, some 30 

miles above Chattanooga. It is about 85 miles long, varies in width between 35 and 50 miles, 

and comprises 2,725 square miles. Like the basins to the north, it consists of an upper 

mountainous portion, in which the river is torrential in character, and a lower valley portion, 

in which the stream flows with deep channel and low grade. The river is navigable for 35 

miles~ from the mouth of the Ocoee, its chief southern tributary, to its junction with the 

Tennessee, and is traversed by a regular line of steamboats. Many appropriations have been 

made by the Federal Government for the improvement of its channel. 
HIWASSEE RIVER BASIN. 73 

UPPER HIWASSEE RIVER. 

FROM THE HEAD TO HAYSVILLE. 

On its northeastern side the upper or mountain part o:f the Hiwassee basin is made up 

o:f a 8Uccession of mountain ridges and intervening tributary valleys, but southwest of the river, 

between it and the Ocoee, much of the old plateau surface is preserved. 

The southeastern end of the basin, along the Blue Ridge, does not rise gently to the ridge 

crest as do the basins of the streams farther north, but is walled in by a distinct mountain ridge, 

which separates it from the Tallulah and Chattahoochee basins. The divide on the southwest, separating the ~iwassee basin from the headwaters of the Coosa River system, is ~uch 

lower and more irregular, having, in fact, no marked prominence anywhere, and in some 

places it would be crossed without being noticed· as a divide, as, for instance, at Blue Ridge, 

Ga., on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. On the northeast the divide between the 

Hiwassee and the Little Tennessee is well defined and reaches altitudes of 4,000 to 5,000 :feet 

above sea level. The upper mountainous portion is sharply delimited on the west, where the 

stream cuts across Beans Mountain and epters the broad valley of east Tennessee. 

At its head the Hiwassee has no flood plain and all the steep slopes are in forest, but 

within 2 or 3 miles of Unicoi Gap a small flood plain begins, which gradually widens until 

it is from a fourth to a third of a mile · wide. It is usually 6 to 10 feet above stream level, 

is fertile, and is cleared and cultivated. The stream itself is swift and clear, and flows over 

either bedrock or gravel bars, interspersed here .and there by deep pools. This flood plain 

shows an occasional washed area on the inside of a bend or near some bridge abutment or other 

obstruction, but under usual conditions it does not show erosive damage, and the stream as a 

whole can not be said to be injuring its bottom lands more than would be expected of any 

stream subject to floods. During floods, indeed,. many parts o:f the flood plain are improved 

by a deposit of silt. 

On the high slopes of Rocky Mountain, near the head o:f the river, one tract comprising 

30 or . 40 acres has been cleared and farmed, but half the cleared land has been worn thin 

and gullied to some extent, and part of this has been abandoned. Except :for this farm the 

slopes are uncleared down to within 100 to 200 feet o:f stream level, and throughout much of 

the distance down to Murphy not more than 30 to 50 per cent o:f these lower slopes has been 

cleared. The valley has long been settled, and many of these hillside fields are old and worn 

and in places have eroded badly and been abandoned. 

Along the valley sides many remnants of old stream terraces are visible. They are not 

all at the same level, but represent several distinct terraces and indicate pauses in the downcutting of the stream. In the upper· part of the basin these terraces range from 12 to about 

60 feet above the present flood plain, and in some places remnants of the terraces at two levels 

are to be found either adjoining or within short distances of each other. The height of the 

terraces, especially that of the higher, shows some slight increase down the stream, so that this 

old flood plain is to-day more nearly horizontal than the present flood plain. Almost everywhere these high terrace remnants are covered with a deposit of red clay, beneath which is 

a bowlder bed from 1 foot to 3 feet thick. The bowlqers are rounded stream cobbles, most 

of which are less than a foot in diameter, though a few are larger. ~Iany of these terrace 

remnants are flat topped and slope in an irregular, undulating manner to a lower level, and 

the connecting slope is as a rule cobble strewn. The margins of these terraces are in many 

places steep sided, and those long. cleared are especially likely to be eroded. 

At Mountain Scene a prominent, well-defined 60-foot terrace is connected by an irregular 

scarp with a terrace at a 10 t.o 12 foot level. At Bu!2k Knob there is a well-preserved terrace, 

whose higher portions are 50 feet above the present flood plain, but slope irregularly down to 

a height of 30 :feet. Just below Presley is another well-developed terrace with a broad, sloping, cobble-covered surface, whose upper and lower limits are 75 and 55 feet, respectively, 

above the present flood plain. Two :tniles farther downstream there is a still more perfect 
74 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

terrace, 75 to 100 :feet high, which is undulating and irregular on its streamward edge and 

which rises by, a gentle slope to its junction with the valley wall. A portion o:f the same terrace is also well developed across the river to the west. 

At the town o:f Hiwassee the upper limit o:f this old stream terrace is about 1,994 :feet 

above sea level. The present flood plain is about 1,875 or 1,880 :feet above sea level. The vertical interval between this high terrace and the present flood plain has therefore increased 

:from about 60 :feet, along the upper part o£ th~ river, to at least 115 :feet at Hiwassee. Further increase in this vertical interval downstream is exceedingly slow, i£, indeed, the interval 

of more than 100 :feet is maintained at all. since the elevation o£ the terrace is a :function, at 

least in part, o:f valley width, being higher: where the valley is narrower and lower where 

broader. 

Next to the present flood plain these old high or :fossil flood plains are the most :fertile 

lands in the· region and are the best adapted to agriculture. They were cleared very early in 

the settlement o:f the valley and many houses and barns have been built on them, as they :furnish 

level ground well above the reach o£ floods. Where their surface is relatively level they are 

·not eroded, but erosion has caused considerable damage in many places along their steepscarped edges. The worst examples o£ such erosion were seen about Buck Knob, but as this 

steep scarp is relatively narrow the total area o£ land so injured is correspondingly small, and 

it might be protected by terracing the lands cultivated on it. . 

North o£ Hiwassee the river valley broadens greatly and the present flood plain is 8 to 

15 :feet above wa.ter level and occupies but a small part o£ the width o£ the valley. Above this 

flood plain an irregularly sloping terrace that contains rounded cobbles rises to an average 

elevation o£ 100 :feet. This old terrace is surmounted by many low domes, peaks, or ridges 

that stand 100 to 200 :feet higher and are residuals formed when the old high terrace was a 

living flood plain. They are very much like the residuals :found on the upper French Broad at 

Brevard and on the Little Tennessee at and above Franklin, have had the same history, and are 

of the same age. Like them they are largely uncultivated or when long cleared have been 

generally eroded, because their sides are steep and their soil is a well-decomposed clay. The 

residual clays here, however, do not show a tendency to deep and rapid erosion with undercutting and the production o£ broad, vertical-walled flat-bottomed gullies, hut cut into numerous narrow, shallow, V-shaped trenches. 

Near the Georgia-North Carolina State line there is a low terrace, 25 to 30 :feet above the 

present flood plain, and another terrace at 100 :feet; remnants o£ the two terraces may also be 

distinguished at several places :farther down the valley. 

Haysville is on an old terrace which is there 80 :feet above flood-plain level, and many 

other remnants o£ the same terrace are visible near by. These have been largely cleared, and 

many of them are worn out and abandoned, but they are commonly covered with briers' and 

bushes, which are slowly checking erosion and preparing the way :for a :future :forest cover. 

FROM HAYSVILLE TO MURPHY • . 

Valley River heads in Red Marble 'Gap and flows southwestward in an almost direct line 

to the Hiwassee at Murphy, N. C. Its valley is, as a rule,. broad with very gentle slopes on both 

sides. These gently sloping valley sides have been deeply trenched by many small tributaries of 

the river, and the projecting spurs between the streams reach down well toward the river itself 

and end in elevations o£ a :few hundred :feet above the valley floor. Between the ends o:f these 

projecting spurs on either side o£ the river there is a flood plain a mile to 2 miles wide. The 

river flows along a belt o£ marble, and the width o£ its flood plain varies with the width o£ the 

outcrop. Where this belt' is widest the valley is broadest; where it is narrowest the valley is 

narrowest. Practically all o£ the valley walls are :forested, although in most places the lands 

have been lumbered. 

The flood plain o£ Valley River is almost everywhere cleared. A tract o£ varying width 

lying next the stream is covered by ordinary floods, but as the stream gradient is low its flood 
HIWASSEE RIVER BASIN. 75 

velocity is so slight as to prevent material damage. This flood plain is bordered in many 

places by an old terrace whose upper surface is quite irregular and varies on its flood-plain 

edge from 10 to 20 or even 30 feet in . height, but back from its stream ward margin slopes 

gently upward to an elevation of as much as 150 feet in places where it joins the valley walls. 

This slope is commonly cobble strewn and is plainly an old beveled flood plain or slope made 

by the stream while cutting vertically and swinging lateraliy at the same time. This old terrace 

comprises some excellent farming lands and is nowhere being greatly eroded. In very few 

places were any of the valley walls above this plain cleared, and generally only a small amount 

of clearing has been done along the tributaries of Valley River. In its lower course the gravels 

of both the living and the fossil flood plain contain some gold, and considerable hydraulio-work 

ha~ been done. 

On Hightower Creek there is some good bottom land at Osborne, but the largest and best 

area is some miles above, near Visage, though narrow bottoms extend well up to the head of 

both the main stream and its tributaries and are for the most part cleared. Practically all 

the slopes are in forest. No considerable areas have been cleared, even on the lower valley side, 

of either the main creek or its tributaries. At the very head of the creek, on the dividing ridge, 

are some recent clearings which have not yet begun washing as they are likely to do as soon 

as the humus has disappeared from the soil. Bottom lands along the creek have in recent 

years been slightly damaged by floods, but the damage has not been greater than may normally 

be expected on any stream similar in, gradient and rainfall. 

The forested slopes have been purchased by lumber companies, it is reported, at an average 

price of $1 to $2 per acre. Until a railway can be built some 30 miles up the river from Murphy 

no extensive logging can be undertaken. 

Practically all of the slopes in the basin of Shooting Creek are wooded, and little or no 

lumber has been cut except for local needs. The bottoms along. the stream are cleared and 

farmed, but the stream channel is deep, the current is relatively swift, and floods have not been 

serious. The forested slopes have, like those on Hightower Creek and elsewhere in the upper 

Hiwassee basin, passed into the hands of lumber companies and doubtless will before many 

years be extensively lumbered. 

The flood plain on Tusquitee Creek is rather broader and better than that on Shooting 

Creek, and the bordering slopes are even less cleared. No damage has been done by floods. The 

timber in this basin also has been sold. 

Fires Creek drains a very steep-sided basin, much of which is rough and practically all of 

which is wooded. The residents of the basin comprise only a few families, and their aggregate 

clearings are very small. There are scarcely any bottoms along the stream itsel:~, and there has 

been no damage from floods. 

During the examination of this region it was accidentally discovered that the United 

States Government owns tracts of timber land in this basin and in the basin of Cheoah River 

west of Robbinsville. It is estimated that good titles may still be had to som€ 32,000 acres. 

The existence of such Government holdings seems to have been· practically lost sight of, as the 

title is lodged with the Treasury Department and not with the Land Office. The land is said 

to have been seized as one of the assets of a defaulting contractor. A request was sent by the 

writer to the proper officials urging that these lands be withheld from sale and retained as a 

nucleus for a possible forest reserve. 

Along Brasstown Creek there are some good bottom lands which are bordered in many 

places by the old high terrace and by rolling hills whose higher slopes are wooded. No flood 

damages are reported there. 

Between Haysville and Murphy a flood plain is lacking in a few places where the river 

cuts across resistant rocks, but more commonly it is present and is broad and fertile. Near the 

mouth of Peachtree Creek it is from three-fourths of a mile to a mile wide . . Many remnants of 

the old high terrace are visible above it. · A mile above the mouth of Bras town Creek and on 

the opposite side of the river, where the present flood plain is relatively narrow, a terrace is 

I 
76 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

well preserved at an elevation of 60 feet. At the mouth of Peachtree Creek, where the river 

flood plain is very much broader, an admirably preserved terrace, that is regarded as of the 

same age as the terrace just mentioned, has an elevation of 40 to 50 feet above the present flood 

plain, the decrease in elevation being due to the greater width of the valley. 

Up and down the river and up the valley of Peachtree Creek there are many low, raggedtopped hills and ridges that rise 100 to 150 feet above the old terrace level. Most of these are 

timbered. On the sides of the valley the lower slopes are in some places cleared to a height of 

100 to 300 feet above stream level, but in many places these slopes are wooded, although much 

of the best timber has been cut and rafted down the river to Murphy. Murphy is situated on 

the old high-terrace plain, which there stands 90 to 120 feet above the present flood plain and is 

bordered by a much more recent but quite prominent terrace at an elevation of 40 to 50 feet 

above the present stream grade. 

FROM MURPHY TO THE MOUTH OF THE OCOEE. 

For some 40 miles below Murphy the Hiwassee flows across the trend of the mountain 

structure 

more. 

in a narrow gorge-like valley cut to a depth of several hundred to a thousand feet or 

The stream channel is as a rule broad and shallow, the slope is so great that the current 

is swift, and the erosion of the hard rocks that form its bed, except where there are local gravel 

bars, is rapid. Combined with the present active down-cutting there is considerable lateral 

shifting due to frequent irregular meanders, nnd where small flood plains occur they are usually 

of the beveled or hanging type. Where the flood plains are flat the grade and the width of the 

stream are so great that floods rise but a few feet and flood-plain level is accordingly but a few 

feet a hove stream level. 

At Murphy the river is 75 yards wide and the narrow flood plain is 8 to 15 feet above the 

stream. Just below Murphy the river enters a gorge and is bordered by a narrow sandy strip 

of flood plain that is not cleared. Just above the mouth of N ottley River, where the living 

flood plain is 5 to 8 ·feet high and the river is 100 to 150 yards wide, there is a prominently 

developed fossil flood plain 80 feet above the living plain; just below 'the mouth of the N ottley 

stream gravels are found up to an elevation of 130 feet, but no well-developed terrace is seen 

at this height. Ordinary floods are here rarely more than 3 to 5 feef high, and the highest 

recorded flood is said to have been 18 feet. The entire flood wave passes within 24 hours if 

rains on the heaawaters have not been continuous. Floods do very little damage, as there is 

very little bottom land within their reach. 

At the mouth of Great Creek the valley sides are only moderately steep, and up to an 

elevation of 200 or 300 feet above the river 40 to 60 per cent of them are cleared. These fields 

show scarcely any erosion, probably because of the slight slope and the somewhat porous, 

stony character.of the soil. About 5 feet above stream level there is a well-developed ordinary 

flood 

Creek valley 

plain some 10 yards wide, and 10 feet higher an extraordinary flood plain. Up Great 

the hills are low and· retreating and much of the area has been cleared, farmed 

until worn thin, and then abandoned. Some of this abandoned land is badly cut with narrow 

gullies. 

Along the river for several miles below Great Creek the upland marking the level of the 

old river valley is largely cleared, its slopes are low, and it has not been greatly damaged by 

erosion. From just below Beaverdam Creek down to the State line the uplands have 

a. poor, thin soil derived from the weathering of slates and schists. When such uplands are 

cleared they produce about three good crops before the humus of the original forest has disappeared. 

most 

They then begin to gully and are soon abandoned. The tributary streams are in 

places bordered by narrow and relatively fertile bottom lands which have locally been 

somewhat damaged by floods. The higher mountain slopes are in forest, but the forest 

is ordinarily thin because of the poor, dry soil. The best of the timber has been culled and 

hauled by wagon to :Murphy. 
HIWASSEE RIVER BASIN, 77 

Along Coker Creek the soil is for the most part poor, as it is derived from the weathering 

of slates or schists. All of the higher slopes are wooded. A large part of the lower slopes 

were once cleared, but their fertility was soon exhausted, and they were abandoned to grow up 

in bushes, briers, and broom sedge. Along the stream itself most of the scattered flood-plain 

areas have a poor soil. In many places these areas have been torn up by placer gold mining. 

Gold occurs sparingly in the gravels of this stream basin and has been mined in a desultory 

way for nearly a century. 

From Coker Creek westward to Springtown and from Springtown southward to the 

river wooded ridges alternate with narrow stream valleys. The bottoms and in places the 

lower slopes of the ridges are cleared and cultivated. The soils are as a rule thin, and those 

on the slopes are generally eroded to a considerable extent except where they are freshly 

cleared. The aggregate area of cleared land is, however, small. Along the streams near 

Springtown the lower 75 to 100 yards of the slopes are gentle and are more largely cleared. 

The soil is poor and slaty, and as soon as the original humus is exhausted it begins to erode, so 

the old areas are constantly being abandoned. Just at Springtown the soil is derived from 

limestone and is more fertile, but it is also more easily eroded. 

On Hiwassee River just below the mouth of Childers Creek there is a fertile flood plain 

250 to 300 yards wide, which is 6 to 10 feet above stream level and has not been greatly 

damaged by floods. In the river are several islands that are stable or are slowly growing and 

are protected from erosion by a fringe of willows around their edges. Their soil is fertile and 

is cultivated. 

LOWER HIWASSEE BASIN. 

The lower or valley part of Hiwassee River was not examined in detail. Below the 

mouth of the Ocoee the river is navigable, but navigation is interfered with to some extent 

by sand ahd gravel bars. Government employees engaged in maintaining a channel report a 

constant tendency of the sand and gravel to refill channels once dredged or cleared. The 

writer believes that this tendency on the Hiwassee is not as marked as on some other streams 

of the Tennessee system, because the Hiwassee does not carry as great a volume o:f coarse 

uebris as is carried by the Little Tennessee, the French Broad, and other tributaries. The 

amount or debris carried by the Hiwassee must, however, increase with the increase of lumbering and o:f clearing in its middle and upper basins, and much o:f this added material must 

find at least temporary lodgment in bars and islands and thus become a constantly increasing 

obstacle to the maintenance o:f a navigable channel. 

Ellis Creek has opened a steep-sided valley along a narrow belt o:f upturned limestone. 

Its valley slopes are cleared :for a short distance above stream level, and the clay surface IS 

being cut into many narrow, sharp-bottomed gullies. 

OCOEE RIVER. 

From Ellis Creek to the mouth o:f Caney Creek, on Ocoee River, the small streams are 

bordered by narrow bottom lands that are :for the most part cleared. In some places where 

the lower slopes of the bordering uplands have been largely cleared these bottoms have washed 

badly. The sloping fields more than a :few years old also show m~rked erosion and many o:f 

them have been abandoned. Here and there still higher slopes have been cleared and these, 

too, erode :freely. 

For 10 miles above the mouth o:f Caney Creek, Ocoee River occupies a deep, narrow, rockbound gorge, in which it cuts its way in an almost continuous series o:f rapids. No flood plain 

has been developed in this distance and there are no mountain-side clearings. At the upper 

end o:f the gorge the valley widens and a flood plain has been built, but within recent years 

it has been covered by a deposit o:f barren sand and has thus been practically ruined :for agriculture. This sandy material has been furnished by the abnormal erosion occurring about 

Ducktown (seep. 78), and deposition at this point is due to the ponding and checking of the 

flood current by the gorge below. The checking is just sufficient to cause the river to deposit 
78 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

the sand, leaving in suspension the finer silt, which is thus carried through the gorge and 

deposited where the river assumes a much lower gradient as it flows out into the great valley 

of east Tennessee. The flood plain there built of this finer material is fairly fertile. 

Above Ducktown the flood plain varies much in width but-averages 100 to 200 yards. It 

is rather sandy and only moderately fertile,. and . is being damaged to some extent, especially 

along its streamward edges, by the floods of recent years. Though tributary stream grades 

in the upper ;valley of Ocoee River are as a rule moderate, many low hills reach the old plateau 

level. In places these have been cleared, or much of the timber has been removed and runways have been opened that have resulted in a material increase in flood damages. 

DUCKTOWN COPPER REGION, 

Ducktown, Tenn., located in the southeastern part of the Hiwassee basin, is situated on an 

elevated and now deeply dissected plateau, presmnably of the same age as the Asheville Plateau, 

and is walled in on almost all sides by mountain ridges. . Copper is mined and smelted here, 

and in the immediate vicinity of the smelters all vegetation has been killed by sulphuric acid 

fumes. The region is peculiarly adapted for the study of erosion problems, since it affords an 

extreme example of the limits to which erosion may go in this climate when all protective 

vegetation has been removed. One smelter began operations about 12 years before the region 

was examined; another had started only 4 years previously; the ~omplete destruction of vegetation had taken place within the latter period. During this short time the second-growth 

timber and the bushes and grass beneath it, which had covered most of the area, had been 

killed, and the dead trees had been removed for firewood; but though the ground is in many 

places still covered with small branches and twigs, the litter-covered surface is already cut to 

pieces by erosion. · 

The erosio'n starts near the bottom of a slope, and where the soil is porous rapidly cuts a 

steep-sided gully to a depth of 5 to 12 feet below the surface, where the underlying schist is as 

a rule still measurably firm. After a gully has reached its limit in depth it widens until its 

walls coalesce with the walls of adjacent gullies, by which time most of the soil has been 

removed. Where the soil is a more impervious clay, erosion begins, likewise, at the foot of a 

slope, and eats out amphitheater-like areas such as are shown on Plate XVI, opposite. Like 

the deep-grooved gullies, they rapidly grow headward until they reach the top of the hill and 

completely denude it. Hills gullied in these two ways are illustrated in the two views in 

Plate XVII. 

The quantity of waste furnished by these bare slopes, being too large for the streams· to 

remove, rapidly accumulates along the stream courses as flood or waste plains, which soon 

extend up even to the foot of the slopes at the head of the streamlets. 

On Potato Creek this waste has been accumulating for a number of years at the rate of a 

:foot or more each year, and has been built into a flood plain from 100 to 300 yards wide, in 

which telephone poles have been buried almost to their cross-arms, and highway bridges, roadbeds, and trestles have either been buried by the debris or have been carried away by floods. 

At Isabella smelter recent floods have swept through the store and other houses, and the waters 

have risen to the level of the furnaces. This increase in the height of floods is due largely to 

the rapid building up of the flood plain, and extensive diking or other protective measure will 

SQOn be necessary to prev~nt serious damage to the smelter and other property. 

Such great quantities of sand are carried into Ocoee River by each large flood as to prevent 

the running of the two ferries at the smelter until the river has had time to scour its channel 

clear again. Much sand has accumulated on the flood plain o£ the Ocoee in the few miles just 

above the river's entrance into the gorge below Ducktown. 

- This abnormal denudation and erosion has · also affected the underground water level in 

the region. During the last few years wells have been going dry, and a number of springs, some 

of which supply water to the miners' families, flow less than formerly. This lowering of the 

ground-water level and decreased flow of springs can not be attributed to drainage effected by 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

PRO

A. J:. 

EROSION NEAR DUCKTOWN, TENN. 

A. View taken several miles from Ducktown, where a broom sedge turf, yet living, has thus far prevented erosio

B. View taken nearer Ducktown. Surface has no protecting turf and is fast eroding. See page 50. 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

PROFE

A. DENDRITIC EROSION NEAR DUCKTOWN, TENN. 

B. SURROUNDINGS OF HOUSES NEAR DUCKTOWN, TENN. 

See pages 1 g, 78. 
"· 
TEfNNESSEE RIVER PROPEU. 79 

the deep mining shafts, for the mines are nearly dry. The normal flow of Potato Creek is said 

to be only about half as large as it used to be, and there can be no question that a much larger 

part of the rainfall now finds its way immediately into this stream and is carried off in floods, 

leaving a much smaller part to soak/ into the ground to supply the wells, springs, and streams 

during periods of dry weather. 

Erosion about Ducktown to-day is limited only by the rainfall, the steepness of the slopes, 

and nature of the soil. The destr11ction of the soil on the slopes by erosion and o£ all of 

the alluvial land along the streams by flood-plain building is complete, and over an area comprising several square miles the entire country-flood plain and valley slope alike-has become 

-a barren waste. The Duc~town region is, then, not only an impressive object lesson~ but an 

emphatic warning of the extent and 1 character of the disaster that may result in these southern 

mountains £rom the thorough destruction of the forests. 

TENNESSEE RIVER PROPEB:. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

A detailed examination was made of the Tennessee from l(noxville down to its mouth 

at Paducah, Ky., a dist~nce o£ 650 miles, in order to determine what became o£ the abnormally 

great amount of rock debris being furnished by the steep slopes of the high Appalachians of 

western North Carolina to the many headwater tributaries of theriver, and whether it was in 

any way interfering with navigat on or with plans for the further improvement of the 

Tennessee River system. The Government has already spent in such improvements between 

$8,000,000 and $9,000,000, and in drder to complete the plans prepared will be required to 

spend several additional millions. The river drains a territory that is rich in natural resources 

and contains important water powers, two of which, one just below Chattanooga and one at 

::Muscle Shoals, are now being developed. The exploration was made in a small gasoline launch · 

when the river was at its lowest stage and stops were mad(~ wherever they seemed desirable. 

Through the courtesy of Maj. Newcomer, United States Army, then in charge of the 

improvement work, and o£ the several officers immediately responsible £or the work on several 

sections of the river, sets o£ blue prints and tracings of detailed surveys and of the plans £or · 

improvement were obtained, together with much information as to present and past conditions 

on the river. With these maps and plans in hand and copies o£ all important Army engineer 

reports on the river, as well a:s a reconnaissance map o£ the iower river made in 1865, pronouncedby an Army engineer in charge of 1ork on the river to be very accurate, it was possible on this 

trip to study the river to grea,t advantage, although even without the aid of maps or plans a very 

satisfactory study could have beem made by noting the present condition and the general 

character of the changes now in progress. 

_ Through much of its course, !especially in its · upper stretches, the Tennessee meanders 

irregularly. On the convex sides of curves it is generally bordered by bluffs, in many places 

of bare limestone; on the opposite/! side, within the meander curves, there are usually fertile 

flood plains, some of which termiJnate in gently beveled slopes that extend down into the 

meander curves. Where the stre1m is straight it is generally bordered on both sides by 

flood plains, whose height above ordinary water level varies with the width of the flood plain 

itself and with the width and velodity of the river, but ranges :from 20 to 40 feet in the upper · 

part and 30 to 50 feet in the lower Prart o£ the river. In many places there is a narrow ordinary 

flood plain, which is usually bordered by a much broader extraordinary one whose soil is poorer 

and whose undulating surface has[ been produced by incipient erosion, for on these extraordinary flood plains destructive forc 1

es have become more powerful than constructive forces. At 

v~rious higher levels there are cobble or gravel strewn remnants of still older fossil flood plains 

that exist now as more or less prominent terraces. 

Islands are numerous along the entire course of the river and, except where conditions 

have been affected by the building df Government dams or other regulative works, are generally 

72091 °-No. 72-11--6 
80 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

growing. The growth is, as a rule, especially rapid on the upper end of the island and on one 

side or the other, but not on both sides. Some islands also grow at the lower end. This 

upward and lateral growth of the island causes constantly greater deflection of the river current, which in turn produces changes in the position and depth of the channel and in the 

configuration of the opposite bank. Along the upper course of the river the growth of the 

islands seems to be more marked just above Chattanooga than just below Knoxville. 

As a rule the surface of these islands is fertile and is cultivated wherever it is high enough 

to be reasonably safe from ordinary floods. Many of the better managed of these island farms 

have been protected from erosion during floods by a fringe of timber planted or preserved 

around the upper ends and down the sides. In some places floating material lodges in great 

rafts in this fringe of timber during floods and by the powerful scouring action of the strong 

current deflected beneath it causes extensive gouging on the upper end of the island. In other 

places the river shows a marked tendency to deposit gravel on the sides of the island just below 

the point where the currents are deflected away from it. These lateral accumulations, whose 

lower ends may project downstream as sharp pointed barbs or spits, generally become attached 

to the islands and are the chief means of lateral growth. Slow alterations in the shape of the 

upper end of an island and of the gravel bar that usually extends upstream below water level 

for some distance rarely permit the chutes formed on either side of a growing island to remain 

unchanged. Fortuitous changes in the growth of the island deflect the current more and more to 

one side or the other and cause a gradual filling of the abandoned channel. Thus in time, by a 

lateral shift of channel that involves serious property losses on one bank and concomitant gains 

on the other, the island becomes tied to the bank and ceases to be an island. 

Most bars are made up of gravel and cobble and some bowlders. A. marked decrease in 

the average ·size of the material composing the bars is easily observable in going down the river. 

Near Knoxville the bars contain many rounded cobbles a foot or more in diameter; at Chattanooga the average diameter of the largest particles is 3 or 4 inches or less; on the lower river 

the cobbles have long since disappeared and the average diameter of the largest gravel is an 

inch or slightly more. On the upper river· the bars contain comparatively little sand; on the 

lower river they generally contain a large proportion of sand. Silt deposits are not prominent 

on the upper river, but are characteristic features of the lower river. The cause of these changes 

is easily understood. The coarse material in the upper part of the river is being constantly 

ground and worn to pieces as it is rolled downstream, so that the size of individual bowlders 

or cobbles constantly decr~ases until they finally disappear as such, and the amount of finer 

material produced by the grinding to pieces of the coarse material increases down the river in 

just the same proportion as. the cobbles decrease. · The increase and decrease are correlative. 

The average velocity of the stream is greater in the upper part of the river, and hence in many 

places only. gravel and cobbles can lodge and accumulate; on the lower river, with its gentler 

current, sand and silt are characteristic accumulations, and sand and gravel bars are more 

numerous than on the upper river. 

In some places the gravel becomes firmly cemented by limonite, which is probably continually carried along in the river as a flocculent precipitate. It is not known how rapidly this 

limonitic cement is deposited. Where the gravel remains loose the current may be strong enough 

at ordinary stages to roll it along the bottom. During floods not only the sand and gravel of 

the river bottom are in active motion downstream but even the loose bowlders on the upper 

river max at certain flood stages be heard pounding and grinding on one another as they are 

rolled along by the strong current. During such stages the bedrock underlying the sand and 

gravel on the bottom of the river is doubtless scoured bare and subjected to active corrasion. 

From Knoxville, Tenn., to Riverton, Ala., the banks of the river are generally stable. 

Undercutting and caving are noticeable at only a few places, and at none of these is it of 

serious proportions. This is undoubtedly due in large measure to the fact that the bottom of 

the river through most of this distance is in solid rock, though the actual bedrock surface is 

covered almost everywhere by loose sand and gravel, generally several feet and in some places 
TENNESSEE RIVER PROPER. 81 

20 feet or more thick. No very rapid undercutting and lateral shifting are possible where a 

stream channel is cut into hard rock. 

Below Riverton, Ala., the banks of the river are undercutting and caving in many places. 

This lack of stability throughout the lower section of the river is due to the character of the 

alluvial materials of which the banks are formed and the decreased slope of the river, which 

renders easier the accumulation o£ deposits of sand and gravel in the channel. These deposits 

deflect the current and cause undercutting of the banks and . a tendency to the development of 

meander curves: 

The bed and banks of the river b~low Riverton are mainly of clay, but hard rocks are 

found ina few places along the river even down nearly to Paducah, and these rocks are usually 

scoured bare at certain stages, so that it is certain that through its entire length the river is 

actively eroding its bed. This erosion, however, is concomitant with the deposition of loose 

material at many places along the river, for most of the active erosion of the river bed occurs 

during the rising stages ·of floods and most of the deposition takes place during the succeeding 

slack-water stage, at the crest, and during the decline of the flood, when the decreased velocity 

forces the stream to drop a large part of its load. This process is known as scour-and-fill. 

From Riverton to Paducah the current is gentler than on the middle and upper stretches 

of the river and the deposition has consequently been more rapid, so that island growth and 

bar formation have been more pronounced and have caused more changes here than elsewhere. 

Bars have grown into islands and islands have grown until they have lost all semblance of their 

former selves. This growth has been accomplished mainly by increase in length at the .upper 

ends of the islands and by increase in width. These changes have forced the current against the 

banks on the sides of the river and have caused undercutting and caving in places. Both the 

caving and the shifting of the position of the channel necessitate changes in the position of 

the range lights. 

In this lower section of the river the large cobbles of the upper seetion are unknown; the 

materials carried are small well-rounded chert gravel and sand and silt, the latter in large · 

amounts. 

"In the middle section of the river, from Chattanooga down to Riverton, the gravel particles 

are noticeably smaller than in the section above Chattanooga and are more easily moved. During floods the gravel deposits in this part of the river seem to change more rapidly than those 

on the upper section. This change may be merely one o:f :form or it may involve change of 

volume. Practically all the gravel in this middle section is composed o:f chert and has been 

derived in part :from the long, narrow cherty mountain ridges in the great valley of east 

Tennessee and in part :from the cherty limestones in the region below Chattanooga. 

The crystalline and metamorphic rocks carried by the headwater streams :from the North 

Carolina mountains have been ground into finer and finer particles as they have worked down 

the river until in this middle stretch they have disappeared as cobbles and gravels, but are 

present in equal volume as sands and silts. An unusually large amount of fine material seems 

to be produced by the river as it cuts through the mountains below Chattanooga. In the next 

50 to 100 miles much of this silt is deposited and has become a very prominent constituent of 

the islands and bars. 

It seems beyond· question that deposition in the channel of the river is more active to-day 

than it was 50 years ago. Wherever it has occurred there is almost always evidence that it has 

either been recent, or, if long continued, has been more rapid in recent than in former years. 

Such changes can be attributed only to the great changes that are occurring on the mountain 

headwaters of the river in consequence of which much greater amounts of sediment are now 

being furnished to it than ever before. Although in working downstream this material is 

constantly being ground finer, the fine equivalents of the coarse torrent material are overloading 

and choking the middle and lower part of the river, and year by year are undoubtedly making 

the maintenance of navigable channels more difficult. There is a general tendency toward 

shoaling on bars, and in certain areas channels dredged across them quickly fill up again and 
82 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

have to be repeatedly reopened. A number of new bars have formed in recent years and some 

of them have already become serious obstacles to navigation. 

In harmony with these findings are the statements made both orally and in their public 

reports by members of the Army Engineer Corps engaged in improvements on the various 

parts of the river. Brief references to a few of the more salient features of these annual reports 

may aid in giving an understanding of the conditions that prevail on the river. 

Early reports of Army engineers describe the upper Tennessee River as free from sediment, as of unusually stable bed and banks, and as admirably suited to improvement by openchannel work, consisting principally of blasting out rock ledges, building longitudinal training walls, and closing side channels around islands by dams. In the report made in 1830 by 

Lieut. Col. S. H. Long almost nothing is said of any necessity for gravel excavation, and even 

in the report of the detailed examination of the river above Chattanooga made in 1893 the 

project for obtaining a 3-foot channel includes only $20,000 worth of dredging in a total estimated cost of $650,000, of which much the larger. part was to .be expended in building dams. 

Although gravel bars had always existed on the upper river, they had probably long been 

stable in form, but these bars evid'ently began to grow larger in the nineties of the last century 

and soon caused trouble, for in the Army engineers' report for 1897 it is said that the construction of wing dams and training walls on the upper river has almost invariably been followed 

by the formation near their ends of bars that may be more troublesome than the original 

obstruction, that the effects of dredging through these bars of recent formation is likely to be 

temporary, and that the resulting benefits are soon lost. This is a new note and is in decided 

contrast to assurances previously given and frequently repeated-that the river was admirably 

suited to the system of open-channel walls and dams that had been adopted and followed for 

years. 

The succeeding annual report of the Army engineers for some years give evidence of a 

growing necessity for dredging, and in 1900 the officers in charge of the work deemed it desirable to buy a dredging plant for this upper section. Accordingly a dredge was bought and 

used, and although, for lack of appropriation, no work was done in 1901 and 1902, it became 

necessary to rebuild this dredge in 1907 at the Muscle Shoals shipyard, because "it had begun 

to show too much weakness to continue the heavy digging on which it was engaged in the 

upper river." In the report for 1907 the ·doubt that had been raised 10 years before as to the 

practicability of improving the river by the plan adopted is further strengthened by the statement that there is some question whether the river above Chattanooga can ever be satisfactorily 

improved by regulation. The statement made in recent reports that the Tennessee is a sediment-bearing river .is also in contrast to the old description of it as nonsediment bearing. 

:Rather than to assume that the many Army engineers who had previously decided that this 

upper section was admirably fitted for open-channel improvement were all so entirely mistaken 

in their conclusions, it would seem more reasonable-especially in the light of the recognized 

change in the character of the river-to attribute the failure of open-channel work to a change 

of regimen. 

The survey from Scott Point to Lock A includes most of the open-channel portion of the 

middle section of the river from Chattanooga to Riverton. The bottom profiles of the 159 

miles in this stretch show that of the ·portions having a depth of less than 5 feet at mean low 

water 81,850 linear feet, ~easured along the channel, have a gravel bottow, 77,800 feet have 

gravel and rock bottom, and 27,900 feet have rock bottom. Between Guntersville and Hobbs 

Island shoaling constantly occurs on a number of bars, from which over 200,000 cubic yards 

of gravel have been dredged in recent years. Bars are constantly forming in the open river at 

the entrance to the upper end of the Elk River Canal and of the Muscle Shoals Canal, and 

regular dredging is required to keep the entrance to the canals open. 

On the lower river, from Riverton to Paducah, because of the decreased fall, there is more 

opportunity for sand and gravel to lodge. The survey of 1896 showed 49 bars, all but two or 

three composed of gravel. It was calculated that the removal of 650,000 cubic yards of sand 
TENNESSEE RIVER PROPER. 83 

and gravel would be sufficient to open a channel across these 49 bars. Char{nels were dredged 

through a number of them, only to fill up at the next season of high water. One has been 

opened five times in 8 . years. In a few years it has been necessary to remove from certain 

bars several times as much material as was originally calculated. For example, the calculated 

amount of gravel dredging required at Big Chain bar was 16,716 cubic yards, but 66,345 have 

been removed. At Rockport bar 13,321 cubic yards needed removal; 80,262 have been removed. 

At Beech Creek Island the calc'ulation was 34,948 cubic yards; 174,500 cubic yards have been 

removed . . Moreover, several new bars have developed since 1896, and have interfered with 

navigation so. seriously that it has been necessary to dredge them before certain of the older 

bars had even been touched. The Army engineer in charge sums up general conditions on this 

lower part of the river by saying in the report for 1908 that in 1896 it contained 49 shoals, and 

that several others have since been formed; that 1,127,660 cubic yards of gravel had been 

dredged at 31 localities, and that the results were fairly permanent at two-thirds of the places. 

These brief abstracts from the reports of the Army engineers indicate that, though permanent improvements on the Tennessee may be made by building locks and dams, such as those 

' at Muscle Shoals and elsewhere, and by blasting rock ledges from the channel, the improvement resulting from building training walls is of uncertain value, and that the improvement 

by dredging is in many places only temporary, the beneHt being soon lost. This conclusion 

does not imply that it may be wise not to dredge at all; but rather that, however wisely planned 

and faithfully performed, the task of improving a river like the Tennessee, under the conditions 

o-f erosion and silting that now exist in its basin, is never ending, and that dredging will 

always be necessary to maintain an open channel as long as present conditions on its headwater tributaries prevail. A single sand bar may effectually block the river and render useless 

the locks and dams, nullifying the results of the expenditure of millions of dollars :for their 

construction. To what extent these conditions would be improved by extensive reforestation 

of the steep headwater slopes it is impossible to predict, but it is believed, both from the logic 

of the case and from the contrasted example of such rivers as those of the Coosa-Alabama 

system~ that the benefit would be material, and either alone or in connection with other benefits 

flowing from such a policy would be well worth the necessary outlay. 

It is to be regretted that no thorough examination and survey of the river was made long 

enough ago to enable a more detailed comparison of previous conditions to be made with the 

conditions found to-day. Most old examinations were made where rock ledges reach near the 

river surface or where gravel bars had already grown so near the surface that the current prevented much further growth; and in many areas changes that would have naturally occurred 

at critical points have been prevented or masked by dredging and the building of rock training walls during the improvement of the river. Places where no efforts at improvement have 

been made usually afford the best opportunity to observe the natural changes that are occurring 

in the river. It is chiefly such places that are described in detail in the following pages. 

It is recognized that any individual bit of evidence may be misleading, but when innumerable bits, gathered from many sources and varying greatly in kind, harmonize and point 

to the same general conclusion, it is difficult to believe that conditions are in reality just the 

opposite of what they seem to be. The conclusion is irresistible that the evidence is an accurate index of the facts and may be accepted· as trustworthy. In presenting this detailed evidence 

of change along the Tennessee the river will be considered in three sections-an upper section 

from Knoxville to Chattanooga, Tenn.; a middle section, from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Riverton, 

Ala.; and a lower section from Riverton, Ala., to Paducah, Ky. 

DETAILS OF CONDITIONS. 

FROM KNOXVILLE TO CHATTANOOGA. 

The first point below Knoxville at which changes were observed was Lyons Shoals. The 

main or right-hand channel is said to be shallow enough to permit horses to ford across to the 

island from May until late in fall; years ago it was necessary to ferry them during the crop-
84 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

working part of the summer, and only late in fall did the river get low enough to ford. Either 

ordinary stages of the river must now be lower there during the summer than formerly or the 

channel must have filled .considerably with gr~vel; the latter seems more probable. Army 

engineers report that the channel is shoaling and that a bar of gravel is forming at the lower 

end of their dam. The two main islands are being tied together by the filling of the channel 

between them. At low water this chute now becomes dry. 

At Williams Islands the upper and middle islands are being extended by a deposit of gravel 

on their upstream ends; the lower island seems to be stationary. Army engineers report that 

the right chute, which is the steamboat channel, is shoaling with gravel. . 

At Little River Island the dams built for the impr,ovement of navigation have so changed 

the currents that though both cutting and filling are going on it is impossible to say which 

process dominates. 

At Post Oak the two islands will before long be united by the gravel bar forming in the 

channel between them. The right-hand channel is also filling. · 

At Prater Island cutting is in progress on the upper end and filling on the lower. The 

channel on the left side is filling and now goes dry during the summer and fall. Before long 

these islands will be tied to the left bank a:ud the entire current will pass down what is at 

present the right-hand channel. 

On Cox Island the timber protecting the upper end has been cut away and this end has 

been especially damaged by floods that have swept across the island. The bar at the head of 

the island seems to be growing slowly. 

Russel Sho.als show an accumulation of gravel on the bar, shoaling in the channel below 

the dam, and a shifting of the position of the channel as compared with its condition in former 

years. 

Roger Islands show a slow growth upstream, and above the upper end of the larger island 

a shallow gravel bar is forming-a feature that is generally characteristic of other islands in 

this part of the river. · The right-hand side of the islands seems to be ,growing by the deposition 

of gravel and silt and is pushing the river channel farther to the right. 

The upper end of Chota Island is protected by a rock dam, behind which gravel and sand 

are accumulat_ing and extending down the upper part of the island. Just belo~ Dam No. 2 

bars.are constantly forming and obstructing the channel on botp. the r.ight and left sides. 

Behind the dam. across the upper end of Coulter Islands filling is in progress. The 

channel between the middle and the lower island is filling, so that these two will soon be united. 

At Leipers Ferry the river is reported to have filled considerably in the last 20 or 30 years. 

Sister Islands are situated in a relatively straight reach of the river and seem to have 

reached equilibrium; they are neither visibly growing nor wearing away. . 

The upper end of the uppermost of Belle Canton Islands shows a recent upstream growth 

of 100 yards;· on the right-hand side there has been a lateral growth of 20 yards, and the 

steamer channel has been pushed farther to the right. The second of these islands shows a 

growth of 150 yards on its upper end, but its sides, as well as the lower ends of all three islands, 

are stationary. 

At Lenoir Ferry the river is reported to be lower, as a rule, during the summer and fall 

than it was 40 or 50 years ago. 

At Lenoir Shoals, just below the mouth of Little Tennessee River, navigation · of the 

narrow, crooked steamboat channel is rendered still more . difficult by an accumulation of 

gravel~ seemingly due to the great amount of material furnished the river by the Little 

Tennessee. 

, Rock Quarry Bar is reported to be growing and the channel across it is shallower than 

formerly. 

Carmichael Island seems to be slowly growing upstream, but some 200 yards of its upper 

end has been badly scoured and much of its soil has been removed by recent floods. This 

scouring has injured some of the cultivated land on the island and has washed up trees, 6 to 

10 inches in diameter, that formerly protected the head of the island from erosion. 
TENNESSEE RIVER PROPER. 85 

At the upper end of Loudon Island four small towheads that appeared years ago have 

been growing until they will shortly unite with one another and with the island below them. 

The upper ends and the sides of the islands were already growing slowly when their owner 

began to aid their growth by cutting the willows around their edges so that, though their gain 

in area has been notable in recent years, it is not a fair index to the natural rate of growth. It 

shows,. however, that only slight encouragement is needed to cause sediment to lodge at any 

point, so great is the amount carried by the river. 

Harrison Island and two towheads above it have, by the filling of the channel to the left 

of them, been united to the left bank of the river. This process has been aided by the owner, 

although it was started by the s.tream· itself. 

Sweetwater Island is protected above by a rock dam behind which gravel has lodged in 

large quantities during recent years. The sides and lower end of the island seem stationary. 

Halfway between Sweetwater Island and Bogart Island, near the left bank of the river, a 

recently accumulated gravel bar, some 25 yards long at ordinary stages, has deflected the boat 

channel to the right. At the upper end of Bogart Island a towhead is growing and a gravel 

bar is filling out to the left of it. The two main islands are being tied together by the filling 

of the channel between them. 

An uncharted gravel bar, which probably had recently formed, was observed near the right 

bank just below Marble Bluff Landing. 

Wilson Island is stationary except at the upper end, where a gravel and cobble deposit is 

forming behind a dam. 

At Seven Islands a towhead has appeared above the upper island and become attached to 

it by a deposit of gravel and the channel between the two islands is closing. In the same way 

the lower end of Long Island is being extended downstream by the deposition of fine silt. 

Deposits of sand and gravel are forming about the dams that unite the upper end of Round 

Island to the left bank of the river. The upper end of Long Island itself is growing, and 

on the right side, just below the shoulder which deflects the main current to the right, two 

small towheads have formed and are becoming attached to the island. 

Just above the mouth of Clinch River the right bank of the river is being undercut, and 

undercutting was noted on the same side some 4 miles farther down, just below Hoods Ferry. 

The amount of the cutting, however, is slight and it is mentioned merely bec·ause the banks, as a 

rule, show little or no signs of such change. 

At Pickles Bar the recent accumulation of gravel is said to have greatly changed the steamboat channel and rendered it more difficult to :follow. 

Kings Bar is also reported to be shoaling. 

Just below Rockwood landing Bracket Bar has shoaled so much in recent years that it has 

been necessary to cut and buoy the channel through it. It is not described in any report previous 

to 1893 and is evidently of recent :formation. In 1904 about 29,000 cubic yards o:f sand and 

gravel were removed. The distance dredged was 2,100 feet. 

The upper end of Halfmoon Island is being undercut by the current, which sets strongly 

against it. Back of the rock dam that deflects the current to the left, however, a deposit now 

forming is uniting the main island to the two small islands above it. 

At Whites Creek Islands in the last few years much gravel and silt have been deposited on 

the main ~sland and the several towheads above it. One of the towheads has recently grown 

into a fertile island, which was patented from the State of Tennessee by one man and claimed 

by another on the ground of riparian right, and thus became the cause of personal strife and 

hter of lawsuits between the claimants. Gravel bars are also forming in V\Thites Creek Shoals 

in spite of the long dam built to improve them. A bar persistently forms below the end of the 

dam, although the dam has been repeatedly extended in order to prevent such ·accumulation. 

At Preston Island a towhead, formed in recent years to the right of the head of the island, 

has grown so rapidly that it is now 250 yards long, rises 10 feet above low-water level and has 

willows 20 feet high growing on it. 
86 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

At Euchee the left bank is 45 feet high and the undulating, irregular flood plain is covered 

only at long intervals and by floods of extreme height. A mile back from the river, however, 

there is a lower sluice across which floods ordinarily run and have done much damage. 

Piney Island shows a relatively rapid growth upstream. The main body of the island 

rises 20 feet above water level and is protected by well-grown trees. Above it there is a crescentic sloping belt, which extends 150 yards upstream and ·above this a still lower belt 250 yards 

broad, reaching down to water level. Beneath water level there is a gravel bar that may be 

traced for some distance upstream and is undoubtedly growing. 

Behind the dam that protects its upper end Watts Island is growing by the deposition of 

abundant flood-borne detritus. · 

Hunter Island is now almost tied to the left bank by the filling of the intervening channel. 

The upper end is growing slightly. The gravel bar opposite this island is 4,000 feet long. 

Just below the middle of Good Field Shoals a gravel bar has accumulatP-d near the left bank 

in recent years, and now rises considerably above ordinary water level. 

Across ].fartin ·Bar the deflection of the channel is reported to be decreasing, owing to an 

accumul&tion of gravel now in progress. This bar was 1,000 feet long in 1893 but had not 

previously been described. · 

At the mouth of Hiwassee River the upper island is slowly growing upstream, and on 

its right side towheads are forming and uniting with it, so that the current is deflected to the 

right and the main channel is slowly shifting' in that direction. 

Above the upper end of Upper Sale Creek Island ·a large gravel bar has been formed, and 

a towhead 300 yards in length is forming and has almost joined the island. On the lower island 

a similar large gravel bar and towhead have been developed, and the main channel is reported by 

Army engineers and others to be growing shallower by constant accumulation of gravel. 

Soddy Islands are growing on both their upper and their lower ends, but as these ends are 

connected by longitudinal dams it is uncertain whether the entire growth may not possibly be 

due to the influence of the dams. It is practically certain that the accumulation of debris so 

generally noted about dams is in general due to their influence in checking or producing eddies 

in the current. 

Dallas Island was washed badly . in 1876 but has grown somewhat since then on the upper 

end. The channel is shoaled by a gravel bar that has accumulated at thP- head of the island. 

An octogenarian at Harrison Landing reported that the flood of 1867 was the highest within 

his memory, and that that of 1876 was the next highest. Floods during recent years, in his 

opinion, have been more numerous than formerly. He also stated that low water in summer and 

fall in olden times was lowerthan to-day. This was the only statement of the kind heard on the 

river, but the opposite observation and belief was reported by many persons. 

Chickamauga Island shows a slow growth on the upper end. Just below this end there is 

during floods active deposition of sand and gravel, which are dug as building material for Chattanooga markets. The pits dug out during low water rapidly fill again during floods, so that 

the supply perpetually renews itself. In the last few years a gravel and sand bar has grown 

several hundred yards from the upper end of some small islands just below and to the right of 

Chickamauga Island. 

At Colwell Bar there is a gravel deposit that is growing upstream, and just below it gravel 

bars have formed on the right, deflecting the main stream channel sharply to the left. The 

gravel bar here is 4,000 feet long. 

FROM CHATTANOOGA TO RIVERTON. 

The stretch of river between Chattanooga, Tenn., and Riverton, Ala., is 238 miles long and 

may be conveniently divided into three parts. The upper part is 17! miles long; in this stretch 

the river cuts through the mountains just below Chattanooga and has a fall of 27.9 feet, or 

an average of 1.9 feet per mile. The current in this part is generally swift. In some places 

where the stream is sa~ing its way down through hard sandstones it is much contracted in width., 
TENNESSEE RIVER PROPER. 87 

Rock debris entering this mountain stretch has little opportunity to lodge anywhere but is swept 

along with impetuous force and is well ground to pieces before it enters the succeeding stretch. 

The middle stretch extends 158.3 miles, to the head of l\fuscle Shoals Canal, falling in this distance 63.8 feet, or an average of OA foot per mile. In this stretch the current is gentler, and in it 

much of the silt ground down by the river on its way through its mountainous stretch finds lodgment and is building bars and islands. In the third part, which extends from the head of 

Muscle Shoals 61.5 miles to Riverton, the fall is 168.5 feet, or 2.73 feet per mile. In this stretch 

are included Big and Little Muscle shoals and Colbert Shoals. · 

The first deposit of sand and gravel in the river below the Chattanooga wharf is at Ross's 

towhead, where there are sand and gravel pits from which material is dug for Chattanooga 

markets. These pits fill quickly during floods and the supply is consequently inexhaustible. The 

towhead does not seem to be materially growing or wasting. The chute to the left of the towhead was originally selected as a boat channel and was improved, but it was so difficult to keep 

open because of the constant accumulation of sand and gravel in it that in 1894 the Army 

engineers abandoned it and began blasting a new channel near the right bank. 

Williams Island, 6 miles below Chattanooga, is not changing in any manner. 

The ~killet towhead is composed of sand and gravel and seems to be in stable condition, as 

is also Savannah towhead, some miles below. 

Burns Island, in the middle stret,ch as here defined, may be wasting slightly on its upper 

left side, but the lower end has grown 100 to 125 yards downstream in the last six or eight years, 

and its height has been so greatly increased by dbposits during floods that the lower branches of 

the old trees are now being buried by the sand 1

nd silt. 

Bridgeport Island is not changing in for , but the upper end is growing higher by the 

deposition of silt. I 

Crowtown Island shows an unchanged out ine but is becoming higher on the upper end. 

Above it there is a well-developed gravel bar, hich seems to be stationary . 

. The sides of Bellefonte Island are stationar ' but the upper end has grown some 50 yards in 

the last five years and the lower end is beco ing higher and is extending slowly down the 

river. The deposit on the lower end is very fine silt. The bar just below the island is shoaling, 

and at low water several acres of sand and gra el are now exposed. 

Thirty years ago Larkin's towhead was ab 1

ve water only at ~ong intervals, at exceedin.Q'ly 

low stages of the river; 22 years ago it is report : d to have been 150 to 200 yards long; now it is 

· over 500 yards long and is cultivated in corn. Its growth has been more rapid within recent 

years than formerly. J 

At Ferry's landing, on the right side, 100 ,o 125 feet above present river level, there is an 

old river terrace whose gravels and pebbles ar very similar to gravel deposits found in West 

Tennessee, and they may be of the same age. 

Across the upper part of Pine Island a ru way formed in the great flood of 1867, cutting 

off the upper end of the island. Since then thi 1 

runway has filled up and the island has grown 

upstream 150 yards. The lower end is growfng higher by the deposition of silt and has 

recently grown some 50 yards farther downst ,earn. 

The upper end of Buck Island is growing :n height and has extended upstream 150 yards 

in the last 10 years. The sides and lower. end re stationary. 

The towhead above McKee Island is said to be growing) but Henry Island and McKee 

Island arc not changing. 

. Flint River towh~ad is reported unchan rd and Byrds Island ~as changed very ·little. 

The lower end of the Island has extended dowi· stream some 30 yards In. the last 17 year. ·s, but 

the upper end is wasting somewhat. The area f the island 100 years ago was 324 acres and is 

approxhnately the same to-day. ' 

From Lock A to Florence so many artificia changes have been made by dredging channels 

and building locks and dams around Big an Little Muscle shoals that it is impossible to 

draw any important conclusions as to the na ural changes. Bars are forming in the open 

r .. 
88 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

river at the upper entrances of both the Elk River and the Big Muscle Shoals canals and 

require the almost constant use of a dredge to keep the channel clear. 

Sevenmile and Big Buck islands are probably stationary. On their bars there are large 

deposits of well-rounded chert gravel, and though this gravel is constantly changing from 

flood to flood the bars themselves seem to be neither wasting nor growing. Halfway down 

the side of Big Buck Island, however, there is a towhead above which a gravel bar has grown 

since the Government dam was built in_1878, and below it another towhead has formed in the 

last 15 or 20 years and is steadily growing. · 

Little Buck Island is actively growing. There are bare gravel areas at its upper and 

lower ends. 

Coker Island is almost tied to the right bank by the filling of the channel on that side; 

otherwise it has not changed. · 

Just above Bee Tree Shoals a towhead 175 yards long, near the right bank, has within 

recent years grown about 50 yards. 

FROM RIVERTON TO P~DUCAH. 

Riverton is 426 miles below the head of the river just above Knoxville and 226 miles 

above the mouth at Paducah. The fall in this lower portion of the river is 78.5 feet or 0.34 

foot per mile. The obstructions in this section are practically all sand and gravel bars. 

At Bear Creek Shoals gravel is accumulating on the left side near the lower end of the 

shoals and is forcing the current against the right bank, which is being undercut near the 

Government light. The banks here are 30 to 35 feet high, the lower 10 feet being of yellow 

chert gra~el and the upper part of clay; caving is relatively rapid. The current is deflected 

from this bank to the opposite side of the river and has begun undercutting at Paynes Landing 

just below, and this swinging when once started tends to become more pronounced and to 

develop additional meander curves farther down~tream. It will soon cause material changes 

in the boat channel. 

At Shaws Landing the right bank for 500 yards is scouring .away and caving. The 

material is a gravel overlain by clay. 

State Line Island is growing higher by deposit of fine sediment and is extending upstream. 

The change is reported to be much more rapid in the last few years than formerly, and the 

bar at the head of the island is extending out into the channel farther than it did. The lower 

end of the island seems to be growing slowly downstream, while the chute to the left is filling 

up, so that the island will ultimately be tied to the left bank of the river. 

At Pittsburg, Crump, and Coffee landings, all of which are on the left bank of the river, 

. there are bluffs of relatively soft sands and clays that are being undercut, and the banks are 

caving at such a rate as to interfere materially with the maintenance of the boat landing. 

A bar at the upper end of Diamond Island has grown 200 or 300 yards in the last 15 years. 

During this tim'e a bar has formed to the left of the head of the island and has grown to it 

and extended down the left side of the island. It is deflecting the current to the left bank 

of the river and is now causing undercutting and caving. Below this bar a gravel fringe 

has grown along the side of the island to within 300 yards of the lower end; this fringe is 2 to 

5 rods wide and is evidently growing. By the survey of 1896 it was calculated that this bar 

could be improved by dredging 8,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel; in 1901 the amount 

dredged was 19,500 cubic yards. 

Wolf Island, at Crump Landing, has been formed by the union of two islands that existed 

there in 1865, as is shown by a map published in that year. Since then it has been growing 

upstream, and on the left side the gravel fringe has widened so much that the main current 

has been deflected against the opposite bank and is undercutting it just below the landing. 

A small gravel towhead that was just visible at low water 30 years ago now covers several 

acres. Dredges removed 37,800 cubic yards of gravel from the channel here i~ 1901. 

Petticoat Bar has only in recent years begun to be regarded as a serious obstacle to navigation, but in 1908 it became necessary to dredge a channel a distance of 1,900 feet across it. 
TENNESSEE RIVER PROPER. 89 

Swallow Bluff Island has been united by a gravel and sand bar to a smaller islet and a 

towhead above it and to the right. The bar is growing slowly, but the towhead has grown much 

larger than it was 25 years ago. The chute on the right is reported to be filling up. 

Below Indian Creek a gravel bar is forming on the right bank. This bar is reported to 

extend much farther out into tpe river now than formerly. Below it, on the west side, another 

bar is also growing. 

Eagle Nest Island is now filling slowly on its upper end and in the last 15 years a gravel 

spit has been building along its left side. The deposites of silt are building the island higher 

yearly, while the river current deflected by the deposit of gravel on the side of the island is 

undercutting its left bank. This island, shown on the 1865 map as only about half a mile long, 

is now 1 i miles long. 

Roches Bar is said to be shoaling and extending farther upstream, so that boats have more 

trouble than formerly in making the landing on the :west bank. This bar was not indicated at 

all on the rna p of 1865. . 

J{irkpatricks Island is steadily growing on the west side and the upper end and the 

chute to the right is filling up. In 1865 the island was insignificant. To-day it is over a hal£ 

mile long. 

Beech Creek Island has grown greatly since 1865, but its upper end is being eroded by a 

cross channel. Its lower end is growing, and the former steamboat channel between it and 

Culps Island, just below, is now practically dry at low water, and in a few more years these two 

islands will be united. The channel dredged in 1900 filled the following season and has had 

to be redredged. From the survey of 1896 it was calculated that improvement would require 

35,000 cubic yards of gravel to be removed. In 1900 65,000 cubic yards were dredged, and in 

1902 109,000 more. 

The smaller of the Double Islands is cutting away on its right side along the lower third 

of its length, while from the upper ~nd of the larger one a sand bar is growing downstream 

on the right side, deflecting the current of the river to the right and undercutting the right 

bank. These islands seem to have grown notably since 1865. 

J{elleys Island has not changed in the last 15 years, but the bar near the lower end has been 

growing, and within recent years boats have had to keep much nearer the shore to avoid it. 

The sand bar opposite Cedar Creek, just below the narrows, has not changed in the last 

15 or 20 years; but-the sand bar on the right side . of the upper end of Densons Island is growing and pushing the steamer channel to the right and causing the right bank of the river to 

undercut and cave. 

Just below the mouth of Duck River there is on both sides of Tennessee River a large 

deposit of sand and gravel, most of which has been brought down by Duck River. This deposit 

is apparently slowly growing. 

Rockport Island is nearly stationary; the lower end may be growing slightly. The chute 

to the left is becoming shallower. The channel across Rockport Bar persistently closes after 

being opened. It has been opened five times in eight years and will probably continue to 

close with each year's spring floods. Each reopening requires on the average over 20,000 

cubic yards of sand and gravel to be dredged. · 

A bar at Duck River Suck is shoaling and pushing the current against the west bank. In 

40 years this bank has caved some 400 feet. 1\'Iost of this erosion has occurred within the last 

10 or 15 years, in which time the river here has engulfed a house and an orchard. 

At Johnsonville a gravel bar, which now shows some 10 acres at low water, has grown 

since 1865, and is causing the left bank of the river to undercut. It is filling the steamboat 

channel, and has already required the dredging of 110,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel. 

To the left side of the upper end of Reynoldsburg Island a gravel bar is growing downstrear'n and extending to the left, pushing the river current against the left bank and causing 

caving. It was less than a mile long in 1865 but is now lf miles long. 

Turkey Creek Island is not changing. 
90 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

White Oak Island is reported to have grown 200 yards on its upper end in the last five 

years; a bar on its· upper end is crowding the main current to the left, and the right-hand 

chute is shoaling. 

The channel between the two Hurricane Islands is filling and also narrowing by the 

· growth of a bar that will soon unite them into one. 

On Leatherwood Shoals the bar on the right side is said to be growing and the chute on 

the left closing. The channel across the bar has recently required dredging. 

Panther Creek Island is reported to have grown considerably since it was patented in 

1870. In 1904 the bar gave much trouble and required extensive dredging. 

. Blood River Island is growing on both its upper and lower ends, and the channel to the 

left has'shoaled so rapidly that it is now completely dry in low water. 

Pentecost Towhead is slowly growing. on its upper end. 

Birmingham Island has not changed in the last 40 years, but a bar- just below it has 

grown from 2 to 10 acres at low-water stages during this time. 

Threemile Island has extensive gravel bars at both its head and its foot, and the channels 

dredged through them have refilled and required redredging. Over 140,000 cubic yards of 

sand and gravel have been removed. . 

Sevenmile Island is said by an old resident not to have changed in the last 40 years, and 

its entire outline seemed to be in stable condition. 

The towhead just· above Tennessee Island at the mouth of the river seems to be growing 

' slightly, though Tennessee Island itself has not materially changed within recent years. 

COOSA-ALABAMA RIVER SYSTEM. 

The headwaters of the Coosa-Alabama River system-Oostanaula and Etowah rivers--

rise in the mountains of ~orthern Georgia and northeastern Alabama and unite at Rome, Ga., 

to form the Coosa, which in its lower course becomes the Alabama and flows southward and 

westward into the Gulf of Mexico near Mobile; A detailed examination was made of the 

headwaters of this system in northern Georgia, and the Coosa was traversed by steamer from 

Rome, Ga., 165 miles, to Gadsden, Ala. Below Gadsden conditions along the river were studied 

at several points, the lowest of which was Selma, Ala. 

OOSTANAULA BASIN. 

COHUTTA MOUNTAIN REGION. 

The main mass of the Cohutta Mountains is in northwestern Georgia, some miles southwest 

of Ducktown, Tenn., but the mountains extend northward into Tennessee, where they are 

deeply trenched by the gorge of Ocoee River. Most of this mountain area, however, drains 

into the Coosa system. The rocks are ancient granites, gneisses, schists, and slates, which 

have been greatly weathered and eroded. The mountain mass is deeply cut by numerous 

streams, which flow from it in a somewhat radial fashion. The ridges are sharp topped and 

steep sided; the jntervening valleys are narrow and most of them contain only the merest 

traces of a flood plain, The highest parts of the mountains are between 4,000 and 4,500 feet 

in elevation. The land is poor as a rule, and very little of it is cleared for agriculture. Most 

of the timber has been purchased by lumbermen and is being cut wherever transportation is 

possible. 

The entire basin of Jacks River is wooded, with the exception of its upper 2 miles. It 

was being actively lumbered when examined, but showed no material ·erosion as a result of 

lumbering. At its very head the slopes have been cleared to a considerable extent and some of 

the fields are old and have become badly gullied., The total cleared area in the basin, however~ is less than 2 per cent. The west side of the basin has been logged down to Cowpen 

Mountains, but the country farther down is in original forest. The soil is so poor that in 

some places it is reported that lumbermen have abandoned their holdings after they have cut 

them over. 
OOSTAN AULA BASIN. 91 

South o£ Sassafras Gap, at the head o£ Mountaintown .Creek, the entire country is wooded 

for several miles; then a flood plain begins to appear along the small creek and soon becomes 

a third o£ a mile wide. It is cultivated in places, as are also the lower slopes on either side. 

These lands do not show ero~on or damage by floOds., 

The small headwater tributaries o£ Mountaintown Creek are bordered by narrow flood 

plains o£ moderate fertility, most o£ which are cleared and in good condition, and some o£ 

the lower slopes are also cultivated. There seems to be no marked erosion in this basin. 

The basin o£ Holly Creek is wooded £rom its head to the point where the stream leaves the 

mountains, some 5 miles downstream. Below this point the creek has formed a flood plain 

which is at first beveled or sloping and is almost entirely above the reach o£ floods, but within 

a few miles becomes more nearly level and extends continuously down to the mouth o£ the 

creek. During floods the upper 10 miles o£ this flood plain receives deposits that enrich it; 

the lower 10 miles is not so fertile, lies lower, and is in places swampy. It is not damaged 

anywhere by floods. 

CONASAUGA RIVER. 

Above Treadwell, Ga., Conasauga River has a fertile flood plain that ranges in width 

from half a mile to 1f miles. The grade of the river is low and its velocity during floods is 

not great enough to seriously injure the lands by erosion. 

The bottoms below Treadwell are neither so ·broad nor so fertile as those above, but both 

are uninjured. The flow of the stream seems rather constant. The owner of the mill at 

Treadwell reports that only a few times during the last 20 years has it been necessary to shut 

down for want of water. This freedom from flood damages and regularity of flow are 

undoubtedly due to 'the forest protection on its headwaters. 

Conasauga. River unites just above Resaca with the Coosawattee to form the Oostanaula. 

The Oostanaula meanders irregularly across a flood plain that is perhaps half a mile in 

average width and on either side is bordered alternately by bluffs and flood-plain areas. 

Its bottoms are not greatly damaged by floods, it is navigable throughout its entire course, and 

it contains no bars or islands that seem to be growing. 

COOSA WATTEE RIVER. 

The Coosa.wattee is navigable to Carters, at the foot of the. mountains~ The width of 

its flood plain varies greatly, but averages from one-fourth to one-half mile, though in a few 

places it is a mile or more. The ordinary flood plain of the stream is bordered in many places 

by an extraordinary one, 10 to 20 feet higher, and rounded stream gravels are found on the 

valley sides 50 to 60 feet above present flood-plain level. The highest flood recorded occurred in 

1866, when some places were so badly washed that they have only just about made back again. 

In some localities to-day ordinary floods erode the bottoms and ·do considerable damage, but 

the farmers along the river generally regard floods as beneficial, rather than harmful, because 

of the sediment they deposit. This deposition of rich sediment is especially marked at Carters, 

where the mountain stretch of the stream, which has a high gradient, runs out upon a ·broad 

plain and assumes a low gradient and at once begins to build a flood plain. . 

From Carters southeastward to Silver only the lower slopes of the bordering uplands are 

cleared and along the streams there are narrow bottoms, most of which are also in cultivation. 

Some of the older hillside clearings have become badly washed. 

On Talking Rock Creek, west of Blaine, 50 or 60 per cent of the uplands have .been cleared 

and some 10 per cent of them show extensive erosion. East of Blaine about 30 per cent of the 

uplands are cleared and there is but little erosion. At Talking Rock Station there is a broad 

.flood plain bordered by a fossil one 15 feet higher, whose back part rises gently upward to the 

tops of the low hills. These hill slopes are in places largely cleared, but the cleared areas, upland and bottom alike, are generally in good condition. Farther east, at the heads of Fishing 

and Price- creeks, the lands are very poor and the clearings are confined to the very lowest 

slopes of the valley sides and the narrow bottoms along the streams. Perhaps not more than 

10 per cent of the entire area of these stream basins is cleared. 
92 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHER.N APPALACHIANS. 

In and just west of the gap at the head of ·Clear Creek there are numerous old fields, most 

of which have been worn thin and abandoned, but only here and there are there signs ~f 

marked erosion. Northeast, east, and southeast of the gap the entire region is forested except 

in two small areas, one covering a few acres, the other a few score acres. 

ETOWAH RIVER BASIN. 

Etowah River heads on the southern slopes of the . Blue Ridge northwest of Dahlonega 

and after flowing southward 25 miles turns to th~ soutliwest and unites with the Oostanaula 

at Rome to ,form the Coosa. Its headwater region is largely uncleared except for narrow 

,flood-plain-areas and ari occasional low valley slope. 

No clearings were seen west of Amicalola Creek, but along that stream some bottoms 200 

or 300 ya~ds wide have been cleared and are in good condition. . . 

From Amicalola Creek eastward to Etowah River the soil of the rolling to hilly uplands 

is generally poor and practically all the land is wooded. Along the many small streams in 

this region there ~re some narrow flood plains, most of which have been cleared and are uninjured by floods. Som~ small areas of the bordering slopes have also been cleared, but much 

the larger part of the region is in forest and is not eroding. 

Etowah River is shallow and swift, with steep banks 12 to 15 feet high. It has a level 

sandy flood plain of moderate fertility, bordered by a flat-topped terrace 15 feet high. East 

of the river is an old, flat, cobble-strewn terrace that stands 80 feet above the present flood 

plain. 

In some parts of its course the rocks are more resistant and it flows in a narrow gorge 

without a flood plain. Throughout the greater part of its length, however, it winds irregularly, 

and on one side or the other has developed a flood plain that in places may be half a mile 

or more in width. During floods it carries a large quantity of sand and gravel, a considerable 

part of which is due to hydraulic mining on the uplands, but a part of which is due to dredging 

operations which are carried on extensively along the river near Auraria. and Landrum. 

In many places the Etowah has a very narrow ordinary flood plain, 6 or 8 feet above water 

level and 1 or 2 rods wide; above this there is an extraordinary flood plain with undulating 

surface 12 or 15 feet higher and of varying width, but in places as much as 200 to 400 yards 

wide, especially on the concave side of incised meander curves. In a few places this extraordinary flood plain is half a mile or more wide. Both the ordinary and extraordinary flood 

plains are generally formed of a sandy loam and rarely show great damage by floods. In 

many places there is also a well-developed fossil flood plain or terrace 20 or 30 feet above 

the present extraordinary flood-plain level. 

From Landrum down to Canton flood-plain areas have not been seriously injured by 

floods. At Canton · the ordinarv ·flood plain is 300 yards wide, stands about 15 feet above 

stream level, and ~s quite flat. it shows slight erosion ·from floods. The extraordinary flood 

plain is not well developed just at this point, but may be seen both above and below. 

· Just west of Field's bridge, on the north side of the river, there is a good example of the 

flood-plain topography found in so many places along this river. From the northern valley 

wall an old beveled fossil flood plain, produced while the river was cutting down and swinging 

southward, slopes to the south with a very gentle grade. It is about half a mile wide and at its 

lower edge there is a descent of 8 to 12 feet by a well-defined scarp to the present flood plain, 

which is much more nearly level and also about a half mile wide. · 

This last or living flood plain has a somewhat undulating surface, produced by the scouring 

action of the higher floods, which have cut occasional runways, so that it has been necessary to 

build dikes or low walls to prevent serious erosion. The highest floods cover this bottom to a 

depth of 12 to 16 feet; the lower or ordinary ones cover it but a few feet. On the south side 

of the river there is a similar living flood plain at the same height but of less width. 

The soil on both the fossil and the living flood plains is fertile and, though the river 

~ccasionally injures the lower one by washing, the farmers regard floods as beneficial in 
OOOSA RJVER. 93 / 

their general results rather. than injurious. The greatest injury done by them consists of the 

destruction of a crop when high water happens during the growing season. 

From Canton to Cartersville much of the upland on either side of the river is poor and the 

larger part is uncleared. In some places the cleared lands have a porous soil and do not erode 

badly; in others the soil is a more compact clay, and steep slopes that have been long cleared 

show gullying. 

The Etowah for some distance below Canto~ has an average fall of 2 to 2-! feet a mile-a 

slope that tends to produce broad flood plains, such as those at Field's bridge. 

Two miles below Galt's ferry the river enters a narrow, rock-bound gorge and for 6 miles 

~escends in rapids at the rate of 14i feet a mile. Below these rapids the gradient again 

decreases to about 2i feet a mile, and this, which may be called the normal slope of the Etowah, 

continues for 45 miles, to its mouth at Rome, Ga. Throughout this distance the stream has 

formed a flood plain that is in many places 200 to 400 yards wide, especially in the upper part 

of this 45-mile stretch. On concave sides of bends, where the stream cuts across limestone 

belts, the width may increase to a mile or more; where more resistant rocks occur the hills 

may close in and practically shut off the flood plain. "\Vidth of flood plain is a function of both 

river gradient and rock resistance. 

Immediately below the rapids, where the gradient decreases to the normal again, flood 

velocities are checked and much sand is deposited, so that for about a mile the bottoms are 

poor and sandy and show some gouging by floods. Below this they are, as a rule, composed of 

fertile loam. 

Just south of Cartersville broad bottom lands-now very largely fossil-have been 

developed on a limestone belt. The living flood plain is very narrow here and is fertile and in 

good condition. Below this limestone belt the hills close in at several places on the river, but 

at others the valley op~ns again and there is the usual development of an old, undulating, 

sloping fossil flood plain, as a rule somewhatirregular, but distinct, and from 8 to 12 feet high. 

The upper limit of the old beveled flood plain is generally about 60 feet above the present one. 

This fossil flood plain is above the reach of all floods and its slope is too gentle for serious subaerial erosion. The present flood plain, as a rule, receives deposits of silt during floods and is 

being built higher and enriched. At bends or where rafts lodge-as at bridges and other obstructions-some holes and flood channels were observed, but these may soon be filled by succeeding 

floods of less height and velocity of current. The flood of 1886 is the highest reported. It cut 

across and scoured many bends and in a number of places washed out flood channels tha.t have. 

not yet been filled. _ 

Below Kingston the banks of the river are 20 to 25 feet high and the present flood plain is 

narrower. In most places it is distinctly separated from the fossil flood plain by an 8 to 12 

foot scarp, but locally this scarp is absent and the boundary between the two is indefinite. The 

surface of the old higher flood plain is :very undulating and in many places slopes irregularly 

·upward to an indefinite union with the old high valley wall . . On the valley sides are many 

cultivated tracts. Where the soil is composed of a cherty clay the clearings do not erode 

greatly, but where the clay is more compact erosion generally begins within 5 or 10 years 

after clearing and in a few more years the fields are abandoned. 

COOSA RIVER FROM ROME, GA., TO GADSDEN, ALA. 

The 165 miles of ;river between Rome and Gadsden were examined from a steamboat that 

ran only during the day, so that an opportunity was had of examining the Coosa for its entire 

length. Many landings were made- along the way and the passengers and officers on the boat 

furnished information concerning the condition of the river and the changes that have occurred 

-in recent years. 

The banks of the river are generally covered down to the water's edge with trees which 

effectively protect them from erosion. At only a few places was any undercutting of banks 
94 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS • 

. an? caving noted, and at these it was so insignificant in amount and extent as to be negligible. 

The banks are everywhere very stable. 

At and just below Rome the banks are 20 to 25 feet high and very steep, and the flood 

plain was either narrow or absent. About 30 miles ~arther down their ave:rage height had 

decreased to 15 or 18 f-eet and they were still steep and wooded. Still farther downstream the 

river widened and deepened and the average height of the banks was yet lower, until at 

Greensport, below Gadsden, they were reported to be only 4 or 5 feet high. There is a 

corresponding decrease in the height of floods down the river. A stage of 30 feet at Rome, 

which covers the flood plain, at·Greensport makes a stage of only 5 feet, which barely suffices to 

.cover the flood plain. This concomitant decrease in height of flood crest and of flood plain 

surface down the river is normal and necessary. The flood wave tends to lengthen or flatten 

out as it advances downstream and thus lowers the height of the flood crest, and since the flood 

plain is built by the flood it is necessarily limited in elevation by the height of the crest of the ' 

floods that produce it. 

There are comparatively few gravel bars in this 165 miles of river, and those known are 

reported by the pilots to be stationary in position and height. Some of them have been 

dredged in recent years by the Federal Government. The material thrown out on the banks is 

chiefly well rounded chert gravels and cobbles, most of which are less than 3 inches in diameter, 

though the large cobbles have a diameter of 12 inches. In some places pieces of blue shale or 

slate are mixed with the chert. In only a few localities are there any visible gravel accumulations below the mouth of tributary streams, and where such gravel beds occur they seem· to 

have reached points of equilibrium between the forces that built and the forces that destroy 

them. 

The islands in the river are small and most of them are the ordinary midstream islets, but 

a few others of unusual type were observed, 100 or 200 yards long, 6 or 8 feet high, and only 

20 or 30 feet wide. Such islands lie very close to one bank or the other and were covered with 

trees. Inquiries and personal examination failed to discover that any changes are in progress 

on such islands. They would seem to have originated by the undercutting of a portion of rootmatted river bank until it broke loose, slipped into the river, and became a long, narrow islet, 

parallel and very close to the bank from which it was derived. If this be the mode of origin 

the time was remote enough for all trees that may have been tilted when the island was formed 

to have disappeared, as all now standing are perfectly erect. 

At many places the bed of the river contains rock ledges that lie as a rule at sufficient 

depth to be no serious menace to navigation.. In many other places the rock in the bed of the 

river is covered by a very few feet of loose gravel. The river seems to be eroding its channel. 

At 9! ·miles and again at 10 miles below Rome there are two gravel bars that have been 

dredged within the past few years. This dredged channel has not since shown any tendency to 

fill. The material removed was chert gravel. There is little or no sand on any of the bars ot 

islands. The river meanders in long, irregular curves, but during floods shows little tendency 

to cut across these meander bends, for the stream does not generally rise high enough above 

the bottoms or flood plain within the. bends to carry a strong current across them. Foster 

B~nd was the only place where cutting across a meander curve was observed. A runway formed 

here in 1886 badly damaged some of the land. Later floods have not been high enough to 

reoccupy this runway, so that it has· not yet been filled by later deposits. 

Just above Poole's ferry a gravel bar has recently been dredged and the channel would 

seem to be able to maintain itself without the aid of further dredging. 

Just below the mouth of the Chattooga there are two gravel bars whose material has 

evidently been furnished by the Chattooga. This material seems to be carried away to-day 

by the river as fast as the tributary stream brings it in, so that the bars have reached a stable 

siz.e and form and are reported not to have changed in the last 40 years. 

At Center Landing there are two small islets, each about 150 or 200 yards long and 25 

yards wide. These islets have not changed materially within the last 40 years. · 
COOSA RIVER. 95 

Just below the mouth of Terrapin Creek there is a gravel island about 2 acres in area, 

which rises 3 or 4 feet above ordinary water level and is scored longitudinally by the river 

floods. Just below it is a shallow gravel shoal. Both of these have been built. of material 

furnished by the creek and, like the bars below the mouth of the Chattooga, have been in 

equilibrium for at least the last 40 years. 

Just below Wood's ferry there is an island, between 5 and 10 acres in area, whose upper 

end is kept scoured by floods, but whos,e size and form are reported as unchanged during the 

last 40 years. 

At Gadsden the river is 150 yards wide and its banks are somewhat higher than usual 

so far down the river; they are 22 to 26 feet in height. The ordinary flood plain is 150 to 

200 yards wide and is bordered on the east by an extraordinary one 10 or 12 feet higher, which 

rises eastward by imperceptible gradations until it , becomes fossil and ultimately merges 

with the general country level. On the west side a bluff rises from the ordinary flood-plain 

level to an old high-terrace level, whose surface at the west end of the railway bridge is about 

71 feet above ordinary water level. Gadsden is situated on this old high terrace. Its surface · 

is composed of a clay stratum, 10 or 12 feet thick, beneath which there is a bed of 8 or 10 feet 

of well-rounded river gravel, whose average maximum diarneter is 2 .inches or less, though some 

pieces reach 6 inches. 

This gravel is a rusty, brownish yellow and very much resembles the gravels seen on the 

lower Tennessee and on the bluffs along the Mississippi above Memphis and may be of the same 

age. Very few floods are high enough to cover the ordinary flood · plain, and the extraordinary 

one has been covered within recent years only by the flood of 1886, when the stage reached was 

36 feet, and even this stage lacked 2 feet of covering the highest parts of this old extraordinary 

flood plain. The ordinary flood plain is not much injured by the floods that occasionally 

cover it. 

COOSA RIVER BELOW GADSDEN, ALA. 

The river was examined some 50 miles below Gadsden, at Riverside, where it is 150 yards 

wide and its banks are 8 or 10 feet high. The present flood plain on either side of the stream 

has an aggregate width of some 100 yards, and above it, at a height of 10 or 12 feet, there is an 

older flood plain, perhaps never reached by floods of to-day, which rises slowly until it merges 

along its outer edges into the general country level. There were no signs of flood damages and 

inquiry failed to elicit any inforn1ation of such damages. Some 40 miles below Riverside the 

river was examined at Childersburg. At the railway bridge north of the town it is 180 yards 

wide and has banks 15 feet high, which are covered with trees and quite stable. At this point 

there seems to be no ordinary flood plain. On the south side is an undulating extraordinary 

flood plain that slopes gradually upward for a half mile until it merges into the general upland 

surface. Floods reach its edge or occasionally cover some unusually low runway on its surface. 

The flood of 1886 is the only one recorded that might be said to have covered any considerable 

part of this flood plain. 

At Chancellor Ferry, 2 miles farther downstream, there is on the north side of the river 

a fossil flood plain with very gentle slope, separated on its riverward margin by a 10 to 15 

foot scarp from an extraordinary flood plain, 50 or 60 yards wide, whose surface is slightly 

undulating and has been covered only by the very highest floods, such as the one of 1886. 

It is 15 feet above water level. Immediately above the ferry there is a small island whose 

outline has not perceptibly changed in the last 40 years. On the south side of the river there 

is an ordinary flood plain 10 feet above water level, forming a very narrow shelf, and 5 or 

6 feet higher an extraordinary one, which is 150 yards wide and rises gradually in this di~­

tance some 12 feet, merging into an old fossil flood plain, remarkably level and broad, which 

extends southward and eastward several miles beyond Childersburg. 

Below Childersburg the river was again examined at Montgomery and at Selma, but the 

conditions at these places, both of which are on the Coastal Plain, where the whole country is 

72091°-No. 72-11--7 
96 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

made of soft sands and clays or partly indurated ·marl, were so extremely different from the 

conditions on the middle and upper part of the river system that no -fair comparison could 

be made. · Changes in the position of the navigable channel by the formation and growth of 

bars and islands and by the undercutting of the banks made it an entirely different kind of 

river from that exhibited in its middle and upper courses. · _ 

The · middle and upper portions of the river are evidently not much clogged by material 

eroded from its steep headwater slopes; bars and islands are not growing; the position of 

the steamboat channel and of the river itself is unchanged. All this is undoubtedly due to 

the fact that there is comparatively little active erosion in the mountains in northern Georgia, 

whe.re this stream system heads. Most of the region there is still in forest, and the Coosa 

presents the best observed example of a stream system on which conditions are still satisfactory. .These conditions can, however, be maintained only by adopting preventive measures 

before lumbering and clearing have started serious erosion and b.egun to establish the same 

unsatisfactory conditions that are found on the Tennessee . arld Jbther streams ·flowing from 

the more largely cleared portions of these southern mountafn·s. The accumulation of sand 

bars and the changes in the stream channel in the coastal-plain portion of Alabama are due 

to local causes or conditions that are commonly characteristic of large · streams flowing with 

low gradient on broad alluvial plains and can not be attributed to abnormal erosion on their 

headwaters. If th~y were they would undoubtedly be producing changes in the lo'f-grade 

portions of the stream both above and below Rome, Ga. An examination of this stretch of 

the river showed that no great changes are in progress and that present conditions have been 

maintained for many years·. · 

CHATTA:aOOCHEE DRAINAGE BASIN. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

The headwaters of the Chattahoochee basin, on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, were 

examined and the river itself 'was followed across the Piedmont Plateau as far as Atlanta. 

The headwater tributaries of the Chattahoochee rise on the southeastern slope of the Blue 

Ridge and fl~w for several miles southeastward as if to enter the Atlantic, but are then gathered into a master stream that flows to the southwest and enters the Gulf of Mexico. 

The tributaries descend from the crest of the Blue ·Ridge 2,000 or 3,000 feet in a few 

miles, and reach the inner edge of the Piedmont Plateau at an elevation of about 1,500 feet 

above sea level, below which their descent, until they join the Chattahoochee, is probably not 

more than 20 feet to the mile.' Along the eastern face_ of the Blue Ridge headwater erosion is 

exceedingly active, and the scarp has been intricately carved into na-rrow gorge-like valleys, 

separated by sharp-crestBd, sloping spurs. This minutely dissected Blue Ridge scarp is in 

some places rough and rocky, but in others is covered with a residual soil layer. Except along 

the stream channels themselves it is almost everywhere wooded, though the soil is dry and thin 

and the forest growth is open and of poorer quality than that at similar elevations on the 

same range 100 miles to the north. On shaded northern slopes, where there is more moisture, 

there is a greater accumulation 'of humus and the forest growth is denser and larger. Most 

of these headwater streams are bordered by no flood plains until they have descended almost 

to the level of the plateau, where, at· some distance from the base of the hills, .a narrow 'flood 

plain appears, which rapidly grows broader until it may exceptionally attain a width of a 

quarter of a mile, ·a half mile, or even a mile. Some miles farther down, however, these streams 

·begin to incise their channels beneath the plateau level. and soon flow in narrow gorges whose 

depth increases until in many places it reaches 100 to _200 feet. Few of these gorges have 

flood plains and their sides are generally too steep and rugged for cultivation. Such, for 

example, is the character of the Chestatee near Dahlonega, of the lower part of the Soque, 

and of the Chattahoochee itself for a number of miles both above and below the mouth of 

the Soque. 
CHATTAHOOCHEE DRAINAGE BASIN. 97 

·The general upland surface o:f the Chattahoochee basin is an old plateau, whose elevation 

near the head o:f the river is about 1,500 :feet above sea level. It is bounded on the north and 

northwest by the scarp of the Blue Ridge, which overlooks it, and on the southeast by a somewhat similar hut lower scarp, well seen from Mount Airy and other points in its vicinity that 

overlook the ·Atlantic portions of the Piedmont Plateau. The Chattahoochee Plateau thus 

forms an intermediate step, as it were, bet,yeen the Piedmont Plateau and the crest o:f the 

Blue Ridge. 

This lower scarp, between the upper part of the Chattahoochee basin and the streams flowing southeast~ard ·to the Atlantic, decreases in height southwestward until it disappears in 

the region northeast of Atlanta, where the Chattahoochee Plateau and the Piedmont Plateau 

merge into one. The surface of this Chattahoochee Plateau is broken by streams that have 

incised their channels beneath it and by isolated residual peaks and broken ridges that rise 

above it. In other words, its topographic relations are exactly similar t.o those that are characteristic of the Asheville Plateau, or to those of the remaining part of the Piedmont Plateau 

to the southeast. 

These three plateaus are undoubtedly of the same age and were :formed by long-continued 

erosion that reduced each to a low plain, usually called a peneplain, that has since been uplifted, 

their 'difference in height being due to diffe:r,-ence in distance along their drainageways to the 

sea. They have undergone the same amount o:f atmospheric weathering, and where the rainfall, slope, and soil are similar, show the same effects o:f erosion. The rocks of this Chattahooc4ee Plateau are like those o:f much of the Asheville Plateau-deeply decomposed schists, 

gneisses, and granites. Much of the soil is a red clay and on steep slopes erodes rapidly. 

The most serious injury noted in this basin is the filling of the Chattahoochee channel with 

sand, which is destroying the ferries and threatening to fill several dams recently built to 

utilize the large water power :furnished by this stream. This sand deposit has not yet greatly 

injured the bottom lands, but with :further increase in its accumulation, which is inevitable · 

under present conditions of clean culture on steep slopes and their subsequent rapid erosion, 

the bottom lands will soon be so covered with sand that in a few years their fertility will be destroyed. With the filling of the dams at power plants and the burying of the rich bottom 

lands beneath barren sand the river will ha':e practically completed the destructive processes 

which it is only too evident have already been well begun. 

DETAILS OF CONDITIONS. 

For a few miles above Nacoochee Valley the Chattahooche-e has a narrow flood plain, 

which is commonly bordered by a terrace 30 :feet higher, beyond which runs another one 20 

feet higher still, though in some places these two merge into one, forming one old flood plain 

50 feet above the present flood plain. Higher up the river there is practically no flood plain, 

and there is very little clearing along its upper 10 miles, either on the stream itself or on the 

adjacent mountain slope. Much of this region is rough and practically all of it is wooded. 

In the Nacoochee Valley there is a flood plain half a mile to a mile wide, through which 

the stream flows in a broad, shallow channel 2 to 5 :feet below flood-plain level. Along its 

course there are many gravel bars, which alternate with deep, quiet pools. In most places 

the channel is bordered by a narrow cobble zone, produced in time o:f floods. The river sometimes destroys the crops in this valley, but 'has not greatly injured the lands. At its eastern 

end Nacoochee Valley is joined by the valley o:f Sautee Creek. This valley is very similar to 

Nacoochee Valley, and conditions in it are similar to those just described. 

A few miles below the junction of these two valleys the Chattahoochee begins cutting its 

way beneath the plateau level and forms a narrow gorge that c'Ontains little or no flood plain 

almost down to Gainesville. IIere and there in this distance, inside of bends or at the mouths 

of tributary streams, there are small flood-plain areas, but the aggregate amount of such land 

is small. 
98 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

In the Chestatee basin about Dahlonega the upland is an old, well-dissected plateau, whose 

topographic form is very similar to that of the Asheville Plateau in western North Carolina,-

and its age and origin are doqbtless also the same. Around Dahlonega the soil is a poor mica 

schist, worth but little for agriculture. In many places it carries considerable quantities ·of 

gold, and for years more or less hydraulic mining has been done in this region. The great 

quantities of material washed in this way to the streams have not caused the complaint from 

farmers that might be expected, since the swift currents of these streams remove all this 

material during periods of high water. The strea.ms are actively eroding their channels and 

have ~igh banks and velocity enough, it would seem, to remove more material than is being 

furnished them even by the hydraulic mining. 

For 7 miles east of Dahlonega, on the road to Cleveland, the numerous small streams 

have narrow flood. plains that are farmed, but the uplands are practically uncleared. · Where 

the road crosses the Chestatee there are some bottoms. On the Little Tesnatee and again at 

Pleasant Retreat there are excellent bottoms. The -p.plands about Pleasant Retreat and farther 

east, toward Cleveland, have much better soil than that around Dahlonega. and are much more 

largely cleared. This soil is a deep clay and erodes in many places much as it does about 

Asheville, N. C. The small streams show the influence of this hillside erosion and are depositing 

sand and clay on their flood plains and cutting channels across the meander curves that have 

begun to form. 

North of Cleveland the same conditions-largely cleared uplands, erosion, stream aggradation, and flood damage-also prevail, until the divide separating the Chestatee from the 

Chattahoochee is reached. 

In the upper part of Soque River basin much of the upland is poor and comparatively 

little of it has been cleared. Along most of its small tributaries there are narrow flood plains, 

and on some streams the lower 50 yards of adjacent hillsides are cleared, although the aggregate 

of such clearings is less than 10 per cent of the area. In places two-thirds of the cleared land 

has been worn out and abandoned. In some localities it is gullying, in others it seems to be 

growing up again in forest. 

The Soque is bordered by a flood plain from a point near the mouth of Shoal Creek down 

.to a point some distance below Clarksville, where it begins to cut sharply beneath the plateau 

level and develops a gorge, just as the Chattahoochee does below Nacoochee Valley. 

Less than 15 per cent of the uplands along the Soque above Clarksville is cleared, and on 

the steep southern slope of the Blue Ridge there is practica1ly an unbroken forest cover, though 

·this cover here, as elsewhere in this region in similar situations, is thin and the timber is 

inclined to be scrubby. 

From a point below Clarksville toward ]\fount Airy and down the Chattahoochee, more 

than half of the plateau surface is cleared. Much of it has been farmed for years, and in 

many places it is eroding badly, especially where the rocks are granitic or gneissose. Where 

they are micaceous schists the_soil is usually full of small rock fragments and is more porous, 

and erosion is less ra.pid.' 

Deep Creek enters the Soque fro111 the northeast about 2 miles above Clarksville. A large 

part of its basin is comparatively level and 50 to 75 per cent of it has been cleared. Much of 

its area is a sandy clay that erodes readily, and from this basin great quantities of sand have 

been carried into the Soque and have almost filled its bed, so that ordinary water level is now 

but little below flood-plain level. During floods immense quantities of this sand are spread 

over the bottoms and have greatly injured them. About Clarksville much of the river bottom 

has been set in Bermuda grass, which seems to prevent erosion better than anything else and 

at the same time stands being covered by floods better than other grass. 

The basins of Flat Creek, White Creek, and J\fossy Creek are generally fertile and have 

been largely cleared. In' these basins rainfall gathers quickly and floods are usually high and 

do much damage. Three weeks before the region was visited in 1905, floods on these streams 

had swept away a number of bridges and damaged growing crops 25 to 50 per cent, besides 

severely damaging the lands themselves in many· places. · 
CHATTAHOOCHEE ·· DRAINAGE BASIN. 99 

Mud Creek basin has been cleared to much the same extent and is eroding in the same way. 

The uplands between it and the river are 60 to 70 per cent cleared, and much of this cleared 

area has been badly gullied and is now abandoned. 

At Bolton Ridge the channel of the river is reported to have filled greatly with sand 

within the last few years, so that floods now occur much more frequently than formerly. There 

is a well-preserved old terrace at 60 feet and another 20 feet pigher. The higher slopes are 

80 per cent cleared and 10 per cent of this area is eroded and abandoned. 

At Seven Island Ford the injuries and benefits from floods are said to about balance each 

other; crops are damaged to a considerable extent every five or six years, and at somewhat 

longer intervals a crop is entirely lost. Intermediate floods enrich the lands. 

At and below Clark's bridge the ordinary flood plain is 15 feet above the water level and 

shows considerable flood scour. About 60 feet above it is another fossil flood plain with a 

red, loamy, fertile soil that overlies a cobble zone, and 40 :feet higher are poorly preserved 

remnants o:f another still older flood plain. The edges o:f this older flood plain are steep enough 

to erode badly when not terraced. More than a third o:f the uplands has been cleared, and when 

old these fields erode unless terracing is practiced. Farmers in this region have lately begun 

terracing their lands as the only means o:f preventing erosion under the cultural conditions 

that prevail where cotton is the principal crop, and where, as a consequence, the land must be 

kept clean. 

From Gainesville down to ·Atlanta 60 per cent of the uplands on either side of the river 

are cleared. On some of the poorer soils the clearing is not more than 40 per cent, but 1n others 

the proportion rises to 80 or 90 per cent. Much of the soil in this area is a deeply rotted 

granite, and everywhere the old plateau surface has been carved by erosive agencies into forms 

that are as a rule sharply rounded. These uplands are practically all kept in cotton, and where 

they are not terraced erosion is rapid. Practically all of the small tributary streams on both 

sides of the river carry enormous quantities of sand into the river. The channels of many of 

these streams had filled so that it was impossible to drain their flood plains,' and the lands 

along them had become practically worthless. The flood plains o:f others had been covered 

hy sand or cut to pieces during floods and rendered useless. The sand brought down by these 

streams has accumulated in low-gradient reaches of the river so as to practically fill the channel. 

At Stringer's ford the North Georgia Ele~tric Co. has developed power by a dam 36 :feet 

high, which backs up the water 8 miles, to a point beyond Clark's bridge. This dam was 

completed July _4, 1904, and signs of filling with sand and silt were apparent a year later. This 

filling must steadily increase and will ultimately destroy the storage value of the dam and force 

the company to depend on the capacity of the stream alone. 

At Shallow Ford there is an ordinary flood plain 6 to 8 feet above the water level, and 

an extraordinary one 12 feet higher, which in 1905 had recently been cut to pieces in places by 

unusually high floods. About 40 feet above the extraordinary flood plain is an old, well-preserved terrace, and 40 feet higher is still another terrace, which is, however, poorly preserved. 

In the bed o:f the river sand has lodged on bars, behind piers and projecting rocks, and 

wherever opportunity has offered. The stream is evidently overloaded with such waste. 

At Brown's bridge the river is 150 yards wide. The ordinary flood plain is 10 to 12 feet 

above water level and aggregates on both sides 75 yards in width. Floods had recently destroyed about 10 per cent of the crops, but had not injured the land. There are two terraces, 

one 15 and the other 60 :feet above the flood plain. 

At Shadburn's ferry the river ehannel has been greatly filled with sand, so .that the running of the ferry during the summer and. fall has become exceedingly difficult. Late in the 

winter the sand is swept out by floods, but it begins to accumulate again early in the spring. 

Floods are reported to be more :frequent than formerly, and the annual damage to crops averages 15 to 20 per cent. Forty years ago the river was deep at this point and accumulations of 

sand were unknown. 
100 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

At Pirkle's' ferry it was reported that sand has been filling the channel for the last six 

or eight years, and that it had prevented ferrying for more than half of the time during the 

last four years. The conditions· here have steadily grown worse, and the owners of . the ferry 

have petitioned the county court to be allowed to discontinue it as a public thoroughfare. Ten 

or fifteen years ago horses frequently swam the river at this point; now sand has accumulated 

in quantities so great that a flatboat drawing 6 or 8 inches can not cross during more than half 

of the year. The river is now muddy most of the time, whereas it was formerly clear. 

Baldridge, Twomile, Fourmile, and Sixmile c~eeks have basins that are very largely 

cleared and farmed in cotton. They furnish immense quantities of sand to the river. 

At Strickland's ferry the channel began filling with sand 8 or 10 years ago, and conditions became so bad 2 years ago that the ferry was discontinued and a bridge was erected instead. The bottoms here are good and are several hundred yards wide; they are injured by 

some floods and are benefited by others, since floods of· one stage erode and those of another 

stage deposit fertile sediment. The flood plain is bordered by a 60-foot terrace, the steep edge 

of which is eroding in places. The small creeks on the west side of the river, like those farther up, are filled with sand and have greatly injured or entirely destroyed their bottom lands. 

At Terry's ferry the river banks are 8 to 10 feet high and floods · frequently destroy · crops, 

but· rarely cut the land to pieces. In the last six years the channel has so filled with sand that 

the ferry has practically been abandoned. 

At Hutchin's, Maynard's, Roger's, Abbot's, and V\T arsaw ferrie·s the sam'e difficulties 

from the channel filling with sand were found to exist, and at some times .of urgent need for 

ferriage temporary ferryboat channels through the sand had been made with · horses and 

scrapers. These ferries are now being abandoned, and in the place of some of them bridges 

will be built, though the cost of bridges prohibits their immediate erection by the ·county at 

each of the ferries, and much inconvenience to the people on either side of the river is occasioned by this forced abandonment of long-established crossing places. Bottom lands near 

these ferries are in places · a half mile wide. They are not generally hurt by the floods, but 

crops are frequently seriously damaged or totally lost, and the frequency and severity of this 

loss has become much greater since the river channel has filled with sand. 

An examinatiou of the profile of Chatt~hoochee River shows that the gradient along this 

part is in many places less than 1 foot per mile, · so that the stream at ordinary stages is not able 

to remove the amount of sand furnished by its tributaries. The excess, therefore~ accumulates 

, in the channel and fills it until continued or repeated high waters in late winter and early 

spring scour it out. • 

At J etts and J ohnsons ferries there is no serious inconvenience from the accumulation . 

of sand, since the river gradient has increased to nearly 9 feet per mile and the sand is kept 

moving. 

At Bull Sluice the Atlanta Water Power & Electric Co. h~d recently completed a dam 

that gives a head of 50 feet and backs the water up to the highway bridge at Roswell. It will 

be interesting to watch the gradual accumulation of sand above this .dam and the decrease of 

storage capacity, which is bound to occur unless erosion in the upper Chattahoochee basin is 

checked. The water wheels installed have a larger capacity than is warranted by the normal 

flow of the river, so that they are designed to take advantage of the flood discharge as well as 

the storage capacity of the dam. . 

At Powers Ferry the stream gradient again decreases and sand accumulates. Floods 

have injured the lands somewhat by spreading sand over them, but the chief damage is done 

to the crops. On the east side is a 60 or 70 root terrace; on the west side a considerable area is 

covered with sand or cut into holes. 

At Paces Bridge an old terrace 70 or 80 feet high, on the west side of the stream, has 

long been cultivated, but its steep sides are now eroding. The present flood plain is cut by 

numerous flood runways and is covered here and there with barren white sand. 
DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 101 

SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

The northwestern boundary of the Savannah River basin is formed by the crest of the 

Blue Ridge. - Measured along its windings, the bounding line extends for ~00 miles in northeast 

Georgia and southwestern North Carolina, though in an air line the distance is only 55 miles. 

From the crest of the Blue Ridge th~ basin extends southeastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The 

mountain headwater streams of the basin were examined, and the Savannah itself was followed 

out across the Piedmont Plateau nearly 100 miles, more than halfway to the outer edge of this 

plateau. 

The principal headwater components of the Savannah system from southwest to northeast 

are the Tallulah, the Chattooga, and the Little Keowee rivers. These streams, like those · in 

the Chatt~hoochee basin, descend from the crest of the Blue Ridge scarp, 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000 

feet for the first few miles, where they reach the inner· edge of the Piedmont Plateau at an 

elevation of 1,000 to 1,200 feet above sea level. The Tallulah, however, whose middle and uppercourse is in a higher· plateau than the South Carolina PiJdmont, is exceptional, for near its 

mouth it crosses exceedingly resistant quartzose rocks thatl have prevented it from cutting its 

channel as deep and redvcing its basin as low as those of the other streams of the ·system. The 

river falls 525 feet in 2! miles in crossing these resistant /rocks. The gorge developed below 

· the falls, though exceeded by many others in depth, is unsurpassed for beauty and wildness in 

the s?uthern Appalachians. The Stat~ of .Georgia has crea~ed a small park to include the falls 

and Insure their permanent preservatiOn. · 1. · · · · 

In crossing the Piedmont the Savannah and its tributa~ies flow with relatively gentle slope,· 

and in th~ir eorirse of 150 miles descen~, as a rule; less tha~ 1,0~0 feet. This gradien,t· is by no 

means uniform, for most of the fall Is concentrated at certain places, where .{'apids occur'. 

Between these rapids the gradient is slight and the curre:nt' gentle. On Savannah River, for 

instance, at Calhoun Falls, there is a fall of lOt feet per rhile for 7 miles,· but for the ·next 26 

miles the f~ll is less than 2 feet per mile. Below this point Long Shoal has a fall of about 8 

feet ~er mile for 4! miles, when the rate again drops to lers than. 3 fee.t 'per mile for the ex~_ 

22 miles. . · · 

On reaches of low gradient flood plains appear and fertile agricultural lands :may be 

found. Where the gradient is nigh, flood plains disappe r, but there is opportunity for the . - I . 

development of water power. What is true of the Savannah River is equally true of other · 

Piedmont rivers to the northeast. . On Catawba River; /for example, there are three falls 

within 4 miles, whose aggregate horsepower is said to be greater than any other power developed 

in _t~e .Unit.ed States except Nia~ara. A third of. this po,er is already developed and another 

third IS bmng developed as rapidly as constructiOn can lle pushed. Other large powers are 

found on this river, both above and below this group. ~orne of them have been developed; 

others are not yet utilized. Great power is developed o~ ~ Y adkin River at the Narrows, and 

plants have been built on other streams in this section. Regularity of stream flow and freedom 

from silt}ng and from exceedingly high floods become, thert, extremely important to towns and 

manufacturin~ companies within. a ra~ius ?f 100 miles of /these plants, which transmit electric 

current that distance f?r generating heat, light, and power;. . · . , 

.TALLULAH RIVER. 

l · The extreme upper part of the basin of Tallulah Rif er lies in North Carolina.- On the 

steep southern slopes of the Blue Ridge it is a practically untouched forest, since it is at present 

far from transportation. . South of the Georgia line the /stream ~egins to develop a narro~ 

flood plain, especially- near the mouths of its upper tributrries. This land is cleared and sus-· 

tains no damage from floods, for the velocity of the stream is great and· its chanpel is· deep 

enough to carry most of its flood waters. 
' I 

102 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHER,N APPALACHIANS. 

From a point ~ few miles below the Georgia line small flood plains and narrow gorges 

alternate· for some 10 miles down the stream. The flood plains occur mostly near the mouths 

of tributary streams or on the concave side of bends; the gorges occur where the river cuts 

across the more resistant rocks. 

On Calhoun River there are two small farms. The rest of its valley is in spruce and laurel, 

and the mountain slopes are in unbroken forest. 

On Plum Orchard Creek the bottoms are narrow and the soil is poor. In a few places 

these bottoms and the lower slopes are cleared, but practically the entire creek basin had been 

recently sold to-a lumber company. lVIost of the families along the creek had moved out and 

their little clearings had been turned out to grow up in forest once more. 

On Persimmon Creek there are a number of areas of poor bottom land, and in places the 

lower hillsides have been cleare.d, worn out, and abandoned. Here and there are remnants of 

an old 60-foot terrace, whose slope in some places is of red clay and where cleared has generally 

been gullied. As a rule, however, in the Tallulah basin, old cleared lands wear thin, but do not 

usually cut into gullies, :for the soil is more or less porous and is filled with small stones. 

On Popcorn Creek the first settler was not injured by floods :for a number of years. Later 

smne 20 :families moved into the basin above him, began clearing the narrow bottoms and 

the lower hillsides, cutting roads, and burning woods, and within a :few years floods began 

destroying his bot'tom lands. · 

Throughout the upper part of the Tallulah basin much damage has been done by :forest 

fires, and their results have been so serious that measures have been taken in the last few years 

to prevent them. Not only did the fires destroy much timber, but the floods that followed 

were considered to be more severe than they would otherwise have been. 

On Dicks Creek, near its mouth, there are some good bottom lands, but elsewhere on the 

stream there is but little bottom and the lower slopes of the bounding mountain side are cleared 

in but few places. Nearly all of the families on this creek have sold their holdings to a lumber 

company and moved out. 

Timpson Creek along its lower 3 miles is bordered by bottom lands that average several 

hundred yards in width. They are the best lands on any tributary of the Tallulah. The 

slopes on both sides are cleared for several hundred yards and have in many places been worn 

out and abandoned. The land here does not gully, but wears thin. Floods on this stream do 

more damage than on any other stream in the basin. At several places remnants of an old 

60-fbot stream terrace may be seen. This terrace has very largely been cleared, but much of 

it has been worn out and abandoned to grow up i:ri briers and bushes. 

At Burton and :for 3 miles below that place there are some excellent bottom lands on the 

Tallulah. The river flows with a swift current within banks that average 6 to 8 feet in 

height, and though floods :frequently cover the bottom they enrich rather than injure it. Crops 

are, however, :frequently injured or destroyed. Three miles below Burton the flood plain is 

300 or 400 yards wide; the stream is rapid, with banks 6 to 10 :feet high, and there is a wellpreserved terrace 55 feet above flood-plain level, with abundant 8 to 12 inch cobbles on its surface. 

Its slopes have long been cleared and have eroded until they are practically :worthless. 

Along Bridge Creek there are some :fertile bottoms that are in places a hundred yards 

wide. Near the stream there is usually a narrow cobble zone, produced during floods. A few 

of the lower hillsides have been cleared, worn thin, and abandoned. At the mouth o:f Bridge 

Creek there is a 10-acre bottom in good condition. Below that point there are numerous 

remnants of two old terraces at elevations of 40 and at 80 feet, respectively, above the ,present 

flood-plain level. · There is, however, comparatively little bottom land along this creek. The 

v·alley sides are steep and rough, and, along with the higher ridges, are still in original forest. 

At intervals down to Tallulah Falls patches of bottoms, each a few acres in extent, are 

found here and there, but most of the area is uncleared. Below Tallulah Falls the river 

flows in a canyon :for 2 miles to its junction with the Chattooga. It is believed that certainly 

less than 10 per cent and probably less than 5 per cent of the entire' area of the Tallulah basin 

is cleared. 
SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN, 103 

FROM RABUN GAP TO TALLULAH IFALLS. I 

The streams between Rabun Gap and Tallulah Fans ~ave generally narrow flood plains, 

most o:f which have been cleared and are in cultivation. In some places the soil on the valley 

side is :fertile, and clearings have been made 100 or 200 yards up the valley slopes. These 

lands have worn thin, much as have those in the Tallulah basin that have been long cleared, 

and many fields have been abandoned. Avyay :from the streams the country is entirely 

:forested. Along the streams there are no marked evidences o:f erosion by floods, and, in fact, 

floods are usually regarded as beneficial, :for they enrich !he bottoms with :fertile sediment. 

Less than 10 per cent of this area has been cleared. 

• CHATTOOGA RIVEH. 

Chattooga River heads in Cashiers Valley and flows southwestward some 60 miles to its 

junction with the Tallulah, \where it turns southeastward o cross the Piedmont Plateau on 

its way to the Atlantic. In its upper course, except in Cashiers Valley and 'Vhiteside cove, 

the river flows in a narrow gorgelike valley whose slopes al e wild and uncleared. Five miles 

above Russells Bridge a narrow flood plain, in places 20 to 300 yards wide, begins and 

extends some 4 miles below the bridge. The river flows with a swift current between banks 10 to 

12 feet high; floods cover the lower part o:f the flood plain, but in the last 36 years at Russells 

the river has extended :from hill to hill only once-in June, 1876. A similar flood occurred 

in 1835, but the relative height o:f these two floods could 1 not be ascertained. The flood of 

1876 destroyed all crops, bu.t improved the land; and the me may be said of ordinary floods 

that cover only the lower part o:f the flood plain. 

Four miles below Russells the valley walls close in and the river flows in a rock-bound 

gorge, $00 feet deep, to the mouth o:f the Tallulah. The all in the 29 miles from Russells 

Bridge to the mouth o:f the Tallulah is 810 :feet, or nearly 8 :feet per mile. 

At Russells there are on the South Carolina side of thJ river a :few remnants o:f a terrace 

60 feet above the present flood plain; on the Georgia side terrace remnants appear about 80 

:feet above the present flood plain, and though remnants on numerous spurs up and down the 

river differ somewhat in elevation, this terrace would seem! from its proximity to the 60-:foot 

terrace on the Carolina side to represent an older and higher flood plain. 

The river is actively eroding its bed and is deepeiling its . channel. The sediment carried 

either aJt ordinary times or during floods is rela.tively smal in quantity and does not accumulate in the channel, but as the water spreads over the floo plain the checking o:f its velocity 

causes deposition and the deposits build up the flood f lain. In this way the interval 

between the stream bed a:nd the flood-plain surface is constantly becoming greater, and a considerable part o:f the flood plain is now above the reach o:f all but the highest floods.. In the 

stream many o:f the rounded bowlders are a :foot or more in diameter. 

Along War Womans Creek are some narrow flood-plaf,n areas, most o:f which have been 

cleared; but only one, 8 miles east of Clayton, is o£ cons~· erabl~ .size. On the lower 100 to 

200 yards of the valley slopes are many cleared areas whic have washed badly and have then 

been thrown out to grow up again. Considerable lumberi g has been done on this creek, and. 

some of the bottom lands have been damaged by floods. 

Between Russells Bridge and Highlands less than 5 per cent o:f the upland has been 

cleared and comparatively little timber has been cut because o:f the distance to transportation 

lines. This land is passing rapidly into the hands o:f lumber companies, which up to 1905 

had been paying from $1 to $2 per acre, with prices steadil~ rising. 

Along West Fork the narrow flood plains and a s11lall part o:f the lower slopes have 

. been cleared. The soils wear thin, but are generally sto 1 y and do not gully. The higher 

slopes and ridges are uncleared. 

The upper part of Clear Creek is bordered by a flooo plain which is 200 or 300 yards 

wide and is cultivated. The valley slopes, especially on thk northwest side, have been cleared 
104 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

in many places, and near the head of the creek scattered fields extend well to the top of the 

ridges or to the foot of the precipitous face of Mount Satulah. Some of the fields on the lower 

slopes are old and somewhat gullied, but the effects of erosion were nowhere prominent along 

this creek. 

O.n the road from Russell to ,;valhalla both the east and west slopes of· Chattooga Ridge are 

wooded. Below the point where the road crosses Taylor and Village creeks there is a tract 

comprising 30 to 40 acres of cleared bottom land, which is of medium fertility and near the 

stream channel shows some erosion. A few acres of the lower slopes are also cleared. The 

forest extends to J errys Creek, where there is another narrow cleared flood plain. The country is wooded across Stump House Mountain except for two farms aggregating 40 to 60 

acres of fairly level but poor land on top of the mountain. 

From the ridge east of this mountain the rolling surface of the Piedmont Plateau extends 

eastward to Walhalla and far beyond and is largely cleared. Many of these Piedmont hills are 

eroding _and furnish great quantities of sand to the streams that drain them. From Walhalla 

to Westminster the Piedmont uplands are rolling to hilly and 60 to 70 per cent cleared. ~ere 

their slopes are of red clay they have gullied considerably. 

Coneross Creek cuts across upturned crystalline rocks, and as these vary greatly in resistance to weathering and to stream erosion, its valley is alternately broad and narrow. ~ere 

the valley is broad the stream is bordered by a fertile flood plain, 100 yards or more in width; 

where it is narrow the flood plain is absent and the stream flows in a gorge-like channel. This 

condition causes ponding on the broader areas during floods and a deposition of fine sediment 

just above the constrictions in the valley. The velocity of the current increases greatly through 

the constricted places and causes rapid scour. Below such a constriction the stream again 

spreads out, loses its velocity, and deposits a broad sheet of sand over the fertile bottoms, and 

may ruin the upper half of the next flood-plain ar~a below. Such topographical relations and 

erosion results are seen along many streams on the Piedmont Platea~. 

CHAUGA RIVER. 

~eri examined in the midsummer of 1905 Chauga River had recently been in high . flood, 

during which there had been much gouging and scouring on curves and deposition of large 

quantities of barren white sand in places where the flood plain was constricted. Below the constrictions all crops were ruined, and moderate estimates place the damage to the bottom lands 

themselves at half their value. All but two highway bridges on the stream were swept away, 

and the steel bridge on the main line of the Southern Railway was also carried out, tying up 

traffic for several days. Near the mouth of the Chauga the water reached into buildings that 

had never before been flooded. The upper ·part of the Chauga basin is not greatly cleared, but 

it had recently been quite thoroughly lumbered; and the severity of the flood was generally 

attributed to this fact. 

HIGHLANDS TO TOX~ WAY. 

Between Highlands and Toxaway the only considerable area of cleared land is in Cashiers 

Valley, on the head of Chattooga River. Slopes there are low, and the soil, which has been 

derived from the disintegration of a granite, is poor, gravelly, and generally porous: Though 

' much of this valley is .jn old fields, erosion is not marked. Below it, in ~iteside cove, lands are 

.steeper and about 15 per cent of the cleared area shows evidence of erosion. · Some of it has 

been abandoned. In the upper· part of the Horse Pasture basin a few clearings appear on the 

stream bottoms and lower slopes, but almost the entire basin is wooded. Near Lake Toxaway 

there are a few farms. 

The basins of ~ite Water, Horse Pasture, and Toxaway rivers contain some of the finest. 

areas of hard wood; white pine, and hemlock to be found anywhere in the southern Appalachians.. -They are largely owned by lumber companies. 
SAVANNAH RIVER BASIN. 105 

TOXAWAY TO WALHALLA. 

Northeast of Lltke Toxaway the~e are ·some small cleared tracts along the top of the Blue 

Ridge. Some of these clearings havJ a close-grained red-clay soil and are gullying. Several of 

the tributaries of Toxaway Creek are bordered by narrow flood plains that are largely cleared,. 

and a little of the immediately adjacent valley slopes is also farmed. Most of the basin, however, is in original forest. 

Along Laurel Creek there is a little cleared land, but Laurel Branch Mountain is entirely 

forested . except for one old field near its top. Practically the entire country visible from its 

sides and crest is forested. · 

Big and Little Estatoe rivers are bordered by ... flood plains that .are 100 to 300 yards wide 

and are generally in good condition as regards erosion. The lower 100 to 200 yards of the valley · 

slopes are cleared. 'Where the slopes are gentle the cleared land is in good condition, but where 

they are steep they begin to erode after a few years' cultivation. Above these uplands, of which 

about 40 per cent is cleared and in cotton, rise many small residual mountain peaks or ridges 

that are practically all forested. · 

On Crow Creek the bottoms are a few hundred yard.s wide and have been damaged by 

floods. The bordering slopes and uplands are.for the most part cleared. Where the soils have 

resulted from the weathering of granites they are eroding; where they have been derived from 

hornblende schists erosion is much less prominent. 

Remnants of an old 60-foot terrace appear along practically all the streams in this area, 

though the elevation in some places drops d<Dwn to about 40 feet and in others rises to 70 feet. 

It seems probable that this variation is due to local variations of rock resistance and of valley 

width and that the terraces are therefore of t~e same age. The scarps or slopes of these terraces 

in many places show gullying. 

On Keowee River flood-plain areas a few . hundred .yards wide on soft rocks alternate 

'with constricted reaehes cut through hard roc!ks, on which a flood plain is practically absent. The 

'velocity of the stream is relatively great aJ d its banks are as a. rule high. Floods cover the 

bottom lands and destroy crops, but are repprted to benefit the lands more frequently than to 

injure them. West of the 'river the uplands for several miles are poor and forested . . Active 

lumbering was in progress when the region was examined. 

. The valley of Little River is to a large mctent cleared. Many of the slopes were eroding, as 

are also slopes along other creeks between Litfle River and Walhalla. On several of these creeks 

floods had recently destroyed much of the qrops and in places had ruined the land either by 

gouging or by covering it with sand. 

TUGALOO AND SAVANNAH RIVERS DOWN TO SEABOARD AIR LINE CROSSING. 

From the junction of the Tallulah a.nj the Chattooga the Tugaloo flows 48 miles to its 

junction with the Seneca, where its name ch~nges to the Savannah. 

· The average fall of the Tugaloo in this 48 miles is somewhat more than 5 feet per mile, but 

it is concentrated at a few places. Between tbese places the rocks are less resistant and the average slope is much lower. In the 35 miles from Prather Creek to Averys Ferry, for example, the 

average fall is less than 3 feet per mile. . I . 

Below the mouth of the Seneca the Savannah is characterized by a similar succession of 

rapids and low-gradientreaches as it crosseJ the alternating belt~ of hard and soft rock. The 

average fall is 2 or 3 feet per mile through t~e entire distance of 149 miles to Augusta, Ga. 

Along the low-gradient stretches of tl e Tuga.loo and the Savannah the velocity is so,' 

slight as to permit sand to accumulate in tl1e channel wherever the tributary streams furnish 

it in large quantities. So far this deposit o~ sand has not reached the serious proportions attained on the Chattahoochee, but it no doubt! marks the beginning of a. similar condition, which 

may be expected to become worse each year. As clearings are extended and erosion becomes 

niore universal, the quantity of sand furnished the stream will steadily increase, the excess will 
106· DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

be deposited first in its channel and then over the flood plain, until the value of the bottom 

lands has been destroyed and the power dams along its course have been filled, when the ruin 

capable of being wrought by the stream will have been completed. 

The Tugaloo has very little flood plain for 6 or 7 miles below the mouth of the Tallulah. 

Thence to the mouth of the Chauga, about 8 miles, the flood plain is from a fourth to a half 

mile wide and is fairly fertile. The river in most places flows between high banks, and floods, 

though frequently covering tlie land, rarely injure but rather enrich and benefit it. These 

floods, however, often ruin crops and have of recent years been more frequent than formerly. 

Farmers along the river claim that they now lose an average of one crop out of every three or 

four. On July 1, 19.05, three weeks before this region was examined, a severe flood had 

occurred, and from one-third to three-fourths of the corn on the river bottom had been de-

. strayed. . In some places nothing was left growing; everything was covered by a deposit of 

mud 6 to 15 inches thick. 

On Brasstown Creek the bottoms are good and average 300 yards in width. The slopes 

·have not been largely cleared, but when examined the entire .basin had lately been lumbered, 

and the recent flood had swept away cribs and barns that had never before been reached. 

Panther Creek also did much damage at this same time, but the destruction was due to the 

cleared condition of much of the basin and not to lumbering. In one place the creek had 

recently shifted its channel during a flood and left a mill high and dry. 

Near Prathers Bridge . the lands along the small creeks were greatly damaged by the 

recent flood. The creeks were universally reported to have been higher than ever before 

known. Many bridges were swept. away in the region, and moderate estimates placed the 

damage to the bottom lands at one-third to one-half their value. The destruction of crops 

was in most places complete. On the river bottom at Prather all of the crop was destroyed; 

below Prather the creeks entering from the east side down to Fort Madison had destroyed 

half to three-fourths of the crops growing along them. In · some places the lands were badly 

injured, but in others they were covered with rich alluvial material and greatly benefited. 

Just above Fort Madison the river had spread sand over a part of its flood plain adjoining the 

channel. 

At the mouth of Rock Creek the river had scoured and cut to pieces the bank on the convex side of the curve and the crops for some miles above and below were reported as a half to a 

total loss. 

At Perkins's ferry there is an ordinary flood plain 6 feet above water level and 20 feet wide, 

and 8 feet higher an extraordinary flood plain, bordered on its river side by a low sand ridge, 

which has in recent years been repeatedly submerged. . The growing crop had been lately 

damaged from one-half to three-fourths its former ,value. In places lands were reported 

injured, in others benefited. 

On Estariolle Creek the greater part of the valley has been cleared and planted in cotton. 

Many of the slopes are steep and are washing badly where terracing has not been rigorously 

and systematically practiced. The stream carries much mud and great quantities of sand during floods. Its channel has · been filled with sand and its floods do proportionately more 

damage to the lands along it than those of the river do. Much of its flood plain is either 

covered by sand or cut into holes. This sand works into the river during floods and is helping 

to overload it and cause the ultimate filling of its channel, just as the creek channel has·already 

been filled. 

At Shelor's ferry the bottom land is one-fourth to one-half mile wide and had recently been 

enriched by a 12 to 15 inch layer of rich soil, but crops were a total loss. Similar reports of 

ruined crops were received at the mouth of Gun Log Creek and at Knox Bridge. About 50 to 

60 per cent of the upland in that vicinity is cleared; much of it is hilly and erodes readily. 

Some 20 per cent of the cleared land is terraced; of the unterraced land, one-fourth has been 

badly eroded. The terracing, when properly done, effectually prevents erosion. At the mouth 

of Seneca River the Tugaloo is 105 yards wide and its banks 5 to 6 feet high. Just at the ferry 

there is no flood plain, but both above and below it there is one, from a fourth to a third of a 
SALUDA RIVER BASIN. 107 I 

mile wide. Crops on these bottoms had genr.rally been destroyed and the land itself had been 

somewhat damaged. For the last few years sand had been noted in greater quantities and was 

beginning to cause trouble in ferrying. It has accumulated during medium and low-water 

stages, but during high floods, which occur especially in late winter or early spring, it has so 

far been swept out. . 

At Brown's ferry the river had recently injured its bottoms 10 per cent and its crops 50 

per cent. 

At Dooley's ferry so many crops have been lost by floods that the bottoms have been set 

in Bermuda grass, and some of this had recently been buried under several feet of sand. This 

grass is undoubtedly the best growth to protect such bottom lands, while at the same time it 

furnishes an excellent pasturage and is injured by floods less than any other grazing crop. 

At Park's ferry a third to a half of the crop had been destroyed, and half of the bottom 

land had been cut by runways or covered "iith sand. 

For 8 n1iles below ~IcGee's ferry the valley sides close in on the river, and there are no 

bottom lands worth mentioning. 

At Harper's ferry, where the upland on the west is 160 feet above the flood plain, there is 

first, at 8 feet above water level, an ordinary flood plain 20 to 30 feet broad; then a sharp rise 

of 10 feet to the top of a long sand belt wh]ch parallels the river .and is 100 to 200 feet wide; 

and back of the sand belt there is a descent qf 6 to 8 feet to a fertile flood plain which lies next 

the valley wall and is covered annually by floods. On the east side of the river the bottom land 

is 6 feet above water level, and a low san~ ridge near the bank rises 6 feet higher. Remnants of an old terrace at 25 to 40 feet are seen here and there. The channel is reported to be 

filling with sand, and the average depth of the river is said to be notably less than it was 20 

years ago. 

A power plant on Seneca River is illustnated in Plate XII, B (p. 36). 

SALUDA RIVER BASIN. 

The northwestern border of the basin of Saluda River extends 17 miles along the Blue 

Ridge and about an equal distance along t~e Saluda Mountains, the northeastward continuation of' the Blue Ridge. The upper part of the basin is a fan-like expansion; the middle and 

lower parts are extremely narrow and lie qetween the Savannah basin on the southwest and 

Broad River basin on the northeast. 

The steep southeastern slope or scarp o[ the Blue Ridge in this basin is relatively simple 

and abrupt, the drop being in places, as at Cresars Head or Standing Stone Mountain, pr-actically precipitous. A characteristic view of this scarp and of the Piedmont Plateau below it, 

looking southwest from Cresars Head, is shown in Plate XVIII (p. 108). The difference 

in elevation between the top of the ridge and the plateau below is 2,300 feet. This steeply sloping southeastern scarp is practically an unbroken forest of hardwood. Along its southwestern 

part lumbering companies had been actively buying within very recent years, at prices ranging 

from $1 to $3 per acre, and in 1905 some lanp. was still changing hands at these prices. 

The headwaters of the stream flow in narrow, rocky gorges, which are being rapidly eroded. 

Like other streams rising on the southeast :face of the Blue Ridge, they descend a distance of 

1,000 to 1,200 feet or more in a few miles, 1reaching the Piedmont Plateau at an elevation of 

1,000 to 1,200 feet above sea level. As they reach the Pi~dmont level their gradient decreases 

and narrow flood plains begin. These flood plains and more or less of the adjacent lower 

slopes of the Piedmont uplands are cleared and farmed. · 

On the head of North Saluda River the mountain sides are practically uncleared. The 

streams descend with a steep grade and havje developed narrow, torrent plains, most of which 

have been cleared and within recent years have been badly injured in places by abnormally 

high floods. Their aggregate area, howev r, is relatively small. Somewhat lower the steep 

slopes have been more extensively cleared a~d floods had injured the growing crops from onethird to one-half. Below Humphreys's store lands away · from the stream are poor and 
108 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN; APPALACHIANS. 

uncleared; along the stream the narrow flood plains showed much injury to land and crops. 

In many places the channel is almost filled with sand. Froni Terrys Creek to Lima along the 

North Saluda cleared flood plain areas alternate with narrower uncleared stretches. The river 

is swift and shallow and is 'moving great quantities of sand de,rived from the deep decomposition 

of the gneisses and granites in its upper basin. 1 • , 

At Cleveland Mills one-third to one--haif the crops on the bottoms had been destroyed by 

floods, and it was reported that crops on the Middle Saluda had been damaged three-fourths 

of their value. The bottom here is 150 to 200 yards wide and is being cut to pieces by floods. 

The hill slopes are not generally cleared, but there has been considerable lumbering. 

On the South Saluda some narrow flood-plain areas extend well up to its.head near Table 

Rock and are cleared and cultivated. Along the lower course of the stream thebordering slopes 

are steep and uncleared, but above Venus they become more gentle and clearings extend some 

distance up either valley wall. A portion of this cleared area may be seen in the view from 

Coosars Head in Plate XVIII. From Venus to Cresars Head there are no clearings of any 

kind. 

BROAD RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The basin of Broad River lies northeast of that of the Saluda, and its northwestern border 

extends 35 miles in an air line along the crest of the Blue Ridge, or 53 miles by its windings. 

The southwestern side of the basin is drained chiefly by two tributaries, th2 Tiger and the 

Pacolet. The headwaters of the Tiger do not reach the Blue Ridge but flow from an outlying 

mountain mass in the northern part of Greenville County, S. C. The headwaters of the South 

Pacolet rise in this same detached mountain mass, and those of the North Pacolet flow from 

the Saluda and Tyron mountains and likewise fail to reach the Blue Ridge. The next 

tributary of Broad River, Green River, heads in the Blue Ridge and flows northeastward 

parallel to it for an air line distance of 16 miles before turning to the southeast and cutting 

through the Saluda Mountains, which are the structural continuation of the Blue Ridge in 

northwesf;ern South Carolina. After passing through these mountains the Green again turns 

and flows northeastward, parallel ·to them, for some 10 miles before finally bending to the 

southeast to cross the Piedmont Plateau. Some of its tributaries likewise parallel the Blue 

Ridge, but they flow to the southwest and cut the mountain mass iJito detached ridges parallel 

to its general trend. 

As a result of this unusual stream alignment the mountain chain that is 'the structural 

continuation of the Blue Ridge receives another name, and the so-called Blue Ridge (the water 

parting between the Gulf and th~ Atlantic drainage) becomes an inconspicuous divide that 

lies farther west and no longer overlooks as a scarp the Piedmont Plateau of upper South 

Carolina, but is separated from it by several more or less parallel ranges. This series of somewhat detached r·anges or spurs from the Blue Ridge is grouped about Saluda, N. C. It has been · 

produced by stream activities that, while interesting in themselves, are not · pertinent to the 

purposes of this report. . 

The steep mountain slopes between the heads of the Tiger, the Pacolet, and the Green River 

basins are for the most part uncleared, but in places, especially on the upper slopes and rounded 

crests of the ridges, there are ~xtensive clearings, most of which are kept in grass. Where the 

soil is porous erosion is not · active unless the surface is very steep, but lands with compact clay 

soil begin to erode after a few years' cultivation. Between 5 and 10 per cent of the mountain 

areas at the head of these basins has been cleared. -

The many small streams between th~ mountain ridges and spurs flow with rapid currents 

in high-walled channels, and are bordered by narrow flood plains that reach within a few 

miles of their heads . . Many of these flood plains are torrential in character, having an irregular 

surface and steep downstream slope and being composed of much coarse, stony material,. 

heterogeneously mixed with sand· and clay, but some of them are fertile. During floods. these 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFE 10 AL PAPER 72 PLATE VIII 

Looking S. 30° W. to . 8o0 W. from C , sars Head, S. C. T he p lat au on t he righ t is 2,300 fe higher than the Piedm on t plain on t he I ft. S page 107 . 
BROAD RIVER BASIN, 109 

mountain streams occasionally tear up their small flood plains, but as a rule the flood damage 

is not serious. Their steep slopes are forested, so that the streams are not overloaded :with 

sand and are consequently able to carry away their storm waters rapidly. 

The portion of the Blue Ridge to the northeast, however, within the basin of Broad 

River itself, has been more extensively cleared, and many of the small tributaries are overloaded 

with sand and gravel and have practically destroyed the little flood-plain areas along them. 

Such cleared areas may be seen in the region near Sugar Loaf Mountain, especially on its southeast slope. 

GREEN RIVER BASIN. 

The extreme upper end of Green River basin is forested, but .a narrow flood plain begins 

a few miles below the head of the river and is practically continuous down nearly to the crossing 

of the Southern Railway just above Saluda, N. C. This flood plain varies in width, but 

averages about a third of a mile. In some places it is fairly level and :f.ertile, but in others it 

is rather a beveled plain than a true flood plain and is semitorrential in character because of 

the locally steep gradient of the river. Only where the stream gradient is greatly decreased 

does the flood plain show signs of erosion. Just above the Southern R~ilway Crossing, for 

example, some areas have been scoured and others have been covered with sand. Some of the 

lowest of the bordering valley slopes have been cleared, but much the larger part of the basin 

is forested. The occasional clearings on the upper slopes and crests of the Saluda Mountains 

seemed to be in good condition, partly because many were new and others were kept in grass. 

Below the Southern Railway bridge the river flows for some 8 miles through the Saluda 

Mountains in a narrow, rocky gorge. Below the gorge the stream flows with swift cuiTent in a 

broad channel and the valley widens into Green River cove. This cove is about 4 miles long 

and 100 to 300 yards wide and is inclosed on all sides by mountains. In some places it is leveJ, 

in others it is gently beveled. Here and there a narrow cobble zone next the stream channel has 

been swept bare by floods which have not, however, greatly injured the lands. Flood heights 

are low because of the great velocity of the stream, and much of the land in the cove is above 

their reach. In a few places the lower valley slopes, especially to the southeast. are cleared 

for a short distance above the flood plain, but much the larger part is in forest or is rocky and 

precipitous. Remnants of an old terrace 60 or 80 feet above the present flood plain may be seen 

here and. there. 

Below the cove the mountain sides close in and the river flows for a number of miles in a 

narrow, wooded valley. · 

The uplands on the southeast are included in the basins of Ostins and Silver creeks and 

are of the usual Piedmont type, the general surface being rolling to hilly and rising 100 to 150 

ifeet above the bottom lands. These bottoms themselves are narrow, ·rise gently upward on 

both sides of the stream, and meet the valley walls in a curve slightly concave upward, giving 

the valleys a broa.dly U-shaped cross section, and showing that the stream is slowly eroding its 

bed while the hillsides gradually weather backward in gentle curves. The streams are just 

about able to remove the waste furnished by their valley slopes and slightly deepen their beds. 

Any material increase in their load of waste will stop their downcutting and . start deposition 

and aggradation. 

At the bridge over Green River north of Mill Springs the channel is 60 yards wide and 

the banks some 20 feet high. The bottom lands vary in width up to 150 yards and are rather 

too sandy to be first-class agricultural land. Floods rarely reach them and flood damages are 

slight. 

On the northern slope of Tryon Mountain only a small area is cleared. In Bright's Creek 

basin there are some steep clearings, and at the head of Walnut Creek, southeast o:f Sugar 

Loaf Mountain, steep clearings average 20 or 30 per cent of the area, and the older ones are 

gullying. 
110 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

BETWEEN GREEN AND BROAD RIVERS. 

Between Green River and the mouth of Buffalo Creek, on Broad River, the soil of the 

Piedmont Plateau is poor. The timber is thin and of medium quality. About 30 per cent of 

;the area is cleared. The chief crops are corn, cotton, and small grain. Many of the old fields 

have worn thin where the land is stony or gullied where it is clayey, and have been abandoned 

to grow up again in briars and bushes. The small streams carry much sand and at many places 

have filled their channels and ruined the bottoms along their courses. 

Cain Creek is bordered by a narrow but excellent flood plain, with here and there a rod or 

two of gouged surface or undercut banks. The lower 200 yards of the adjacent slopes are 

generally cleared. Part of this cleared area is badly washed, and the cultivation of one-half 

to two-thirds of the area origin~lly cleared has since been abandoned. 

' Here and there on the mountains southeast of the Pinnacle small tracts have been cleared 

on benches at various levels. Halfway up the scarp there is a bare, rounded, granite cliff, and 

the soil on much of the rest of the slope is very thin and would quickly strip off to the bare 

rock if cleared. 

Clearings on Buffalo Creek aggregate not more than 5 per cent of the area and are confined 

to the bottoms and the lowest slopes. Most of the slope fields have been washed to pieces and 

abando:ced. ' 

ABOVE MOUTH OF BUFFALO CREEK. 

Along Broad River itself some good bottoms extend for a few miles above the mouth of 

Buffalo Creek. Thence practically up to its head the river flows in Hickory Nut Gap gorge, a 

deep and exceedingly picturesque gorge which is, however, much deeper and bolder below Bat 

Cave than. above it. The walls of this gorge are either steep and wooded or are bare granite 

precipices, a thousana feet or more in height, but are separated sufficiently to permit at their 

bases occasional narrow steep-slope clearings along the river itself and to give room for a few 

houses and summer-resort hotels. 

The basin of Reedy Patch Creek comprises much cleared land. The creek is overloaded 

with sand and is injuring its flood plain. 

The basins of Little and Big Hungry rivers are practically unbroken wilderness except 

for a few clearings about Mills's gap and some narrow but fertile flood plain areas near the 

junction of the two streams. Lumbering operations were in progress when these basins were 

visited. 

THE SPARTANBURG FLOODS. , 

' In June, 1903, in the vicinity of Spartanburg, S. C., a flood, confined chiefly to the Pacolet, 

Tiger, and other small tributaries of Broad River, swept away 14 cotton mills and many 

bridges and houses and destroyed more than 50 lives. The property loss involved was not less 

than $3,500,000.a 

All the streams of the devastated area rise on the steep slopes of Glassy, Saluda, or Tryon 

mountains, and the channels of all except Green River are more or less completely filled 

with sand and gravel, and similar conditions characterize all of their smaller tributaries that 

rise on the Piedmont Plateau. The unusually heavy rainfall of June, 1903, found ·the many 

stream ways in this region in no condition to remove the waters as rapidly as they once could 

have done, and the pent-back flood rose to abnormal heights and finally swept away everything 

in its path. · 

In this connection the changes that have taken place in the Spartanburg area since 1871 

are significant. 

Prior to 1871 the uplands north of the Southern Railway were practically uncleared, but 

at that time the introduction of commercial guano made it possible to grow cotton successfully on these lands and by 1880 or 1885 they had been largely cleared and year after year 

a For details of this destruction see Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 96, pp. 13-19. 
CATAWBA RIVER BASIN. Ill 

were farmed in this crop. For the first few years after being cleared the land was full of 

humus and readily absorbed a large part of the rainfall, but later, when this humus had been 

exhausted, the lands began to erode, the stream channels to fill with sand, and the bottom 

lands-formerly the most valuable in the region-became at first difficult and then impossible 

to drain, owing to the rise in the ground-,vater level incident to the filling of the stream channels with sand. Floods became much worse and buried under sand or gouged to pieces other 

considerable areas, so that the bottom lands are now practically worthless. 

Before the period of destructive floods the bottoms had furnished the corn supply for the 

county. The failure of the corn crops necessitated the shipment of large quantities of corn 

.from the upper Mississippi Valley, and this necessity continued for a number of years, until 

the farmers learned to grow corn on their uplands. Since then they have once more grown 

the larger part of their corn supply, but in order to do so have trenched on their cotton areas. 

At first no attempt was made to check the erosion of the steep slopes of the cleared uplands, 

but about 1884 or 1885 terracing was begun. The early results were not satisfactory, chiefly 

because many -of the terraces were so poorly constructed that they broke after concentrating 

the water and caused worse destruction on the lower slopes than if they had not existed. 

To-day all the best farms are effectively terraced, but many of the smaller farms have not been 

terraced and upland erosion and stream filling are still active agents of destruction. 

In this region rains run off rapidly, the streams rise to unprecedented heights, and during 

the succeeding dry weather their flow becomes abnormally low. The result of these abnormal 

conditions is most conspicuously shown by the flood loss of $3,500,000 at .one time; but that 

the low-water damage, if less apparent, is none the less real, is evident from conditions at the 

cotton mills erected on these streams. These mills report that within recent. years the horsepower available during the dry season has decreased oQe-fourth to one-third. The mills from 

which these data have been collected are numerous and widely scattered, and the decrease in 

power can not be explained as either local or imaginary. It is obviously the result of a change 

. in stream regimen. 

' Another evidence that less of the rainfall soaks into the earth and becomes available to 

sustain stream flow during dry weather is afforded by the fact that many natural ponds 

in t~e Piedmont region, well remembered by men still in the prime of 1ife, have gone dry, not 

from being drained or filled, but from the drying out of the-soil and the failure of the springs 

that supplied and maintained them-a failure caused by the cutting away of the surrounding 

timber. 

If such results have followed the cutting away .of timber on the comparatively gentle 

slopes of the Piedmont Plateau, it can not be doubted that more . rapid and complete disaster 

would follow the equally extensive clearing of the steep mountain slopes, since their soil, produced by the decomposition of similar ancient gneisses and granites, would yield to erosion 

with greater ease because of their steeper slopes and greater rainfall. 

CATAWBA RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The headwaters of the Catawba extend 55 miles along the Blue Ridge, from which the 

streams flow southeastward, descending rapidly within a few miles from the ridge crest to 

the Piedmont Plateau, whose surface there has an average elevation of 1,200 feet above sea 

level. The scarp of the ridge is relatively simple and straight, but is buttressed by many 

sloping spurs that extend southeastward 6 to 10 miles before they merge into the general 

Piedmont surface. The narrow valleys carved between these spurs have steep gradients and 

sharp V-shaped cross-sections. Some of the higher mountain masses on or adjacent to the 

Blue Ridge have a rich soil and in places have been largely cleared. Northward along the 

ridge a steadily increasing proportion of these high cleared areas is in grass. The middle and 

lower slopes are as a rule steeper, rougher, and much less cleared, but within a few hundred 

yards of stream level cleared areas again appear. 

72091° -No. 72-11--8 
112 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

A :few miles below the sources of the small streams torrential flood plains begin, which 

broaden as the streams descend and on the Piedmont level are commonly several hundred yards 

or, exceptionally, a hal:£ mile or more in width. 

Orr the Piedmont the interstream areas are largely cleared. The soils of the Catawba 

basin are derived chiefly from deeply decomposed micaceous gneisses and granites. In many 

places these soils erode into deep, vertical-sided gullies, that develop almost canyon-like proportions. They rapidly undercut and cave and soon extend up steep slopes to the hill crests. 

These are most typically developed along tlie Southern Railway east and west of Marion 

(Pl. III, B, p. 18) and some miles south of Marion along the railway to Rutherfordton. 

At the head of the Catawba and about Round Knob the steep slopes are more heavily 

forested and much lumbering has been done. Near Round Knob a few small areas have been 

cleared, but their aggregate acreage 1s small. 

A flood plain begins on the Catawba a few miles above Old Fort and extends almost 

continuously to Morganton, although it varies greatly in width and in places the walls close 

in · and almost shut it off. East of Old Fort this flood plain is half a mile wide and its soil is 

excellent; near Greenlee it is one-third to one-hal:£ mile wide, and in places remnants of an old 

terrace appear 50 to 60 feet above the present flood plain. A characteristic view of the Catawba 

flood plain is given in Plate IX, B, page 24. 

East of Nebo the u:Rlands begin to be extensively cleared. The cleared slopes in a few 

years are cut into gullies, and much land has been ruined by this process. 

East of Bridgewater the bottom lands show some erosion where the river curves, but 

where its course is straight there has been no serious damage. 

Near Morganton the river banks are 15 to 18 feet high and the stream is usually swift, 

so that ordinary floods do little damage. In 1901, however, floods destroyed one-third to 

one-half of the crops on the bottom lands and practically ruined · some farms, though the 

damage to lands was not proportionately as great as to crops. It is claimed that high 

floods are more frequent in recent years than formerly. In many places a narrow first bottom 

or ordinary flood plain about 15 feet above stream level is surmounted at an interval ,varying 

from 5 to 15 :feet by a second bottom, which is, as a rule, much broader and quite undulating, 

and which is reached by the highe$t floods. Floods rarely damage this higher flood plain; but 

at times ruin the crops on the lower part of it, as well as on the entire first bottom. In some 

places remnants of an older stream terrace or fossil flood plain appear 30 feet above this second 

or extraordinary flood plain. 

Frmn the Catawba Valley near Morganton northeastward to Table Rock post office the 

upland is rolling to hilly and 10 to 15 per cent of it is cleared. The lands are somewhat stony 

and the' soils wear thin rather than gully. Along Table Rock Creek there is a very narrow but 

excellent flood plain, a good portion of which is in grass. The slopes are practically all forested 

and no erosion damages are apparent. 

Steels Creek is bordered by a narrow flood plain for a short distance above Joy, but 

:farther up its basin is all wooded. _ 

The road to Pineola along Ripshin Ridge is in an unbroken forest, scarcely an acre of 

cleared land being visible anywhere within miles on either side. 

At the head of Upper Creek there are several cleared areas that aggregate from 100 to 

200 acres. Some of these fields are steep and stony and have worn thin. At intervals along 

the crest of the ridge between Ball Ground and Pineola there are small :farms, many of which 

are in grass. Their general condition as regards erosion is good. The cleared area, however, 

will aggregate not more than 1 or 2 per cent of the total area within this distance. 

LINVILLE RIVER. 

Pineola is situated on the broad, flat, and in places swampy flood plain of Linville River. 

This flood plain is not cleared or farmed to any extent. At Pineola a lumber company had for 

six years been cutting thirteen to fifteen millions of feet of lumber per year, and in 1905 had a 

supply sufficient to last several years more. Between Pineola and Linville there is but one 

I 
YADKIN RIVER BASIN. 113 

clearing, and that comprises only a score or more acres. At Linville 75 to 100 acres along 

the river have been cleared. A few clearings in the basin above Linville are in pasture, but 98 

per cent of the area is in. timber, much of which has not even been culled by the lumberman. 

From Linville the Yonahlossee Pike extends 22 miles eastward around the southern slope 

of Grandfather Mountain and along the crest of the Blue Ridge to Blowing Rock. On Grand· 

father Mountain there is one cleared area of 30 or 40 acres. 

Around the southern slope of Grandfather Mountain one may look from the pike to the 

southeast for miles across a series of thinly wooded spurs and narrow intervening valleys that 

are practically without a clearing as :far as eye can see. This large uncleared area is on the 

headwaters of 'Vilson Creek and Johns River. 

East of Grandfather Mountain the crest of the Blue Ridge is cleared in places and much of 

it is in grass. The soil is generally porous and erosion is not prominent, though in a few places 

fields have been ruined by gullying. The soils are as a rule derived from deeply rotted schists, 

which give place near Blowing Rock to gneisses. 

BLOWING ROCK DOWN JOHNS RIVER TO MORGANTON. 

From Blowing Rock the road down Johns River valley descends the mountain at a steep 

grade, and :for several miles there are no clearings. Most of the small mountain-side clearings 

that then appear have been so recently made that the deadened timber is still standing and 

erosion has not yet begun. Still :farther down the valley the stream has built a narrow torrent 

flood plain which continues with some interruptions to a point about 2 miles above Globe, where 

the grade flattens and the flood plain broadens, extending a mile below Globe, with a width 

ranging from 200 to 600 yards. A mile above Globe, where the swift shallow stream is 40 to 

50 yards wide and flows within banks 3 to 5 :feet high, there is near the stream channel a washed 

zone that is 25 yards wide and extends some distance. The flood plain at that point is only 

75 to 100 yards wide and is fairly :fertile. A mile below Globe the valley walls close in and 

from this point down to Collettsville the bottom lands are absent or narrow. Most of the steep 

slopes and all of the ridges are uncleared, though they have been quite thoroughly lumbered 

since the building of the railway to the John River valley. 

A :few miles down Johns River from Collettsville the uplands are of the usual Piedmont 

rolling or hilly type, have been largely cleared, and in many paces are eroding. The river 

valley is relatively narrow and the flood plains are more or less disconnected and vary greatly 

in width, which ranges from almost nothing to 200 or 300 yards. In many places they have 

been injured by floods, and within ~ecent years many crops have been destroyed. 

At the bridge on the Catawba just north of Morganton the flood plain of the river is 

narrow and shows many visible signs of extensive scouring and gouging during floods. The 

river valley contracts at this point and for miles down the Catawba the flood plain is narrow or 

absent, except near the mouths of tributary streams or on concave sides of bends. In this 

narrow valley the river flows with great velocity during floods and has caused much damage to 

lands and crops, as well as to bridges and dams. 

Where the Southern Railway crosses the river east of Hickory much of the flood plain, 

which is there 200 to 300 yards wide, has been ruined by the runways cut across it or by sand 

that has spread over it a number of :feet deep, and many once-fertile areas have been abandoned. 

The stream is broad and shallow and its channel is well filled with sand. 

YADKIN RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The Yadkin basin lies northeast of the Catawba, and its northwestern margin, for an 

air-line distance of 70 miles, is formed by the crest of the Blue Ridge. From Blowing Rock 

northeastward for 45 miles in an air line to Roaring Gap the Blue Ridge scarp does not 

descend abruptly to the Piedmont Plateau level, but is buttressed by many more or less parallel 
I 

'. 

11~ DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

spurs whose sloping crests extend southeastward 8 to 10 miles before ending on the plateau. 

These spurs represent a part of the mountain mass that during long ages has been deeply 

dissected by the headwater tributaries of the Yadkin, which are steadily gnawing into the 

mountain divide at their heads and slowly but surely pushing it westward, so that the Atlantic 

streams are gaining in length and drainage area at the expense of the Mississippi Valley streams. 

Most of the buttressing spurs east of the Blue Ridge have steep lateral slopes, which in 

places are rocky, and as a rule their soil is poor. Here and there on gentler slopes are more 

fertile areas, many of which have been cleared. Some of the ~treams between these spurs are 

eroding their channels so rapidly that they have narrow, sharp-bottomed valleys without flood 

plains, and the whole basins of such streams are generally forested. Where, however, downcutting is less rapid or has already reached its limit, or where the valley walls are less resistant 

and have weathered back more rapidly, the streams have built small flood plains. These flood 

plains and the better parts of the lower 100 to 300 ·yards of the adjacent valley slopes are 

cleared, and a considerable portion of them is usually kept in grass. The flood-plain clearings 

as a rule show no injury from floods, but the slopes, unless kept in sod, gradually wear thin or · 

wash away. 

Just east of Blowing Rock, on the very headwaters of the Yadkin, narrow flood-plain 

areas occur and some of the adjacent slopes are farmed. As a rule the soil is porous or stony, 

and the effects of erosion are not serious. Below the headwater region, however, there is 

but little cleared land along the stream for a number of miles. 

At the mouth of Mill Fork is a flood plain several hundred yards wide which extends ·up 

Mill Fork and down the Y adkin, but flood plains are not conspicuously developed for some 

miles below the mouth of Mill Fork u_ntil the Yadkin turns to the northeast and begins its 

long course parallel to the Blue Ridge. For several miles below this point the flood plain 

ranges in width from three-fourths of a mile to a mile. It then narrows for a mile, and then 

broadens to three-fourths of a mile or more for the next 2 miles, and this alternate broadening 

and narrowing is characteristic of the river for a long distance. Where the flood plain narrows 

it is commonly bordered by a finely developed terrace, 40 or 50 feet higher, with an extremely 

well-preserved level or gently rounded surface and definite, well-marked scarps. The interval 

between this fossil flood plain and the living plain becomes gradually greater downstream. 

On Elk Creek bottom lands are not found along the lower 5 miles; above that the valley widens t:omewhat and contains several good farms, but their bottom lands have been 

greatly injured by floods in recent years. The slopes are broken and rough, but are cleared 

in many places and are eroding. 

Stony Fork and West and East forks are much like Elk Creek. Most of the land in these 

and other basins on the east slope of the Blue Ridge has passed into the hands of lumber companies, the average prices recently paid being reported as $3.50 or $4 an acre. · When examined, 

this region lacked road facilities for marketing the lumber. 

From the mouth of Elk River to Wilkesboro the hills in many places close in on the river 

and practically cut off the bottoms, but between these contracted portions are broader stretches, 

with a fertile flood plain a fourth to a half mile wide. 

At some points, especially on the concave side of bends, this flood plain has been swept 

bare by floods, but elsewhere it is in good condition as regards erosion. 

Along the valley walls are many remnants of an old cobble-strewn terrace whose average 

elevation is here about 60 feet above the present flood plain. Above it the valley walls rise 

gently and irregularly. 

Many of the slopes have long been cleared, and on these clearings erosion is more or less 

prominent almost everywhere. 

The Brushy Mountain Range, on the south side of the valley·, is forested to its tops, though 

some scattered· clearings have been .made on its upper slopes. These clearings, many of which 

are kept in grass, seem to be free from erosion damages. Along the small streams between 

the spurs of the mountains there are narrow flood-plain areas, and these, as well as the little 

amphitheater-like coves at the heads of the streams, are generally cleared. Below Wilkesboro 
YADKIN RIVER BASIN. 115 

th~ hills in many places close in on the river and cut off the :flood plain, but where the flood 

plain is present its width ranges from 200 to 400 yards. 

"\iVhere the flood plain is broad the narrow notch or shelf representing the ordinary 

flood plain changes to a flood -scoured, sand ~covered tract, 25 yards or more in width at first, 

but wider farther down, which has been formed by flood currents cutting away the ordinary 

flood plain. These sandy wastes, which are especially likely to occur on the inside of bends, 

even those of very slight curvature, are generally 100 to 300 yards long, and rise either just 

to ordinary stream level or 1 foot to 3 feet above it. Along the edge away from the river 

the bordering flood plain is being undercut, so that the width of the scoured belt is evidently 

becoming greater. The residents of this region say that much of this damage has been done in 

recent ye~rs and that it is steadily increasing. In a :few places sand has been spread over the 

:fertile bottom lands, as, for example, just east of Elkin. More commonly, however, the floods 

cut the rich alluvial deposits away and deposit sand in their place. The river is building sand 

bars behind projecting ledges or rock or chance obstructions on the concave side of curves and 

is evidently overloaded with waste, the source of which is, as is equally evident, the eroded 

slopes of its upper tributaries. 

At a number of places the river flows across ledges of hard igneous rock, through which it 

is slowly but persistently cutting its way. The shoals and rapids that have developed at these 

places furnish many opportunities for power development. Storage basins constructed along 

the stream, however, would doubtless as quickly fill with sand and silt as do those on the 

similar streams southwest of the Yadkin. 

The valley walls are as a rule low and retreating and join the flood-plain surface at their 

base in very gently rounded curves. The valley sides and the. upland beyond are generally 60 

to 75 per cent cleared, and half of the cleared slopes show gullying of the long, narrow, shoestring type. The width of the river varies greatly. "\Vhere it is widest the flood plain is 3 to 

5 feet; where narrow it is 8 to 12 feet above ordinary stream level. A few miles above Shoal'S, 

on the north side of the river flood plain, a pr~jecting knob 250 yards long and 30 yards wide 

rises 40 feet n hove flood-plain level. It was doubtless formed as an island when the stream 

flowed at the level of the old terrace mentioned, and as the river cut down to the present level 

it maintained both channels nearly until the present day before the left-hand channel became 

filled. The interval at this fossil island between the old terrace level and the present flood 

plain is 70 to 80 feet, and much of the terrace scarp has long been cleared, and parts of it are 

now eroded. 

REDDIE RIVER. 

For several miles from Wilkesboro Reddie River flows in a narrow tr~nch cut 150 to 175 

feet beneath the Piedmont level and has no flood plain, but above this stretch, up to a point a 

mile below Reddie River post office, narrow bottoms, consisting generally of hanging or beveled 

plains, occur here and there. In this distance 20 per cent of the low slopes on each side of the 

stream have been cleared. The hillsides erode as ·usual where the soil is of clay but are well 

preserved where it is stony. , 

From Reddie River post office up to Whittington the bottoms a:re fair to good in quality 

and include a narrow, washed cobble or gravel zone near the stream. Up North Fork the hillside clearings extend 100 to 200 yards up the slope and are not washing. Up Middle Fork there 

are narrow bottoms for 2 miles, above which the valley shuts in for some miles, but in the upper 

4 miles the stream has a shifting channel and narrow beveled torrent plain. This torrent plain 

and the lower hill slopes are cleared. The soil is stony and is not eroding except where the 

slopes are steep. 

For a number of years lumbering has been active on Reddie River well up to its head, and 

much of the best timber has been removed. It is hauled by wagon to Wilkesboro. Along the 

crest of the Blue Ridge 20 to 35 per cent of the drainage area is cleared and much the larger part 

of it is in grass. 
116 DENUDaTION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

l\1ULBERRRY GAP TO WILK.ESBORO. 

Near Mulberry Gap 25 to 30 per cent of the Blue Ridge crest is cleared and in grass. 

The loose, porous soil generally contains many small stones and erosion is at a minimum. On 

the south side of the ridge the soil is poor and the higher slopes are uncleared. The timber is 

of medium quality and much of it has been cut by small mills and hauled 25 miles or more to 

Wilkesboro. 

Up Mulberry River the bottom is a torrent plain which is narrow in some places, but in 

others attains a width of half a mile. It has a fairly good sandy soil underlain by cobbles and 

is in moderately good condition as regards erosion. The clearings on the lower upland slopes 

are cut into gullies or show sheet erosion as they grow old and include many areas of worn-out 

old fields. 

NEW RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The New River basin was examined in detail south of Fries and Galax, Va., and the river 

itself was traversed down to the point at which the New River branch of the Norfolk & 

'Vestern Railroad leaves it, just south of Pulaski, Va. 

New River rises near Blowing Rock, N. C., and flows with many meanders northeastward 

over an air-line distance o£ 90 miles to Radford, Va., where it turns to the northwest, cuts 

through the mountains o£ Virginia and West Virginia, and as the Kanawha finally joins the 

Ohio. 

Its basin is bounded on fhe southeast by the crest of the Blue Ridge and on the northwest 

by the basins of the Watauga and Holston. The upper end of the basin, which lies on the 

Asheville Plateau level, here 3,000 feet above sea level, narrows to a point at Blowing 

Rock, N.C. · 

From many points along the crest of the Blue Ridge the valley of New River appears as 

a great ampitheater-like basin, walled in by high mountains on the south, west, north, and 

northwest. Within this basin New River and its tributaries, like the streams in the Asheville 

region itself, have incised their channels in narrow, steep-sided trenches, varying from a shallow groove to a gorge 200 feet in depth, and above the general surface there rise many residual 

mountain masses, such as Bald Knob, Peach Bottom ~1ountain, Nigger Mountain, and others, 

most of which reach elevations of 4,500 to 5,500 feet, and, consequently, tower some 1,500 to 

2,500 feet above the plateau level. 

·From a short distance below its head down to the point at which it enters a limestone 

valley near Ivanhoe Furnace, Va., New River has cut down through crystalline rocks so rapidly 

that its valley has not had time to weather back appreciably, and very little flood plain has 

l1een developed. Similar conditions prevail on practically all of its tributaries, so that stream 

slopes are usually steep and are mostly wooded, and flood plains are narrow or absent. The 

amount of waste carried by the river and its tributaries is relatively small, except in the 

Independence region, where erosion of cleared slopes is more active than elsewhere. Outside 

of the Independence_area the streams are able not only to carry away all of the waste furnished 

from their slopes but to vigorously erode their channels besides. They flow on bare rocks and 

have sufficient fall to remove rapidly all flood waters. 

The most.striking feature in the basin is the activity in lumbering which has resulted from 

the recent extension of a railway into it. Small portable sawmills have been located in even 

the most remote mountain coves, and lumber, tanbark, and crossties are hauled as much as 

30 miles over m.ountain roads that are in many places execrable. Those who are engaged in 

the industry get for their product prices that amount only to low wages for themselves and 

their teams. They practically give their timber away, cut their roads to pieces in hauling it, 

and by its removal hasten the erosion of their steep mountain slopes and narrow flood-plain 

areas. 
NEW RIVER BASIN. 117 

The climate of the region is favorable to the growth of grass, which readily sets on cleared 

land, and the region in general resembles the upper Holston Valley. Some corn and small 

grain are raised, but grazing is the chief industry of the region andl much of the cleared land 

is kept in grass, which is used for pasture or cut for hay. The cleared slopes when held in grass 

do not erode, and in this respect also the region is comparable to th~ Holston. Erosion, however, is by no means entirely absent, for some slopes have been cleajred that are too steep for 

even grass to hold, and in places the steep land has been unwisely cu tivated in corn and grain 

instead of being put in grass. Such cultivated lands erode readily nd are visible at distances 

of even 10 to 20 miles as bare red areas on the hillsides. 

DETAILS OF CONDITIONS. 

Galax is situated in an expansion of the valley of Chestnut Creek, where there is a wide 

flood plain, bordered on the west by a broad 50-foot terrace on which most of the town is 

situated. The land along the creek above Galax is for the most prrt Cleared, and the lower 

slopes as well as the bottoms are nearly all in grass and are in good condition as regards erosion. 

Below Galax, Chestnut Creek has scarcely any flood plain, and its immediate valley walls 

are so steep that they are largely wooded. 1 

On the uplands of Wards Mill Branch the cleared area amoun,ts to 60 per cent or more, 

n1uch the larger part being in grass. Thence eastward to Piper Gap the cleared area is confined more largely to the vicinity of the streams and comprises on~y about 3 per cent of the 

total area. In no place was active erosion in progress, though in a few places small areas 

of especially steep slope had been stripped of their sod. The rocks of the region are mostly 

a mica gneiss which has weathered deep, making a soft loamy soil. In a few places the 

underlying rock is a hornblende schist that weathers less deep and produces a more compact 

clayey soil, which would erode readily were it not for the fact that it usually contains many 

small scattered pieces of the rock that prevent rapid erosion. 

The southern slope of the Blue Ridge near Pipers Gap is very steep and is well wooded. 

Northeast of the gap, on the higher slopes along the ridge crest, then(e are some clearings which 

are in good condition because they are kept sodded. 

Above Lambsburg the streams show narrow torrent flood plain, , bordered by old beveled 

terrace scarps that range in height from 40 to 100 feet. The streams are damaging their 

flood plains and occasionally destroy crops. · 

From La'mbsburg to Low Gap the uplands are usually rough ajnd poor, and only a small 

part of the area is cleared. The small streams are bordered by narrrow flood plains, which are 

usually farmed and are in good condition as regards erosion. The best timber has been cut 

out and in places forest fires have followed the cutting and injured the remaining growth. 

On the head of Fishers River there is much good bottom land, and nearly all of the 

uplands near it are cleared. The land is prevailingly stony, bear~ good crops, and does not 

wash easily. On the higher southern slopes of the Blue Ridge 30 to 40 per cent of the area 

to the east of Low ·Ga. p is cleared and is largely in grass. Lum~ering on the head of this 

river has been active during the last 10 years, and the farmers on s bottom lands claim that 

floods have greatly increased in frequency, height, and destructiveness during this period. 

A very large portion of the Blue Ridge crest from Low Gap southward to Roaring Gap. is 

forested, and the soil, which is derived from mica schist, is, as a rule, boor and loamy. In places 

the forest is poor, but in the more sheltered northern coves there are rsome good hardwood areas 

and along the small streams some hemlock and white pine. West of the range the slope is 

exceedingly gentle, and in many places more than half of the area is cleared. As seen from a 

point on the ridge just south of Low Gap, 50 per cent of New River sin seems to be cleared and 

45 or 50 per cent of the visible slopes of the high bounding ridges to the south and west seem 

also cleared. These mountain slopes appear not to have eroded as easily as the slopes from the 

dissected plateau level down to the present stream channels. 
118 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Indeed, in the entire range of vision, embracing an angie· of 180° and extendi11g for a 

distance of 10 to 20 miles, comparatively few eroded areas were visible. Some erosion was 

manifest on the slopes of Bald Knob, Fender }(nob, Buck ·Mountain, Bullhead Mountain, and 

Peach Bottom Mountain, but in any one of these places a few acres would include the reddened eroded areas. Later detailed examination showed this apparent absence of erosion to be 

as chara-cter!stic of the New as of the Holston basin and to . be in marked contrast to erosion 

conditions farther south, as, for instance, in the French Broad or Nolichucky basins. 

The land on Big and Little Pine creeks is poor and only 10 to 20 per cent of it is cleared. 

On Laurel Branch the valley floor and lower slopes are nearly all in grass. On the ridge 

n,ear. Roaring Gap 15 to 20 per cent will include the cleared area, practically all of which is 

sod.ded. 

From Roaring Gap to Sparta the stream valleys as well as much of the plateau surface 

are in meadow, and in some places the steep slopes on the residual peaks show red from 

gullying. 

'Between Sparta and Whitehead more than half the area · is in excellent grass al}d · lands 

are worth more than $100 an acre. 

On the higher slopes on the east side of Peach Bottom Mountain badly eroded areas were 

seen in three places. These lands were too steep to be cleared under any circumstances and 

should have been left permanently in forest. 

From Whitehead to Laurel Spring·s the land is largely in grass and in ~ood condition, 

much as i't is between Sparta and Whitehead. 

From Laurel Springs west to New River 40 per cent of the land is in grass and erosive 

effects are prominent at only two points, which are southwest and west of Ore Knob. The 

erosion at these points and immediately around the copper mine. at Ore Knob was probably 

started as it has been at Ducktown, Tenn.," by the killing of the vegetation by sulphuric acid 

fumes from the roasting heaps and smelter. As the smelter has not been in operation for 

several years, new areas bare of vegetation are not developing, and only an occasional old area 

tends to enlarge. Throughout this region of prevailing meadow land the grass grows along the 

small streams down to the water's edge, so that their banks are well protected and the position 

of their channels is fixed. The streams themselves are limpid and clear, and flow usually with 

rapid currents over clean-washed gravel and cobbles. The contrast between their condition and 

that of the muddy, overloaded streams farther south is striking. 

East and south of Jefferson the bottom lands along New River vary greatly in width. In 

some places they are absent; in others they form a strip 200 yards wide. These bottoms are 

kept in grass. Floods are reported to do little or no damage either to land, bridges, or crops. 

The uplands are more than half in forest and as a rule are not eroding. The eroded areas in 

this region are confined to the very steepest cleared slopes, and even such areas are reported to 

be decreasing in size during recent years, since the farmers have been practicing a better system 

of agriculture, whereby the raising of cor:n and small grain is being transferred more and 

more to level bottom lands and the steep hill lands are being sodded for meadow or pasture. 

This change has been accelerated by increases in the price of stock. Much of the best lumber 

has been cut from this region and hauled a long dist ance to the railroad, either at Wilkesboro 

on the east or to some point near Butler, Tenn., on the west. 

From Jefferson to Beaver Creek the higher hilltops are largely wooded, but the rest of 

the country is three-fourths cleared. Between Beaver Creek and Elk Crossroads the cleared 

land is in ~nuch smaller proportion and is confined to the stream valleys and lower hill slopes. 

Its condition is satisfactory, though some effects of erosion appear just north of the crossroads. 

At Elk Crossroads three-fourths of the region is wooded, though in some places steep 

slopes are cleared to the tops of the ridges. The soil is stony and most of it is kept in grass, so 

that injury from erosion is much less than would be expected from the steepness of the slope. 

Flood damages along the streams are practically absent. 
NEW RIVER BASIN • 119 

. From Elk Crossroads westward to Snake Mountain gap four-fifths of the area is wooded 

and the cleared slopes do not show conspicuous erosion damages. Lumbering has been active 

for a number of years and much of the best timber has been removed. 

The middle and upper slopes of Snake Mountain and the neighboring higher knobs are 

almost entirely wooded. 

On I-Ioskins Fork a cleared flood plain extends from about 2 miles below its head down to 

its mouth at Sutherland, and much the larger part of the slopes and ridge crests on each side 

are also cleared. One of the best grass areas in the entire New River basin is found on this 

creek about Sutherland. 

From Sutherland to Creston the lower slopes are cleared, and the higher are forested, 

much as in the area just described. 

The river from Creston to the mouth of Rich Hill Creek has a broad, shallow channel, 

bordered by a zone of cobbles, and very little flood plain. The basin of Rich Hill Creek was 

being actively lumbered in 1907. About 50 to 60 per cent of it is cleared, and in some places 

the steepest slopes show bare areas of red clay. These eroded areas are said to be decreaP-ing 

since better care has been taken of the land. 

It is claimed that in three or four years these" galls," as they are called, may be reclaimed 

by covering them with leaves and brush and thus checking further erosion until vegetation 

may once more take hold. 

On the head of Rich Hill Creek and in the region to the northeast, across the basins of 

Little Horse Creek, Windfall Creek, Horse Creek, and Holton Creek, the rocks change to an 

epidote-bearing granite or to highly acidic eruptives that we~ther into a more impervious clay 

soil than the gneiss and schist farther east and south and so are more inclined to erode where 

steep slopes are cleared and left bare of grass. These rocks produce, however, a richer soil, 

and the growth of grass, to which most of the cleared area is devoted, is more vigorous than on 

the poorer soils and largely prevents erosion. 

The timber on the mountains at the heads of these creeks has been purchased by lumber 

companies within the last few years, most of it in fee simple, at prices reported to average $15 

an acre, though recent purchases had been made at $18 and some even at $25. Most of this 

land when cleared sets naturally in grass and makes most excellent grazing land, so that its 

agricultural value is high and justifies the prices that have been paid for it. 

From Holton toward Mouth-of-Wilson the ridges become lower, the slopes gentler, and 

the bottoms broader, the amount of cleared land increases, and though .grass still predominates 

the proportion of cultivated land becomes greater eastward until, west of Independence, the 

area of cultivated land exceeds that of grass land. 

The rocks of the region are chiefly granitic, with greenstone and other schists and some 

acidic intrusives in subordinate amounts. 

At ~Iouth-of-Wilson there is no flood plain along the river. The small creeks have narrow flood plains which are occupied very largely by gravel and cobble zones, the channels themselves being well filled with sand. 

Near Independence granite becomes abundant and produces by its decomposition red clay 

soils. The steep slopes show a tendency to rapid erosion. The granite is poor in mica, however, and gullies do not become deep and then undercut and cave, but are long, narrow, and 

sharp-bottomed, arid extend radially down the steep slopes. 

From Mouth-of-"'Vilson eastward to Independence more hillside erosion was observed 

than in any pa:rt of the New River basin thus far described. The effects of erosion were 

especially prominent in the basin of Fox Creek, on the west side of Bridle Creek, and on some 

of the southern spurs of Buck Mountain, as well as just north and again just southeast of 

Independence. Erosion is reported to . be worse in the eastern side of Grayson County than 

in the western, because the eastern part has been settled and cleared longer, and as the lands 

have grown old the tendency to erosion has increased. 
120 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

From Independence to Sparta 50 to 60 per cent of the area is cleared. Much of the soil 

is u red clay derived from granite, and in the first few miles south of Independence, and again 

in the 2 miles just south of New River, the hillsides were badly eroded by parallel gullies 

of the deep, narrow, granitic-soil type. All of these lands have been cleared for years, and 

some of the erosion is the result of neglect, but in other places the slopes are too steep to be 

cleared and cultivated with safety. Between Sparta and Galax the steep slopes· are mostly 

on granite rocks, and the fields, except where freshly cleared, are usually radially scored with 

sharp-bottomed gullies. Where the rocks are of diabase or other basic igneous rock erosion 

is much less active. About half of the land is cleared; three-fourths of the cleared area is in 

grass and the rest is principally in corn and buckwheat. 

Little River near Sparta and downstream to its mouth flows in a very narrow trench 

cut 100 to 200 feet below the plateau level, in few places wide enough to accommodate both the 

river and a flood plain. The slopes from the plateau down to the stream are usually very 

steep and in most places are uncleared. 
MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

In March, 1907, an unusually high flood on the Monongahela inflicted great loss at Pittsburg and made it seem desirable to study conditions in the · entire Monongahela basin and 

determine, if possible, the causes of the damage wrought. This study was made late in the 

summer of 1907. 

The Monongahela rises in northern West Virginia and flows northward to join the Allegheny at Pittsburg, thereby forming the Ohio. The upper and middle parts of its drainage 

basin lie mainly . in northern West Virginia, although a bit of its eastern margin is included 

in the extreme western end of Maryland; the lower or northern part of its basin is in Pennsylvania. The basin is 150 miles in length and averages 70 miles in width. Much of its 

area is a plateau that stands 1,500 to 2,000 feet above sea level, though what is presumably 

this same plateau rises to an elevation of over 3,000 feet in some places, as, for example, near 

Davis, \V. Va. The .eastern rim of the basin has an average altitude of 3,000 feet in Pennsylvania and Maryland, but in West Virginia rises rapidly southward to elevations of 3,500, 

4,000, and in places even 4,800 feet above sea level. The rim in its southeastern portion ranges 

in altitude from 4,000 to 4,600 feet, but along its western edge declines abruptly to 3,500, 2,500, 

1,800, and farther north sinks to an altitude of about 1,600 feet, an elevation which it retains 

in its middle and northwestern part. 

The rocks of the entire basin are conglomerates, sandstone, shale, and· limestones, and 

nearly all are of Carboniferous age. · 

In the eastern part of the basin in vVest Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania these 

rocks have been folded into long, narrow anticlines and synclines whose crests have been 

planed off by erosion, which has laid bare the edges of beds that vary much in their resistance 

to erosion. The harder conglomerates and sandstones form ridges; the softer shales and 

limestones have been eroded and form the valleys. The topography is consequently characteri~ed by long, parallel ridges and valleys which trend northeast-southwest. The parallelism 

of the eastern members of the Monongahela drainage system is due to the folding and the 

subsequent differential erosion of the hard and soft beds. The rough topography, the narrow 

stream gorges, and, in places, the stony surfaces, are due to these same causes. 

In the middle and western parts of the Monongahela basin the strata lie nearly flat and 

are composed largely of shale, but include some sandstone. The surface has been so deeply 

and so generally cut by the numerous branching streams that the slopes are nearly everywhere 

steep, though, as a rule, they are precipitous only where, for short stretches, heavy sandstone 

outcrops in a valley wall. The streams have cut to depths of 300 to 500 feet, and most of them 

·are still actively down cutting" but are doing comparatively little widening, so that. they flow 

in relatively narrow valleys, though on many of them there are narrow flood plains. 

YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER BASIN. 

The largest eastern tributary is the Youghiogheny. The upper portion of this river, 

in Maryland, has recently been described in a report on Garrett County, published by the 

Maryland Geological Survey, and does not differ essentially from that of the Monongahela, 

in the same State, for the topography, soil, amount of cleared land, mining development~ and 

other features are essentially the same. 

121 
122 MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 

CHEAT RIVER BASIN. 

The next tributary of the Monongahela west of the Y oughiogheny on the eastern side of 

the basin is Cheat River. Shavers Fork of Cheat River rises in Pocahontas County, W. Va., 

and flows northeastward between two parallel mountain ridges, whose elevation in places 

reaches 4,000 to 4,800 feet. Its basin is 50 miles long and only 4 ·to 6 miles wide. Between 

ridge crest and streamway the difference in elevation on Shavers Fork is generally 1,000 to 

1,500 feet, and its valley slopes are. therefor,e in places exceedingly steep. Most of the country 

is rough from the outcrop of resistant sandstones, and the area of cleared land on the slopes 

is small. Along the stream there is almost no flood plain. The basin is largely in timber, 

nearly all of which has been sold to lumbermen. Some of it has already been cut and the 

rest is being cut at a rapid rate. 

On Shavers Ridge there is a considerable area of good cleared land, which is largely in 

grass and is not eroding. , 

On Cheat Mountain, west of Shavers Fork, there is much rough land, but 20 or 25 per 

cent of the ridge is in grass. The timber either has been cut or is being cut rapidly. 

The basin of Dry Fork of Cheat River, though rough, includes narrow flood plains and 

fertile lower slopes that have been cleared and now suffer erosion, especially where the soil 

is sandy. The stream frequently cuts to pieces or covers with sand all of the flood plain 

within its reach, and in July, 1907, swept away every bridge on the Dry Fork Railroad. 

Most of the timber has been removed, and in places 25 per cent of the slopes have been cleared. 

Much of the western slope of Allegheny Mountain is rough and in brush, the timber having been cut. Only 5 or 10 per cent of its area is farmed, and this part is mostly used for 

grazing. · One-third of the crest of Rich ~lountain near its south end is in grass; the rest o£ 

it is rough, but has some good timber left, some of which is still in small holdings~ 

·Laurel Fork has a rough basin, all of which is in timber. It was being logged in 1907. 

Glady Fork 'has some good farm· lands near its head, but the rest of its basin is rougher 

and the timber in it was being cut. 

Middle Mountain has some fertile land, and 25 per cent of it is cleared and is principally 

in grass. 

Blackwater River. flows in a deep gorge below Davis and is .largely in brush and swamp 

above Davis, except in Canaan Valley, which is level and fertile and is nearly all well sodded. 

All of the Blackwater basin except its lower part has been thoroughly lumbered and then 

burned over, so that in many places the bare rocks are exposed and scarcely anything but 

briers and fire-scald cherries have since been able to take hold. It will be years before a 

commercial forest can be started and centuries before the magnificent hemlock, spruce, and 

pine that once covered it can grow again. 

The plateau on either side of the gorge on the lower part of the river is still forested, and 

many of the hemlocks show between 300 and 400 rings of annual growth. Logging railroads 

have recently been built into this magnificent forest and it is being rapidly cut and will soon 

be gone, as the forest about Davis has already gone. 

Near Parsons and down to St. George there are some broad bottoms along the river, but 

they are rather too sandy for grass and are planted in corn. From St. George down practically 

to its mouth, just beyond the Pennsylvania line, the Cheat flows in a wild, rock-bound gorge 

that is 1,000 to 1,290 feet deep. In a few places, just before crossing into Pennsylvania, it has 

. developed small flood-plain areas, but they are relatively unimportant. 

On the west slope of Backbone Mountain, north of Blackwater, the timber remains and is 

held by a lumber company. There is some timber left on Horseshoe Run and Mill Run. The 

soils in the basins of these creeks, as well as in those of Clover and Haddocks runs, on the 

opposite side of the river, ,are poor but are largely cleared. The soils of the narrow flood 

plains along the smaller streams are of medium quality only. In July; 1907, however, nearly 

all of these small bottoms were destroyed by a flood and the crops on the rest of them were 

ruined. The loss to farms and roads in Tucker County by this flood is estimated at $30,000. 

The West Virginia Central's roadbed was so badly damaged that no trains ran for a week 
TYGART VALLEY RIVER. · 123 

along the Blackwater gorg.e, and the Dry Fork Railroad was some two weeks in rebuilding 

the bridges and roadbed swept away. 

On the east side of Cheat River, around Aurora, in Preston County, about a third of the 

area is cleared. About half of this is in grass and the rest in corn, potatoes, and oats. Most 

of the remaining two-thirds has been lumbered and then burned over and is now in brush. 

The steepest slopes facing the river and along . the larger tributaries are either rough and 

· uncleared, or, if cleared, are in grass. 

From the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad northward on the east side of Cheat River there is 

much good land away from the river front, and a very large proportion of it is cleared and 

used for grazing. The soil does not wash except along the steep river slopes. During the 

1907 floods the only damages sustained were the destruction of small bridges along a few of 

the streams in Portland district of Preston County. The more level parts are almost entirely 

under cultivation or in grass .. Erosion is not serious and floods have not greatly damaged 

lands or property. 

The eastern edge and the central ·part of Grant district, which extends northward to the 

Pennsylvania line, are largely cleared; the western portion is bordered by Chestnut Ridge. 

The lands here are poor and rough, with much timber, most of which is in the hands of lumber 

companies. 

On the western side of Cheat River, as it flows through Preston County, lands back from 

the river front are generally good and are largely cleared. Along the Laurel Hills, however, 

in the south end of the county and along the northwestern border near the Cheat, the lands 

are quite rough, owing to the influence of the Cheat Ridge uplift. Near the river there is a 

larger proportion of forested land than elsewhere, but most of the timber has been removed. 

TYGART VALLEY RIVER. 

From Elkins to the head of the river the basin of the Tygart Valley is very fertile and is 

for the most part largely cleared. Lands are worth $50 or more per acre. Much the larger 

part of the area is in grass, but corn enough for home consumption is raised. Floods, as a 

rule, do no damage to the lands, but in 1907 they destroyed some 10 per cent of the hay crop. 

The previous flood of similar height to that of July 17, 1907, was in 1896. The 1907 flood 

destroyed many logging roads and inflicted a damage of $150,000 on the people of Randolph 

County. 

Just below Elkins, on Leading Creek, a tributary of Tygart Valley River from the northeast, are some relatively broad and fertile bot om lands, practically all of which are in grass. 

In places the lower hill slopes have been cleared, but some 90 per cent of the upland is in 

forest. The soil is poor; the timber is scant and the best of it has been cut. Farther north, 

ori the east side near Meadowville and on Teter Creek and Brushy Fork, there are some 

excellent grass lands. 

Along the Big and Little Sandy bottom! lands and uplands have been largely cleared. 

The flood of July, 1907, was especially destr11ctive both to the lands and to the crops along 

these creeks. The basins are long and relativEjly narrow and the flood swept down them with 

great violence. The rainfall in this region seems to have been heavier than anywhere else, 

unless at the very head of Buckhannon River, lnear Pickens. 

Three Fork basin has, as a rule, a poor il, some 20 per cent of which has been cleared 

and is about evenly divided between grass d cultivated crops: Lying along the main line 

of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, this basin [has been thoroughly lumbered and a large part 

of it has since grown up in brush. Floods if ~July, 1907, were very high on this creek and 

tore up many of the roads, but caused greateslt loss to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, whose 

tracks down near the stream level were much damaged. 

In Marion County, on the east side of th~ river, the bluffs and slopes for a little distance 

back are usually steep and uncleared, but fa:rrther away from the river the country become~ 

better and 50 to 75 per cent is cleared. Two-thirds of the cleared area is sodded. Practically no 

commercial timber is left. 1 
124 MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 

On the Tygart Valley River itself the broad bottoms disappear in a few miles below 

Elkins, and the river flows practically to its mouth near Fairmont in a narrow, steep-sided 

channel, cut 300 to 400 feet below the general level, with no flood plain of any importance. 

The walls of the river valley are cleared where they are composed of shale, but are rough and 

rugged where heavy sandstones outcrop and are there forested. The lumber has been cut 

and in many places mine props have also been taken. Farther back from the river on both 

sides the country is less rugged and a,; large proportion is cleared and in grass. 

Middle Fork drains a rough region just west of the upper part of Tygart Valley River, 

to which it is tributary. There are no bottom lands along the stream, and as the rocks in its 

basin are chiefly sandstones the soil is poor. It is reported that not more than 5 per cent of 

its area is cleared. Much of the timber has been removed and ·active logging is now going on 

where any salable material is left. The land has not been damaged by erosion or floods. 

On Rich Mountain, which forms the dividing ridge between Middle Fork basin and the 

main Tygart basin, the soil is derived from a conglomerate and the lands are rough and poor 

and very little farmed. On the south end much of the timber remains, but on the middle and 

northern part it has already been cut and the region is growing up in brush. 

Buckhannon River is the next tributary of Tygar.ts Valley west of Middle Fork. The 

upper part of its basin is made rough by the sandstones and conglomerates into which the 

streams have cut sharply along the river and on its principal tributaries. Flood plain is either 

lacking or is sandy, stony, and of poor quality. On the headwaters in Randolph County not 

more than 15 per cent of the area is cleared. The remainder has been heavily forested, but in 

1907 lumbering was being actively carried on. At Pickens and elsewhere there are large lumber 

mills, and back along the smaller streams there are numerous small portable mills. Where the 

land is not too rough it sods well when cleared and makes excellent pasture. No damage has 

been dorle by erosion, but the flood of July 17, 1907, greatly injured or destroyed whatever was • 

in its reach, the principal loser being the railway company, whose tracks for the entire length 

down to Buckhannon run close by the river bank. At many places the roadbed was badly 

washed. Several of the logging tramways in the upper part of the basin were also damaged 

by the flood, the losses ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. 

Farther down the Buckhannon, in southern Upshur County, where the sandstones largely 

disappear and shaly soils predominate, 35 per cent of the land is cleared, and the remainder 

has been lumbered-some of it twice. Northward the proportion of cleared land increases, 

and near Buckhannon and in the northern part of the county on Turkey and Hassicks runs 

75 to 95 per cent of it is cleared, the proportion being larger in the western part of the county 

than in the eastern. 

In the western and northern parts of Upshur County red shales are in places abundant, and 

where on steep slopes are likely to cause landslips that may do considerable damage to lands, 

roads, or even railway tracks that happen to be built on them. Where such areas are cleared 

they are kept in grass as much as possible. The streams in this northern and western part of 

the county have, as a rule, narrow, sodded flood plains, and flood damages during 1907 were 

confined chiefly to the growing grass and to the steep red-shale surfaces. No bridges were lost 

along the streams. 

For several miles below Buckhannon the river is bordered bv some beautiful fertile flood 

plains; it then. enters a narrow trench and thence to its mouth has~ scarcely any flood plain, and 

the valley slopes are so steep that they are practically uncleared. Some of its tributaries, however, 

such as Pecks Run and Big Run on the west side, have excellent meadows, and their uplands 

are 90 per cent or more cleared. On the east side of the river the country is rough and poor, 

and comparatively little has been•cleared. The merchantable timber has .been removed and 

much of the land is in brush. ' 

In the region west of Grafton the surface rocks are largely shales, and 60 to 90 per cent of 

the area is cleared; perhaps three-fourths of the cleared area is sodded. At no place was 

erosion conspicuous, though its work was apparent in some places, especially on red shale slopes 

where the land is cultivated. Floods during 1907 had damaged growing crops, but had 

improved rather than injured lands. No bridges were lost. 
WEST FORK OF MONONGAHELA RJVER. 125 

The valley of Lost Run is rougher and poor1

er and in its lower part is uncleared, though its 

commercial timber has been removed. · 

It is generally believed in this region that in basins where 60 to 90 per cent of the area 

is cleared and largely in sod, the floods rise more rapidly and reach greater heights now than 

formerly. It is also claimed that the streams in such basins show a greater tendency to go dry 

during summer and fall than formerly, when their basins were wooded. Many of the small 

streams invariably go dry at this season, and 1

it is said that larger streams that were never 

known to go dry in olden times now :fail entirely. 

WEST FORK OF MONONGAHELA RIVER. 

The upper end of the basin drained by West Fork of the Monongahela was formerly 

heavily timbered, but since the Sutton branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was built 

practically all of this timber has been removed. Three-fourths of the area is cleared and nearly 

all of it is in grass. The soil is derived mainly from soft shales. Somewhat lower in the basin, 

around W es'ton, 80 per cent or more has been cleared. 

Almost all of the small tributary streams [have narrow, flat bottoms that are in meadow 

and that have not been injured by recent floods. Above 'Veston there is no flood plain on the · 

river, but below it in a few bends there are small areas of tillable land, and at a number of 

places there are terraces with flat tops and steep slopes, all of which are now high above the 

reach of floods. There is but little to injure along the river, and even the severest floods can do 

no great damage. · I 

Along Hackers Creek there is some flood plain, and the hay and potato crops we:..·e greatly 

injured by the July, 1907, flood. The lands themselves, however, were unhurt. In some places 

red shale slopes had washed somewhat, but inn@ place had there been serious damage from this 

cause. I 

The rocks of Harrison County, across which West Fork flows after leaving Lewis County, 

consist chiefly of flat-lying shales, among which are interspersed some sandstone beds. The surface is steeply rounded, and the many tributary streams have minutely dissected it by trenches 

cut 400 to 500 feet below the general surface level. The narrow flood plains and neiirly all o:f 

the uplands are cleared and sodded. There is only timber enough for farm use. It is estimated 

that between 80 and 90 per cent of the total area of the West Fork basin is in grass. The 

streams carry very little waste, and, as a rule, flbw in deep channels. Floods escape rapidly and 

have caused no ·great damage. The heavy rains of July 16 and 17, 1907, did not extend so far 

west as this basin, but were confined to the Cheat and Tygart Valley rivers and their tributaries. The highest flood reported on West Fork is said to have occurred in 1888, when every 

bridge but one in the country was washed out and much other damage done. 

The Winfield district, on the east side of the river, has more waste land than any district 

in Marion County. About 50 per cent of it is farmed, but much of the county is poor and rocky. 

On the west side 75 per cent or more is cleared,[ and two-thirds of the cleared area sodded. On 

the rest there is very little marketable timber left. The streams have at best very narrow flood 

plains, but since the flood of 1888 they have not been damaged by high water. The flood of 

July, 1907, was destructive farther east and that of ~larch, 1907, farther north. At neither 

time was the river extraordinarily high in this tpart of the basin. 

Some 15 years ago a railway was built from l\1organtown up Deckers Run to Kingwood 

and on to Rowlesburg. The region was an almpst primeval forest, densely wooded and covered 

with thick undergrowth, and contained many clear, cold springs. The streams rose slowly 

during floods and maintained a constant volume during dry seasons. With the building of the 

railroad, lumbering became active, and the region was soon stripped of its magnificent forests. 

Fires followed in the wake of the lumberman, ~nd the dense undergrowth was also gone. The 

summer sun now beats down on a bare and parching land; in dry seasons the springs flow 

weakly or disappear, and the streams shrink tb tiny rivulets. Forest and stream, cool shade, 

and cold spring are all gone, and the land is desolate. 

\ 
126 MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 

At Morgantown the water supply was formerly obtained from several small streams, and 

although the necessity for supplementing the supply by drawing on the river has been caused 

by the growth of the town, the amount now available from the small streams during low-water 

stages has lately decreased to such an extent that it is impossible to supply from this source as 

large a part of the city as formerly. 

On Deckers Creek in the last 40 years eight mill sites that were once profitable have been 

abandoned because for several months in the vear the water is so low that thev can not be 

operated steadily and profitably. The one mill that now survives is forced to ;emain idle a 

good part of the time from the same reason. Similar changes have occurred on Buffalo Creek 

and other streams that have been denuded of their tin1ber to the same extent. 

MONONGAHELA BASIN IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

In Pennsylvania the Monongahela basin includes Fayette County, the eastern part of 

Green and Washington counties, the southern part of Allegheny County, and the western parts 

of Westmoreland and Somerset counties. With the exception of small areas in Laurel and 

Chestnut ridges, the rocks of the Pennsylvania part of the Monongahela basin are of Carboniferous age. On these ridges the soils are in general poor, but some small areas of limestone 

or calcareous shale have yielded good soils. In some places there are still areas of uncut timber, 

but much the larger part of the timber has been removed. Outside of these mountain ridges 

the surface rocks are shales, 'limestones, and sandstones. The limestone and the shale have 

yielded a soil that is generally fertile, but the soil on sandstones is thinner and the surface is 

generally rough. Where the streams cut th.rough the shale the slopes, though in many places 

very steep, are rounded, but where· they cut through sandstone the slopes are, as a rule, rough 

or precipitous. The steep shale slopes are mostly cleared and farmed; the sandstone slopes 

are generally forested. 

The topography in these shales is much -alike everywhere in the basin. The differences are 

those of degree and not of kind. As in the vV est Virginia part of the basin, the surface of the 

basin in Pennsylv:ania is an old plateau, now at an elevation of 1,200 to 1,400 feet and thoroughly 

dissected by the streams. The hill slopes are gentle or steeply rounded. The valley bottoms 

are not as a rule broad, but inany of them meet the hills in gentle, flowing curves. In some 

places these hills stand up sharply; in other places their outlines are more subdued. In general 

cutting is deepest near main drainage ways and decreases near the heads of tributaries. 

Wherever shale predominates 80 to 90 per cent of the land is cleared, and three-fourths or 

:four-fifths of the cleared land is kept in grass. The slopes are not, on the average, as steep as 

in West Virginia and show less tendency to erosion, except on red shale, where the conditions 

in both States are the same. 

The damages from all types of erosion on hill slopes and along stream ways are unimportant, and in many places damages from floods are reported to be rare. It is the general impression that stream flow in dry seasons is now much less than formerly; and on many of the creeks 

the grist, saw, and paper mills of earlier days have had to shut down for want of water. Some· 

have quit business or moved elsewhere; others have substituted more expensive but more 

dependable steam power. On Redstone Creek, for instance, there is only one mill left, and 

only one or two remain on Georges Creek. Many springs of former days have dried up and 

disappeared, and streams now go dry in summer that are said not to have failed in olden times. 

It would seem that man has made important changes in the Monongahela basin through 

deforestation. The deforested land has largely been put into grass, so that ·erosion such as 

characterizes so much of the Southern Appalachians is not common. For the same reason the 

stream channels in the Monongahela basin are not filling with sand and gravel and causing 

widespread destruction of bottom lands. The cleared grassland, however, permits the rainfall 

to run off more rapidly than formerly when the lands were forested, so that average flood, 

·heights have become greater and flood damages have increased accordingly, as is shown by the 

recent disastrous flood in Pittsburg, · 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XIX 

30' 

-42 

Distances 

from 

Towns Pittsburg Rainfall 

~~k~~~-~~~~---_-_-_ ~~ ~~--~~~~~ == 5:~ Franklin __ ______ 108 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0. 3 

Warren _________ 16L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0.1 

Saltsburg __ __ __ _ 48 ___ _______ 1.3 

Johnstown ______ 90 _________ 1.2 

Clarion _______ __ 97 __ - - - _ _ _ _ 0. 6 Lock No. 4_ _____ 40 ____ __ __ . 1.4 

Greensboro ______ 81 _________ 1.3 

Fairmont ______ -ll9 ___ - - _ --- 1.9 

Weston __ _____ _ 161 ___ _ - __ -- 0.6 

Rowlesburg ______ 121 _________ 1.5 

West Newton _____ 31 ___ -- __ -- 1.0 

Confluence ______ 81 _________ 1.3 

Average 1.1 

30 

IOCB:E:::E3:Ex===::::i' o"""""""""""""'2c0===3:E0'=="""""""""4:0:0===::::J50 Miles 

WEATHER MAP SHOWING RAINFALL NEAR PITTSBURG, PA., FOR TWENTYFOUR HOURS ENDING 8 A. M. MARCH 13, 1907. 

Distances in miles; rainfall in :ncnes. 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XX 

---------- - 42 

Distances 

from 

Towns Pittsburg Rainfall 

~~~t~~~-~===---_-_-_ ~~ ~---- -==~~~= 8:~ Frankl in ________ 108 _________ 0.5 Warren _______ .. 167 ___ _ ______ 0.7 Saltsburg _______ 48 __________ 0. 9 J ohnst )wn ______ 90 _________ 1.4 

Cla rior. _________ 97 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0. 6 Lock No. 4_ __ ___ 40 _________ 2. 2 

Greensboro _ ___ __ 81 _________ 1.9 Fairm<>nt _______ 119 _________ 1.2 Westo11 _ __ _____ 161 _________ 1.1 

Rowle~ burg _____ .121 _________ 1.1 West llewton _____ 31 _________ 1.8 

Confluj ~nee ______ 81 _________ ~ 

Average 1.2 

30 

IP''c==~~~====~~==~~~bd~~==~~==~ ============= ~~~~-7 o==================3±o 'j39 

~==========~==========~====== 

IOCE:E:::E3:::E= =======>I 0=="~~;;;';2r:::======3::EO~~ · >O so Miles 

WEATHER MAP SHOWING RAINFAL L NEAR PITTSB JRG, PA., FOR TWENTYFOUR HOURS ENDING 8 A. M. MARCH 14, 1907. 

Distan ces in miles ; rainfall in inci tes . 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 72 PLATE XXI 

i 

' \ ',i 

i 

I p-~~·-YLV~----­ MATIYLAND 

I 

Distances 

from 

Towns Pittsburg Rainfall 

~~k~~~-~~~~---_-_ _ ~~ ~ ------~ -- ~=== u 

Franklin ________ 108 _ __ __ _ -- _ 0.8 Warren _________ 167 ____ ___ _ __ 0.8 

Saltsburg _______ 48 __ ___ _ - -- _ 2.2 

Johnstown ______ 90 _ ___ _ __ __ 2.6 

r~:~ No~4-_-_-_-_-_:-= ~6 =~~= _:- =_ ~:~ Greensboro _ _ _ _ _ _ 81 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. 2 Fairmont __ _____ 119 ___ __ _ -- _ 3.1 Weston ________ 161 _ ___ _ _ _ __ l. 7 

Rowlesburg_" ____ 121 _ __ ___ _ _ - 2.6 

WestNewton _____ 31--------· 2.8 

Confluence ______ 81 ___ - ___ -- 3.1 

Average 2.3 

10 •o zo 30 40 so Miles ~~K====E~~====~~~=== 

WEATHER MAP SHOWING RAINFALL NEAR PITTSBURG, PA., FOR FORTYEIGHT HOURS ENDING 8 A. M. MARCH 14, 1907. 

Distances in mi les; rainfall i n inches. 

30 

MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN. 127 

~ITTSBURG FLOOD OF MARCH, 1907. 

In March, 1907, a disastrous flood in the l\ionongahela basin caused a loss o:f more than 

$8,000,000, chiefly in Pittsburg and its immediate vicinity. · The conditions at Pittsburg preceding the flood, which reached the unp ·ecedented height o:f 35.5 :feet at 5 a.m., March 15, 1907, 

were unusual and in large measure pro luced the extraordinary stage and the great destruction 

wrought. 

On March 10 and 11 there were b tween 4 and 8 inches o:f moist snow in the basin o:f the 

Allegheny and Monongahela; rivers, a c1 the temperature was 10° to 25° above the normal. 

Heavy rain :fell in these basins on l\1ar ~h 13 and 14 and rapidly melted the snovY. The heavy 

rain and the melted snow at once ran nto the streams, especially t~ose in the Y oughiogheny 

and Monongahela basins, and quickly raised the stream heights to dangerous levels. The 

absence o:f :forest over so large a part o:f these two basins greatly hastened the run-off and 

raised the height o{ the flood beyond thE! stage that it wonld have _ reached under forested 

conditions. The great damage to prope ·ty ($8~000,000) and the loss of nine lives are believed to 

be largely due to the deforested conditi Jn o:f these lands. 

The weather maps reproduced in Plates XIX, XX, and XXI show that there was an 

unusually heavy rainfall in . the two 24 hour periods ending at 8 a. m. on March 13 and 14 in 

the region just above West Newton o the Youghiogheny and Lock 4 on the Monongahela. 

The precipitation during the first o:f t ese 24-hour periods extended over the entire basins of 

the two rivers, but that ending on Ma ch 14 was by :far the heavier and reached a maximum 

in the portions of the basins about ;vest Newton and Lock 4, when both of the streams 

were already dangerously high from t e melting of the snows and the heavy. general rains of 

the preceding 24 hours. In the vicini .y of both places 80 to 95 per cent o:f the country has 

been cleared, and this unusually heav rainfall rushed rapidly down the steep cleared slopes _ 

to the streams and produced a local ood crest on top of the more general one which was 

already at' a dangerous height, causin ,. the unprecedented gage heights at West Newton . on 

the . Y oughiogheny and at Lock 4 on the Monongahela. The flood. crest on each of these 

streams some distance abov.e these poi lts failed by sevel'al feet to reach heights attained by 

previous floods. 

This second flood gathered :from t e cleared hillsides suddenly and raised both rivers so 

rapidly that above this avea of max nmm rainfaJl the normal flood on each stream was 

checked, and for a very brief interv 1 there is reported to have been a dead eddy in the 

Youghiogheny above West Newton an in the ~lonongahela above Lock 4. 

The combination of unusual hig temperature, melting snow, and heavy rainfall can 

not be for.eseen or prevented, but wh n these were combined with a steep surface that had 

been largely denuded by man and so p epared to hurry the waters :from the melting snow and 

the storm into the stream channels wit the greatest possible rapidity the flood crest was raised 

to an extreme height. Had the basi s of the Y oughiogheny mid Monongahela been more 

largely forested the river would proba ly not have reached the stage it did at Pittsburg. 

It has been suggested that the e _ croachm.ent on the river channel at Pittsburg was a 

cause of the extreme stage reached the e, but when examined the encroaching structures seem 

too insignificant to produce this res lt, and ·it is very certain they cou'Id not cause the 

Y oughiogheny at West Newton to ris 6.2 feet above all previous high records. It has also · 

been suggested that the dumping of q larry refuse in the Ohio River had built out the point 

on its south bank just below the lower end of Brunots Island sufficiently to deflect the current 

flowing south of the island as it rejoin d the northern current in such a way as to cause eddies 

thai would greatly check the velocity f the Ohio and raise the flood level in Pittsburg. An 

ex:;tmination of the quarry dump at th s point showed that it ·was insignificant in amount and 

was not in proper place to produce uch a result. . It seems that the great flood, with its 

attendant damages, was due primarilv to an unusual combination of natural conditions and 

'vas greatly augmented by man's agen y in cutting away the forest within the watershed that 

recei:ved the great bulk of the railifall. 

72091°--~0. 72--11----9 

. \ 
/ 

TABLES. 

The :following tables give the names and location, by counties, o:f the streams considered 

in this paper. The streams are grouped . to show main streams and tributaries and are 

arranged in classes, the basis o:f the classification being the character o:f the basins as regards 

timber. · 

Streams in timbered basins in which floods rise and fall slowly, carry little sediment, .and do l~ttle damage. 

Main stream. Tributary. County. 

Nolichucky .................... Caney River, upper basin .............. Yancey County, N.C. 

Watauga ................. . ...... No examples. 

French Broad above Asheville. . . Clear Creek ...... .. ...... . . . . . . . . . .. . Crabtree Creek ....... . ........ .. .. .. . . 

Little River~ ............ __ ... . _. _ . ... . Carson Creek ......................... . Main stream, headwaters ............. . Davidson River ......... _ . . ......... . Avery Creek ... . ... _ ............... . . Mills River ......................... . Asheville to Hot Springs ........ . Shut-in Creek ............... . ....... . Little Pine Creek ..................... . Big Laurel Creek ............ . ....... . Little Hurricane ..................... . Big Hurricane ........ ." ......... _ .. .. . . Little Laurel Creek . . ................. . Shelton Creek .................... . ... . Big Pigeon ................... . . . Cataluchee Creek .................... . Big Creek ............. . ......... . .... . Alum Cave Creek ......... . .......... . Oconalufty Creek ........ ..- ............ . Main stream (upper part) ............ . Forneys Creek ..................... ~ . 

Little Pigeon .................. . Little Tennessee ................ . 

Main stream from Bushnell to Wayside. 

Panther Creek .............. . ..... . . _. Sawyer Creek .... •. . ................. Tuckasegee River .................... . Cheoah River ...................... _ . · N antahala, tributaries ................. . Hiwassee ....................... Valley River ... --- .................. . Main stream down to Murphy ......... . High Tower Creek ..... ~ .............. . Shooti~g Creek .............. , . . .. . . . . . . Tusqmtee Creek ...... . ............... . Fires Creek ........................ _ .. _ Brasstown Creek ................. . _ .. . Oosta:na ula ..................... . Jacks River . . ....................... . Conasauga River ...................... . Clear Creek ..... ... _ . .... . ........... . Main stream (upper part) .............. . Amicalola Creek .............. _._ . . ... . Etowah ..... ... .. _ ............ . 

Savannah ...................... . Upper tributaries in North Carolina, 

and main stream. 

Chattooga .................. . • ... . Main stream at Russell's bridge ....... . 

Chauga ......... ~ ..... . .... . ... . Tugaloo ...... . .... . ........ __ .. Saluda ................ _ . __ . . ... . 

Henderso~ County, N. C. 

Henderson and Transylvania 

N.C. 

Transylvania County, N. C. 

Do. 

Do. Do. 

Henderson County, N.C. 

Do. 

Madison County, N. C: Do. 

Do. 

Haywood County, N. C. 

Sevier County, 'Tenn. 

Swain County, N.C. 

Macon County, N.C. 

Swain County, N.C. 

Between Swain and Graham 

N.C. 

Graham County, N. C. 

counties, 

counties, 

Jacksonand Swain counties, N.C. 

Graham County, N. C. Macon and Swain counties, N.C. 

Cherokee County, N.C. 

Clay and Cherokee counties, N. C. 

Towns County, Ga. 

Clay County, N. C. 

Do. 

Do. 

Towns County, Ga., and Clay County, N.C. 

Fanin County, Ga. . Murray County, Ga. 

Gilmer County, Ga. 

Lumpkin County, Ga. 

Dawson Comity, Ga. 

Jackson and Transylvania counties, N. C. 

Between Rabun County, Ga., and Oconee 

County, S.C. 

Broad.... . ...................... Headwaters of Tiger River............ Union, Spartanburg, and Cherokee 

ties, S.C. counPacolet River ........... _ ............ . Green River ... . ........... . : . . . . . . . . . . Henderson; Polk, and Rutherford coun- ties, N.C. 

Catawba ... . . . .......... _ ... ___ . Tablerock Creek ....................... Burke County, N.C. 

Y adkin .... _ .. _ ....... . . ! __ . .. . 

New .......................... . I 

128 
TABLES. 129 

Streams in cleared basins in which floods are sudden, high, subside quickly, carry much sediment, and injure their flood plains by erosion, sedimentation, or dissection. 

Main stream. 

Nolichucky ..................... . 

Watauga ....................... . 

French Broad above Asheville .. . Asheville to Hot Springs ....... . 

Big Pigeon ..................... . Little Pigeon .................. . Little Tennessee ................ . 

Catawba ....................... . Yadkin .. , ...................... . 

New River .................... . Chattahoochee ................. . 

Savannah .................... . 

Chattooga .................... . Chauga ...................... . Tugaloo ................... ,. .. . 

Saluda ...................... . Broad ....................... . 

Tributary. County. 

Main stream, upper basin ............... Yancey and Mitchell counties, N.C. Jack Creek ....... . ............. · ... .. . Yancey County, N.C. 

Little Crab Tree Creek................ Do. 

Big Rock Creek .................... :... Mitchell County, N; C. 

Cane Creek............ . . . ............. Do. 

Elk Creek ........ . ................. . . Carter County, Tenn. 

Roan Creek (lower) .................. . . Johnson County, Tenn. 

Doe Creek............................ Do. 

Wilson Creek.......................... Carter County, Tenn. 

Caney Creek ...... . .................... Buncombe County, N.C. 

Main stream..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In parts of Buncombe and Madison coun- ties, N. C. B~g Sandy ~arsh, Little Sandy Marsh .. 1 Bun~ombe and Madison counties, N.C. L1 ttle Ivy R1 ver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madison County, N. C. 

No examples. 

No examples. Savannah Creek and tributaries .... . . . Johns Creek ......................... . Lower course of Tiger River and Pacolet River. 

Johns River ......................... . Elk River .......................... . . Main stream near Elkin ............... . 

Jackson County, N.C. 

Union, Spartanburg, and Cherokee coun- ties, S.C. 

Caldwell and Burke counties, N.C. 

Wilkes County, N.C. 

Surrey and Wilkes counties, N. C. 

No examples. 

Deep Creek, tributary to Soque Creek .. Habersham County, Ga. 

Tributaries near Pleasant Retreat and White County, Ga. 

north of Cleveland . Flat Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hall County, Ga. 

White Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Do. 

Mossy Creek ......................... White County, Ga. 

Mud Creek .......................... . Lower main channel and tributary creeks. 

Popcorn Creek ..................... . Timpson Creek . . , .................. . War Womans Creek ................ . 

Hall, Forsyth, Milton, Gwinnett, Dekalb, 

Fulton, and Cobb counties, Ga. 

Rabun County, Ga. 

Do. 

Do. 

No examples. 

Crow Creek, Little River, Panther Stephens County, Ga. 

Creek, Oostanaula Creek, main 

stream at Shelors Ford. 

No examples. Tributaries between Green River and Rutherford and Polk counties, N. C. Broad River. 

Streams in cleared basins in which tributaries carry little sediment, and do little damage. 

[Basins generally grassed or with porous soil.] 

Main stream. Tributary. County. Reason. 

Nolichucky ............. No examples. Watauga ................. Cove Creek ................ .. Watauga County, N.C ... Porous soil and swift current. French Broad above Ashe- No examples. ville. 

Asheville to Hot Springs .. Spring Creek ......... . ... ." . . Madison County, N. C .. Clearings in grass. Big Pine Creek ......... . . . ..... ..... do ................. Do. Big Pigeon ......... ·.· .... Jonathans Creek ............ . Haywood County, N.C. Clearings largely kept in grass. Little Pigeon ............ No examples. Little Tennessee ........ Upper Watauga Creek . . . . ... . ------------------------ Steep gradient of stream. 
130 DENUDATION AND EROSION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 

Streams in timbered area.s in which tributaries do damage to flood plains during floods following erosion caused by logging · on steep slopes. , 

Main stream. Tributary. County. Reason. 

' 

Nolichucky .............. . No examples. Watauga ................ . Do. 

French Broad a b o v e 

Asheville. 

North Fork of Swannanoa .. _ _ _ Buncombe C o u n t y , 

N.C. 

Slopes injured during lumbering. Asheville to Hot Springs .. 

Big Pigeon ......... ·-------- Little Pigeon ......... , ... . Little Tennessee ......... . Hiwassee ................ . Oostanaula .............. . Etowah .................. . Chattahoochee .. ·_ ....... . Savannah ............... . 

Chattooga ............... . Chauga ....... _ ... '· ..... . Tugaloo .................. . Saluda .................. . 

No examples. 

Do. 

Do. 

Soco Creek ...... ____ ._ ..... _. 

No examples. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Tallulah River basin, upper 

part. 

No examples. 

Chauga River ... -------- ...... . Brasstown Creek. 

North Saluda (headwaters) .... 

Broad ................... _ No examples. Catawba................. Do. 

Yadkin ................... Do. 

New...................... Do. 

Jackson County, N. C .. Lumbering. 

Rabun County, Ga..... Forest fires. 

Cone County, S. C ...... Lumbering. 

Greenville County, 

s. c. 

Not given. 
INDEX. 

A. Page. 

Abbot's ferry, Ga., conditions near.... . ... . ... .. ...... .. ... . .. . . . 100 

Agriculture, erosion as affecting ..... .. . . .. .. . .. .. .. . . . . . .. .. ... . . 11-12 

extent and character of. . ........ . ...... : .. . ..... ... . .. . . . ... 11-12 

problems concerning .... . . .. . ... . . .. ........ . .... . .. . ... . . . . . . · 30 

Alabama-Coosa River system, basin of, conditions in . . ... . . ... ... 90-96 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 

Alabama River, examination of. ...... . ..... . . . .. . .. . .......... . . 

Aliens Bridge, conditions near.... . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

!!!:~~o~~~T!:~:·~:~~~::!; ~ ~ ~ : ~: : ::::::::::::::::::: ;: 

Alluvium, stripping of, views showing ..... . .... . ... . . . .... .. .... 22,24 

Altitudes in the region ...... . . . . . .... .. ... . .. . .. : ...... . ... . .. . . . 7 

Alum Cave Creek, con\Iitions on . ...... . .... .. . . ... . ... . .. .. .. .. 63, 128 

Amicalola Creek, conditions on ..... . . .... ....... . ...... . ...... . . 92, 128 

Angeline, N.C., conditions near..... ... . . .. . .. . . .. . .... .... ... . .. 54 

Appalachian. Mountains, altitudes of. .. ·,· . ... . . .. .. . . .... ... .. .. . 7 

drainage basins in, map of...... .. . . .. . .... .. .. . .. .. .. . . . . . . . 32 

extent of................ .. . ... . . .. ... . . . . . ... . . . . .... . .... . .. 7 

map showing. ...... . .... . . . . .. . . .. ..... . . .. . .. . . . . . .. . . .. ... . 6, 32 

Aquone, N.C., conditions near... . .. . . ..... .. ..... ... . . . ...... . . . 72 

Asheville, N. C., conditions near . .. .. .. . .. . . . . . .. .. ... . . . ... .. . .. 51-59 

Asheville Plateau, views on ... . . . ....... . ... . ' . . . .. .. .. ..... ... . . . 20,46 

Atlas sheets pertaining to region, list of. .. . . . .. .. ..... . ..... : . . .. . 31 

Atlone, N.C., conditions near ......... . ... . .. . .. ... . . ....... . . . .. 46-47 

Auraria, Ga., dredging near.... . .... .. .. . ... .. . . . .. .. . ........ . .. 92 

Aurora, W.Va., conditions near.... .... . . . . .. .. ... .. .. .. ...... . .. 123 

A very Creek, conditions on ..... .. . . ... . .... .... . .. . . ... .. .. .. ... 54, 128 

Averys Ferry, S.C., conditions near. .... . .. . . .. ...... .. .. . .. .. ... 105 

B. 

Backbone Mountain, W.Va., conditions at..... .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 

Bakersville, N.C., floods on.. .. . . . .... . ...... . . . ... ... .... ....... 49 

Bald Creek, conditions on..... . ..... . . . . .. . . . . .... . ... . ....... . . . 46 

Bald Knob, N.C., erosion on ......... ... . ..... . ..... . :. .. . ..... . . 118 

Baldridge Creek, conditions near. . .. . ...... . ... . ... . .. .. .. . ..... . 100 

Ball Ground, N.C., conditions n ear. . . ... . .. . .. . ...... . .... . ... . . 112 

Balsam Gap, N.C., conditions near .... . .. . .. . ... ... .... . ..... .. . 19,65 

:Banners Elk Creek, erosion on.... .... ..... .. ...... . ... . .. . ..... . 36 

Barnard, N.C., conditions near. . . . . .. . . .... . ..... ... ............ 55 

Barnardsville, N.C., conditions near. .... . .. .. ......... . .. .. ..... 58 

Bear Creek Shoals, Ala., conditions near. . ...... . .... . ............ 88 

Beaver Creek, conditions on.... . .. .. .. .. . . ...... .. .. . . . .... . .. . .. 118 

Beaverdam Creek, conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 

Beech Creek, erosion on and near... . .. ... . . ......... ..... . . . .. ... 36 

Beech Creek Island, IJ.'enn., conditions near. .... . .. . ... . ......... . 89 

dredging at... . .. . ... . .... . ... ......... .. .. ...... . .. . ... . . .. . . 83 

Beech Mountain, erosion on .. .. .. . . .. .... .. .. . ........... . .... .. . 36, 39 

Beetree Creek, conditions on.. ...... .... .. . . ...... .. . . ... . ... . .. . 51 

Bee Tree Shoals, Ala., conditions near.. . .. ... ... . . . . .. . .. .. . .. . . . 88 

Belle Canton Islands, Tenn., conditions near.. . . ... . . . . ..... .. .. . 84 

Bellefonte Island, Ala., conditions near. .. . . .. .... . . . . . ... . . . ..... 87 

Bennett Gap, N.C., erosion near ... .. . .. . . . . .. ... . . . ... .. ,.. . .. . . . 54 

Beulah, Tenn., floods near......... ..... .. . ... . . . ..... . ....... . . . 44 

Big Buck Island, Ala., conditions near. .. .. . ...... . .. . . ... . . . . . .. 88 

Big Chain bar, dredging aL .. .. . . ." . .. . . .. ..... . ·... .. . ... . . . . . . . . . 83 

Big Creek, conditions on ... . . . ... .. . ... . . .... .. .... .. .. . .. 62- 63, 68', 128 

Big Estatoe River, conditions on . ..... .. .. . . . ." ... .. .......... . .. . 105 

Big Hurricane Creek, conditions on .. . .. .. .... ............ . .... . . 56, 128 

Big Laurel, N.C., conditions near.. . . . . .. . ... . ..... . ... . ... .. .. . . 57 

Big Laurel Creek, conditions on . . ....... . . . . . . ..... . . .. . . . ... . . . . 56-57 

Big Muscle Shoals, Ala., conditions near .. ... . . ... ... . .......... . . 87-88 

Big Pigeon River, conditions on ... .. .. . . ... . . .... . . .. . .... . . . . .. 59, 128 

Big Pine Creek, conditions on . .. . ..... ....... .... . .... . .. . .. . . .. 56, 129 

Big Ridge, clearings on. . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . ... ......... . . ...... . ... 67 

Big Rock Creek, conditions on ... .. ... .. . . .. . ........ .. . .. .... . . 40,129 

P age. 

Big Rock Creek, erosion on.. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . ... .. ... . . . . ... . .... 49 

Big Run, conditions on .............. ... . . ... ... . :. . ...... . . ..... 124 

Big Sandy River, conditions on ... .. . . ... ... . . .... .... ... ... . .. . : 123 

Big Tom Wilsons, N.C., conditions near: . .... .... ... .. . ... . . . ... 47 

Bird Hill, Tenn., floods near..... ..... . .... . .. . .. . . . ... .... ... .. . 44 

Birmingham Island, Ky., conditions near .. . .. . . ... . . ..... .. : . ... 90 

Black Mountain , N.C., conditions at. . . ... .. ............. .. ...... 48,51 

Black Rock Mountain, conditions near. . ..... . ... .. .............. 68 

Blackwater River, conditions on... . ... . . .. . ... . . ... . .... . ....... 122 

Blaine, Ga., conditions near.. . .. .. .. . .. . . . .... ... . . . ... ... . . .. . .. 91 

Blood River Island, Tenn., conditions near. . ...... ... . .... ...... . 90 

Blowing Rock, N. C., conditions near ........ .. .. . ... . .. .. . 113, 114, 116 

Blue Ridge, bare rock surfaces in......... . .. .................... 17 

panoramic view of. ... . ...... . .. . .. . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

Bluff; N.C., conditions on.. .. ....... . ... ..... ...... . . . .......... 55 

Bogart Island, Tenn., conditions near . . . .. .. .... ... .. . . ... : . ..... 85 

Bolton Ridge, conditions at ...... .. . . . . ... ... .. . : . .. .. . ....... . .. 99 

Boone Fork, erosion on...... . ... .. . ... .... . . .. .. .. . .. ... . ........ 36 

Bow lens Creek, conditions on ...... ,. . . ..... . ....... . .... . ...... . 48 

Bracket Bar, Tenn., conditions near.... ... ... .. . .. .. .. ..... .. .. . . 85 

Brasstown Creek of Hiwassee River, conditions on .... . . . ...... . 75,128 

Brasstown Creek of Tugaloo River, conditions on .... ... ........ 106,130 

Brevard, N. C., conditions near ..... . ... .. . '... . . . . . ... . . ....... . . 54 

Bridge Creek, conditions on .. . .. . . . .. . :.......... ... . ............ 102 

Bridgeport Island, Ala., conditions near ....... . ..... . .. . . .'.... . .. 87 

Bridgewater, N. C., conditions near .. : ..... . . : ... . .. . .......... .. 112 

Brights Creek, conditions on... . . .... . . . . . ... ... .. . . . . ... .. . ..... 1o9 

Broad River, basin of, conditions in . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . ... . 108-111,128,129 

description of ...... . ... . . . ... . ... . ... . .. .. ...... . .... .. .... 108-109 

examination of.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Brownsboro, Tenn., conditions near .... . ...... . .................. 44-45 

Brown's ferry, S.C., conditions near....... . ........... . ......... 107 

Brown's bridge, Ga., conditions near. .... .. ..... .... ..... ....... 99 

Brush dam, view of.... . . . .. .. . .. .... ..... ... ... . . ... . . . .. . ...... 24 

Brushy Fork, conditions on. .............. . ... . ....... .. .. . ... .. . 123 

Brushy Mountain Range, forests on................. . ...... .. .... 114 

Bryson City, N. C., conditions near..... . ..... .. . . ... . . .. . . ...... 65 

Buckhannon River, conditions on.......... . . .. ... . ... . . . . . .. . 123, 124 

Buek Island, Ala., conditions near........ . . .. . . . . ... ....... .. . . . 87 

Buck Knob, Ga., conditions near ....... . .... ... .. . . ..... .. .. . . .. 73,74 

Buck Mountain, N. C., erosion on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 119 

Buffalo Creek of Broad River, conditions near.. .. .... . ........... 110 

Buffalo Creek of Cheoah River, conditions near.... . . .. ... . ..... .. . 71 

Buffalo Creek of Monongahela River, ·conditions on. . ....... ... .. 126 

Bull Creek, conditions on..... .. . . ....... . .. .. .. .... . .. . ... .. . ... 51 

Bullhead Mountain, erosion on.. .. . . . .. .. . . .. . .. .. . ... . .... . ..... 118 

Bull Sluice, Ga., dam at ...... .. . ...... . . . .. . .. . ....... .- . . . . . . . . . . 100 

Burbank, Tenn., erosion near.. . ....... . .... . ..... ....... . ........ . 40 

Burningtown Creek, conditions on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 

Burningtown Gap, N.C., conditions near.... . ...... .. . . ..... . ... 72 

Burns Island, Tenn., conditions near .. .... . ... . .. . ... . .. . .. .. .. ,. 87 

Burnsville, N.C., conditions near ..... .. ...... . . .. . 1 •.. ••. • • • •••• 47,48 

Burton, Ga., conditions near.. . .... . .. . . . . .. . .. ...... . . . .. . . . .... 100 

Busbee Mountains, clearings in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

Bushnell, N.C. , conditions near .. .. . . . . . . ..... . . . . ... ... .' .. . . ~ . . 65, 70 

Butler, Tenn., flood near. . . .. ..... .... .. . . . ........ .. . . . . ..... . .. 35 

Byrds Island, Ala., conditions near.. ... ... . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. . ... ... 87 

c. 

C::esars Head, S. C., scarp at..... ... . .. ... .. .. .. .. . . ... .. .. ...... 107 

view from... .. ...... . .. . .. . .... . .. .. .. .. . . ... .. . ... .. ... . .. ... 108 

Cain Creek, condition on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 

Calhoun Falls, Ga. , conditions near... . . . . . .. .... . . . . . . . . . ..... . . 101 

Calhoun River, conditions on . ... . .. .. ...... ... . . .. .. . .. ......... 102 

California Fork, changes on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Camp Gap, N. C., conditions near.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

131 
132 INDEX. 

Page. 

Cane River, N.C., conditions on .......................... 46-47,49, 129 

Caney Creek of French Broad River, conditions on .............. 52,129 

Caney Creek of Hiwassee River, conditions on.............. . ..... 77 

Caney Fork, conditions on .... .. . . .. . . . ........ . ............ : . . . 67, 128 

Canton, Ga., conditions near ................... . ... . .'............ 92 

Canton, N. C., conditions near.................. . ....... . .. . ..... 61 

Carmichael Island, Tenn., conditions near .... . . :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 

Carson Creek, conditions on ...... . .................. . ........... 53,128 

Carters, Ga., COI).ditions near..................... . ............... 91 

Cartersville, Ga~, conditions near .. . ... . .... . .......... :........... 93 

Cashiers Valley, Ga., conditions in ... . .......... . .............. 103,104 

Cataluchee Creek, conditions on ......... : ........... . ........ 62-63,128 

Catawba River, basin of, conditions in ........... . ..... 111-113,128,129 

basin of, view in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

description of. ..................... _-_- ...................... 111-112 

examination of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 

power plant on ................ · .... ·.......................... 101 

view of....... . .......................................... 36 

Cedar Creek, Tenn., conditions near................... . .......... 89 

Celo, N.C., conditions near.................. . ................... 48 

Center Landing, Ala., islands at. .. . . ·.·.. ............. . ............ 94 

Chancellor Ferry, Ala., conditions near.............. . ............ 95 

Chattahoochee River, basin of, conditions in ................ 96-100,129 

description of. ............................................... 96-97 

examination of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

power plant on, view of. .......... ·..................... . ..... 14 

Chattanooga, Tenn., bars near .......... · .. · •........ ·" ............ 80 

Chattooga River, bars at mouth of ......... . ..................... 94,95 

conditions on ............... ..... . ................. 103-104,128,129 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 

Chauga River, conditions on ................................... 104, 130 

Cheat Mountain, W.Va., conditions on .... . .............. . ..... : 122 

Cheat River, basin of, conditions in .................. . ......... 122-123 

description of ........................... :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 

Cheoah ·River, basin of, conditions in ... ~ ................. 64,71-:-72,128 

government land on......................................... 75 

Chestatee River, conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96, 98 

Chestnut Creek, conditions on.................................... 117 

Chestoa, Tenn., floods at........................... . ............. 45 

Chickamauga Island, Tenn.,conditions near...................... 86 

Childersburg, Ala., conditions near... . ...................... . .... 95 

. Childers Creek, conditions near ................................... , 77 

Chissolms Ford, Tenn., conditions near ................ ·: ........ 42 

Chota.Island, Tenn., conditions near ....... , ..................... 84 

Clark's bridge, Ga., conditions near .. . ·........................ , . . 99 

Clarksville, Ga., conditions near .............................. : . ... 98 

Clayton, Ga., conditions near ................... ·...........•...... 103 

Clear Creek of Chattooga River, ~gnditions on ...•.... ·.· ........ -103-104 

Clear Creek of French Broa:4 iv!l;-, ~onditions on._ ................ 52, 128 

Clear Creek of OostanauJ~ ~iy~r, <!<?J?.ditions on.· ..•... , .. , ..... ~ 92, 128 

Cleared basins, streams in, .c hl;l-~a«?~~r. ?fflo_ods on.................. 129 

Cleared slopes, erosion on, effects of.. .... ,.. ...... . .... ·.· .......... ,,., . 18-20 

Cleveland, Ga., conditions near. ~--.': ... .. ~ ..... : .. .: ..... ·: .: . . _;r; 98,129. 

Cleveland Mills, S. G., conditions nea,r ............ . ........ ·:-.·· ;, 0 . , 108 

Climate, features of.. ................ -··/ · ................. _ .. 'J oi ., .9-10 

Clinch River, conditions near ............ _. . .......... . ...... ,_,

9

_._ 85 

Cloudland, N. C., conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

Cloudland, Tenn., erosion near.... . ... . ... . ...................... 40 

Clover Run, conditions on........................................ 122 

Clyde, N.C., conditions near.................... . ................ 61 

Cobble zones, views of.. ....... .'.· ................................. 20,24 

Coffee Landing, Tenn., conditions .near........................... 88 

Qohutta Mountain region, conditions in.......................... 90 

~oker Creek, conditions on ...................... •................. 77 

gold on....................................................... 77 

Coker Island, Ala., conditions near ............. , ................. 88 

Collettsville, N.C., conditions near............................... 113 

Columbus, Ga., power plant at, vie~ of. ......... . ..... __ ........ 14 

Colwell Bar, Tenn., conditions ,near· ... :.......................... 86 

Conasauga River, conditions on.................................. 91 

Coneross Creek, conditions on ...........•... ·..................... 104 

Coosawattee River, conditions on ............... . ................ . 91-92 

Coosa-Alabama River system, basin of, conditions in ............. 90-96 

descriptionof ............................ :.................... 90 

examination of. ...................... :: . . ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Coosa River:, conditions on ........... ___ .......................... 93-96 

examination of. ................... , ... ·'·...................... 5 

. Page. 

Cosby Creek, conditions on....................................... 83 

Coulter Islands, Tenn., conditions near.. . .. . ... . ................. 84 

Cove Creek of French Broad River, conditions on . . • • .. . . . . .. . . . 62 

Cove Creek of Watauga River, conditions on ................ 38-39,129 

Cove Creek of Tuckasegee River, conditions on................... 67 

Cowpen Mountains, conditions in.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 

Cox Island, Tenn, conditions near................................ 84 

Crabtree Creek of French Broad River, conditions on ........ 52,62,128 

Crabtree Creek of Nolichucky River, conditions on............... 49 

Cranberry, N.C., flood at............ . ........................... 35 

Creston, N.C., conditions near................................... 119 

Crops, character of. ........................... . ......... _ ........ 11-12 

Crow Creek, conditions on ..................................... 105, 129 

Crowtown Island, Ala., conditions near.......................... 57 

Crump Landing,_ Tenn, conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 

Cullasagee River, stream cutting on, view of..................... 38 

Cullowhee Creek, conditions on.................................. 67 

Culps Island, Tenn., conditions near............................. 89 

D. 

Dahlonega, Ga., conditions near .................................. 96,98 

Da113$ Island, Tenn., conditions near............................ 86 

Dam, brush, view of. .... ................... ................... 24 

Dandridge, Tenn., conditions near .. _ ............................ 59-60 

Davidson River, conditions on .................................. 54,128 

Davis, W. Va., conditions near................................... 122 

Davis Gap, N. C., erosion near ........ '........................... . 60 

Deckers Run, conditions on .................................... 125-126 

Deep Creek, conditions on ............ .......................... 98,129 

Democrat, N.C., conditions near................................. 58 

De Vaults Ford, Tenn., floods near.............................. 41 

Diamond Island, Tenn., conditions near......................... 88 

Dicks Creek, conditions on ... ·.................................... 102 

Dillsboro, N.C., conditions near................ . ................ 65 

Doe Creek, conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 129 

Doe River, conditions on ........................................• 34-35 

Doeville, Tenn., erosion near.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Dooley's ferry, S. C., conditions near............................. 107 

Double Islands, Tenn., conditions near........................... 89 

Drainage, features of. .......................... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Drainage basins, map showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Duck River, Tenn., conditions on................................ 89 

Duck River Suck, Tenn., conditions near .................. · ..... ; 89 

Ducktown, Tenn., erosion at and near .................. 19,24-:-25,77,79 

erosion at and near, views of................................. 78 

smelting at, effects of, views at ............ :.................. 78 

Dudley Creek, conditions near ........... ' .................... .-... 63 

Dutch Creek, fall on .................... ;~ .......... : . . :. . . . . . . . • 35 

Dry Fork of Cheat River, conditions on.......................... 122 

E. 

Eagle Creek, conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

Eagle Nest Island, Tenn., conditions near ...... _.................. 89 

East Ford of Pigeon River, conditions near ...... ,. . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

Edneyville, N.C., conditions near............................... 52 

Elizabethton, Tenn., flood at.................................... 34 

Elk Creek of Watauga River, conditions on .................. 36-37,129 

Elk Creek of Yadkin River, conditions on........................ 114 

Elk Crossroads, N. C., conditions near ......................... 118-119 

Elkin, N.C., conditions near ................................... 115,129 

Elkins, W.Va., conditions near................................... 124 

Elk Mills, Tenn., erosion near.................................... 37 

Elk Mountains, clearings on ............. :........................ 59 

Elk Park, N. C., erosion near.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Elk River, conditions on. . ....................................... 129 

examination of .................. . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Elk River Canal, conditions at. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 

Elliott Ferry, Tenn., conditions at •....... . ·.·.................... 59 

Ellis Creek, conditions near...................................... 77 

Elsie, N.C., conditions near...................................... 49 

Embree Furnace, Tenn., conditions near ......................... 44-:-45 

Erosion, effect of, on agriculture .................................. 11-12 

effects of; on cleared slopes ............................. c. • • • • 18-20 

on flood plains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-22 

views of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

in forested areas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-18 

on industries ....................................... -- .... 11-15 
INDEX. 133 

Page. 

Erosion, industrial importance of.. ............................... 11-15 

processes of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

remedies for .... ...... __ .. _ ... __ ..................... _ ... _ . . . . 22-24 

views of. ........... _ . . . _ .. . __ . .......... .. ...... __ ... . 22, 24,30 

Erwin, Tenn., conditions near .......................... _........ 45 

Estanolle Creek, conditions on.... ... . ... . .. ..... .. .............. 106 

Etowah River, basin of, conditions in .......... . ...... _ ...... 92-93,128 

description of ...... _ .. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 

Euchee, Tenn., conditions near...... ... ... . . . .. .. ............... 86 

Europe, stream control in ............ .. ... . . . ... . ........... _ .... 23-24 

views showing......... . ................. .. ............. ?.0 

F. 

Fairmont, W.Va., conditions near........ .. ........... .. ....... 124 

Farming. See Agriculture. 

Fender Knob, N. C., erosion on ....... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 

Ferry's landing, Ala., conditions near....... . ................. ... 87 

Field's bridge, Ga., conditions near............. . ................ 92 

Fines Creek, conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

Fires, forest, effect of.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Fires Creek, conditions on ........... . .......... .. ....... . ....... 75, 128 

Fishers River, conditions on....................... . ... . .. .. . .. .. 117 

Fishing Creek, conditions on ... ...... .. .__,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

Flat Creek, conditions on ......... ~ ................ : ........... 98, 129 

Flint River towhead, Ala., copditions near............. .. ........ 87 

Flood heights, changes in ........... . .. .. ... ..................... 28-30 

Flood plains, extraordinary, definition of.............. .. ......... 21 

view of. ....................... .. .................. . .. ... . ·. . . 20 

Flood plains, fossil, definition of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

view of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Flood plains, ordinary, definition of... ..... . ...... ............... 21 

erosion on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-22 

views of ..............................................•..... . . 20,22 

Floods, character of, classification of rivers by ... : ............. . 128-130 

See also Stream regimen . . 

Florence, Ala., conditions near ... . ............. .. ........... : .... 87 

Fodderstack Mountains, conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

Folios pertaining to region, list of. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Forests, erosion in .................................. ..... . ....... 15-18 

extent and character of........ ...... ......................... 8-9 

problems concerning ....... . ... .. ........ . .. .. ............... 30-31 

streams in, character of.. ................................. 16-17,130 

Forge Creek, floods on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Forneys Creek, conditions on ...... .. ........ ... ................. 70,128 

Fort Madison, conditions near.... .. .... ... ....................... 106 

Foscoe, N. C., floods near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Fourmile Creek, conditions near.................................. 100 

Fox Creek, conditions on....... . ...................... ... ........ 119 

Franklin, N. C., conditions near ............................... 64,68-69 

French Broad River, basin of, lower, conditions in ... 59-64,128,129,130 

basin of, upper, conditions in ..................... 50-59,128,129,130 

description of. ....................... : .... :. , ............. 50; 59-60 

water of, discoloration of..................................... 53 

Fruitland, N.C., conditions near....................... . ......... 52 

G. 

Gadsden, Ala., conditions near........... .. . ........ .. .. ... ...... 95 

Gages Creek, conditions on....... ....... .... ....... .............. 51 

Gainesville, Ga., conditions near ..... . ....................... .. .. 97,99 

Galax, Va., conditions near ............... , .................... 117,120 

Gatlinburg, Tenn., conditions near .......... .......... . .......... 63-64 

Geology, general features of. .. .. ..... ...... ..... ...... . .......... . 

Georges Creek, conditions on....................... . ............. 126 

Glady Fork, conditions on............. . ...... .... ... .. .......... 122 

Globe, N.C., conditions near.... ..... ........................ .... 113 

Gold mining, effect of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Good Fields Shoals, Tenn., conditions near... ....... ............. 86 

Gorges, character of.......... ... .................... ..... ... ..... 7-8 

Government reserve, nucleus for....... . ....................... . . 75· 

Grafton, W. Va., conditions near... ...... ......... . ........... . .. 124 

Grandfather Mountain, conditions on ........ . ........... ....... . 36,113 

Grange, N. C., conditions near............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 

Granite, soil from, erosion of ..... ...... ... . ....................... 35, 39 

Grant, W.Va., conditions near.... ... ..... . . ...... . .. .. .. .. ..... . 123 

Great Creek, conditions on........................ .... ... . ....... 76 

Great Falls, S.C., power plant at, view of...... . ......... . ....... 36 

Great Smoky Mountains, gorge of. ............................... 50,61 

Page. 

Green River, basin of, conditions in ............. . ...... 108,109-110,128 

description of.............. .. .... ..... .... ............ ....... 108 

Gullying, features of.. ............. · ............................... 19-20 

views of.. ......................................... ~. . . . . . . . . . 18, 78 

Gun Log Creek, conditions near.............. ... ................. 106 

Guntersville, conditions near............ .. ................. . ... .. 82 

H. 

Hackers Creek, conditions on... .... ........... ... . ..... ... ..... .. 125 

Haddock Run, conditions on.......... . .. ................. . ...... 122 

Halfmoon Island, Tenn., conditions near..... ...... . ............. 85 

Hall, N. C., conditions near .......................... ... .. ... . 65, 66,70 

Hanging Rock Mountain, erosion on... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Harper's ferry, Ga., conditions near............ .. ................ 107 

Harrison Island, Tenn., conditions near .... : ..... ........ ......... 85 

Harrison Landing, Tenn., conditions near...... ... ............... 86 

Hassicks Run, conditions on ....... .. ...... ..... ..... .... : ... ·.... 124 

Haysville, N.C., conditions near.. ... .. . .. ... .. .. ................ 74 

Hazel Creek, conditions on ........................ ·............... 71 

Hemphill Creek, conditions on............ .. .. . ................... 62. 

Hendersonville, N. C., conditions near....... .. .................. 52. 

Henry Island, Ala., conditions near....... .... ......... . ...... ... 87 

Henshaw, Tenn., floods near......... . .... . . .. .. ................. 44 

Hewitt, N. C., conditions near..... ... . ... . ... . .. ................. 72 

Hickory, N.C., conditions near.... .. . ............ ... ........ . ... 113 

Hickory Nut Gap, conditions near.... .. .. . ...... . ............... 110 

Highlands, N.C., conditions near .... .. .. .. ...................... 67,68 

Highlands, S. C., conditions near................................. 103 

Hightower Creek, conditions on .... ....................... . ..... 75,128 

Hillsides, terraces on, view of...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 30 

Hinton Creek, erosion on ..................................... ·. . .. 46 

Hiwassee, Ga., conditions near ............................. :· ..... ·· 74 

Hiwassee River, basin of, lower, conditions in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77, 86 

basin of, upper, conditions in ............................. 72-77,128 

description of... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 

Holcomb Branch, floods on ................................. : .... 58 

Holly Creek, conditions on.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

Holston River, basin of, lower, conditions in ............... . ...... 41-43 

basin of, upper, conditions in ................................. 32-34 

description of .............. . ... . .. : ..... .. ....... .. .... 32-34,41-43 

Holton Creek, conditions on .......... ·................. . .......... 119 

Hoods Ferry, Tenn., conditions near........ ....... . .... ......... 85 

Hoopers Creek, conditions on ......... .. ..................... .... ; 52 

Horse Creek, conditions on....................................... 119 

Horse Pasture River, conditions on..... ............ ............. 104 

' Horseshoe Run, conditions on......... ... ........... . ............ 122 

Hoskins Fork, conditions on ............. ............ . . ... _. _..... 118 

Hot Springs, N.C., conditions near ............... ,.-- ····· ···· .. 55,59 

Huffaker Island, Tenn., filling at..... .............. .............. 60 . 

Hungry River, conditions on................... . ................. 110 

Hunter Island, Tenn., conditions near........................... 86 

Hurricane Islands, Tenn., conditions near........................ 90 

Hutchin's ferry, Ga., conditions near , ... . ........ ..... ........... 100 

I. 

Independence, Va., conditions near .................... ... . 116, 119,120 

Indian Creek, Tenn., conditions on..... .. ... . .................... 89 

Indian Gap, N. C., conditions near... ..... . .. . ....... ............ 66 

Industries, relation of erosion to .................................. 11-15 

Ivanhoe Furnace, Va., conditions near........................... 116 

Ivy River, conditions on .............. .................•. ...... 51,55,58 

See also Little Ivy River. 

Ivy Gap, N. C., conditions near................ ............... ... 57 

J. 

Jack Creek, conditions on .... . ............ ... .... .. .. .. ......... 46,129 

Jacks River, conditions on ......................... . ............ 90,128 

Jefferson, N.C., conditions near.. .......... .......... ... .. . . .... . 118 

Jerrys Creek, conditions on .............. ....... : ................. 104 

J etts Ferry, Ga., conditions near...... . ..... .. ........... ... ..... 100 

Johnathan Creek, conditions on .......... ............ .... .... 61,62,129 

Johns Creek, conditions on . ................ .. ................... 70,129 

Johnson, N. C., conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

Johnson City, Tenn., floods near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Johnsons Ferry, Ga., conditions near........ .. ............ . .. . ... 100 

Johnsonville, Tenn., conditions near.......... . . . ......... ....... 89 

Johns River, conditions on ...................... ....... ........ 113,129 
t34 INDEX. 

Page. 

Joy,. N. C., conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 

K. 

Kanawha River, examination of...... .. . .. . .. ..... .. .... .. ..... . 6 

Kelleys Island, Tenn., conditions near..... . .... . ................ 89 

Key, Tenn., clearings near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Kings Bar, Tenn., conditions near.. ......... ..... .... . .... .. .... . 85 

Kingport, Tenn., floods near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Kingston, Ga., conditions near. . ...... .. .. .. .. . ............. . .. . . 93 

King~ood, W.Va., conditions near .... . ... . ......... : . .. . .. .. ... 125 

Kirkpatricks Island, Tenn., conditions near.. .... . . .... . . ..... .. . 89 

Knox Bridge, Ga ..... . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 

Knoxville, Tenn., conditions near ..... .. .. . ... . ...... . .... . . •. 43,80,83 

L. 

Lake Toxaway, conditions near ..... . . . .. .. ............... . _.: ... 53 

Lambsburg, Va., conditions near..... .. ......... .... ............. 117 

Landrum, Ga., dredging near . . .. .. ...... .... ... .. .. .. ......... . ·. 92 

Landslides, occurrence of.. .... : ... . ... .. .. .... .. . ·.. .. . .......... . 20 

Larkin's towhead, Ala., conditions near.. .. ..... . ....... . ........ 87 

Laurel Branch, conditions on .... .... ........ . .. .... . .'.. .. .. .. ... 118 

Laurel Branch Mountain, clearings on .... ... .. . ... . . :. . . . . . . . . . . . 105 

Laurel Creek, clearings on... .. ..... .. ..... .. .... .. ....... . .. .. .. . 105 

Laurel Fork, conditions on ... ........... ... .. ... .. ............. . 122 

Laurel Hills, W. Va., conditions in......... . .................... . 123 

Laurel Springs, N.C., conditions near . .'....... . .... . . .. . . . .... ... 118 

Lavinia, N, C., conditions near... .. ...... . .. .. ................... 61 -

Leading Creek, conditions on ........ ........... :.'.. . .. .. ........ 123 

Lead vale, Tenn., conditions near... . ........... .. ...... . ........ 59 

Leatherwood Shoals, Tenn., conditions near.......... . .... . .. ... 90 

Leipers Ferry, Tenn., conditions near......... . ....... . ...... . ... 84 

Lenoir Ferry, Tenn., conditions near. . . _. ............ . ........... 84 

Lenoir Shoals, Tenn., conditions near... .. ....................... 84 

Leonard, N.C., conditions near. ... ....................... ....... 56 

Lima, S. C., conditions near. : . . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. 108 

Limonite, cement of. . .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . . .. . . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 80 

Linville, N.C., conditions near . ........ .. .................... 112-113 

Linville River, conditions on .................... ...... ........ 1i2-113 

Little Buck Island, Ala., -conditions near. . ... . ... .. . . ... . .. . ..... 88 

Little Crabtree Creek, conditions on .... . .................. .. . 47-48, 129 

Little Creek, conditions on.. .. .. . .. .. . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . .. 57 

Little Doe Creek, erosion on . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. .. .. . .. 38 

Little Estatoe River, conditions on ......... .'. ....... . ... . ... . ... 105 

Little Horse Creek, conditions on . .... . .............. _............ 119 

Little Hurricane Creek, conditions on ..... . .. .. ...... . .... . ..... 56,128 

Littie Ivy River, changes in regimen of ....... .. ...... . .......... ,57-58 

conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 

Little Keowee River, conditions on . . . . , ....... . ....... . ..... .. 101,105 

Little Laurel Creek, conditions on .......................... .. ... 56, 128 

Little Muscle Shoals, Ala., conditions near ....... . .... . .... .. .... 87..:SS 

Little Pigeon River, conditions on ..... . ............. .. ...... r:o,63, 128 

Little Pine Creek, conditions on ... .' ............................. 56, 128 

Little· River of French Broad River, conditions oli .... . ...... 53, 64, 128 

Little River of New River, conditions on ..... .. .. .. .............. · 120 

Little River of Tugaloo River, conditions on. . ........... . ... . ... 129 

Little River Island, Tenn. , conditions near... . ..... . ........ . .. .. 84 

Little Rock Creek, conditions on..... . . ... ...... . .. . ..... . ....... 49 

Little Sandy River, conditions on ..... , .................... · ...... · 123 

Little Tennessee River, basin of, conditions in.: ..... 64-72, 128, 129, 130 

description of. .......................... , .. .. .......... : .. 64, 70-71 

Little Tesnatee River, conditions on........ .. ................... 98 

Loggy Gap, erosion near............... .. .......... .... .......... 36 

Log 1 raining wall, view of. ........ . ........ .. ......... ... : .. : .. .. . 24 

Long Island, Tenn., conditions near......... .. ........ .. ......... 85 

Longs Ferry, Tenn., floods at.................................... 42 

Long Shoal, Ga.,conditions near.. .. ............................. 101 

Lost Run, conditions on .............. . .. . ................. .-..... 12.'5 

Loudon Island, Tenn., conditions near........... ... . . . . ..... . . . . 85 

Low Gap, Va., conditions near.. ........ .. ....................... 117 

_ Lumbering, extent and effect of.. .. ..................... . ( ... 12-13,130 

Lyons Shoals, Tenn., conditions near... . ...... .. ... .. ........... . 83 

M. 

McGee's ferry, S. C., conditions near... . .. . .. . . .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. 107 

McKee Island, Ala., conditions near...................... . ....... 87 

McManus Islands, Tenn., conditions at........................... 60 

· Magnetic, N.C., conditions near ...... · ..... .................... ,.. 49 

Marble Bluff Island, Tenn., conditiops near .... .......... , ..... . ... 85 

Page. 

Marion, N.C., conditions near...................... .... .......... 112 

conditions near, view of........... . ......... ................. 18 

Marshall, N.C., conditions near . .. ............................... 55,56 

Martin Bar, Tenn. , conditions near....................... .. ... .. . 86 

Martins Creek, flood on.. ......... . .. .. ............... .. .......... 58 

Mast, N.C., erosion near .. .. ................................. .. .. 38-39 

Maynard's ferry, Ga., conditions near.......... . ........ .. ....... 100 

Meadow Fork, conditions on............ . ............. .. ......... 55 

Meadowville, W.Va., conditions near.... . .. .. ........ .. ......... 123 

Meander curves, erosion in, views of.......... .... ..... .. ......... 38 

_Micaville, N.C., conditions near................. .. ... .. .......... 48 

Middle Mountain, W. Va., conditions at.... . .... ... .............. 122 

Mill Fork, conditions on ...... . ...... .. ............ .. .... ........ 114 

Mijl Run, conditions on... . ..... . .... . ..... .. . . . . .. . .. . .. . ....... 122 

Mill,Springs, N. C., conditions near.. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. 109 

Mills River, conditions on..................... .. ................. 128 

Mingus Mill Creek, conditions on...... .. .......... .. ............. 66 

Mining, effect of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

extent and character of.. .. .......... .. ......... .... .......... 13 

Monongahela River, basin of, conditions in .. .. .. .. .. . .. . ....... 121-127 

description of .

1

••• • •••••••• •• •• • •• •• • •• ••• • •••••••• • ••• • •••• • • 121 

examination of.. . .. .. .... . . . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . ... . ... .. . . .. ..... 6 

floods on.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 

Montgomery, Ala., conditions near . . ............ .. ... . .. . .. . .. . .. 95-96 

Morganton, N. C., conditi_ons near., . ... , . ... . . . ........ . ....... 112,113 

Morgantown, Vf. Va., conditions near . ...... _ .. .. .......... .. ... 125-126 

Moody Mill Creek, erosion on........................ .. ........ . 36 

Morris Island, Tenn., conditions at. ......... , . .. ................. 59 

Mossy Creek, conditions on .... .. ........... . .. .. ..... ... ...... . 98,129 

Mountain City, Tenn., erosion near ............................ :. · 38 

Mountain Creek, conditions on . ................. .. ............... 71 

Mountain Scene, Ga., conditions near ........ .'.. .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. 73 

Mou~taintown Creek, Ga., conditions on: ... . ...... : .... . . ·.... . .. 91 

Mount Airy, Ga., conditions near ............. .. .. .. .. . ....... : .. , 98 · 

Mount Mitchell, N. C., conditions near... ....... .. ....... ... ..... 48 

Mount Satulah, conditions near........ . ... .. ...... . ... . ......... 104 

Mount Whiteside, view showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

Mouth of Doe, Tenn., erosion near ..... . ................ · ... , ..... 38 

Mouth-of-Wilson, N.C., conditions near........ ... ........ ... .... 119 

Mud Creek of Chattahoochee River, conditions on ..... . ....... .. 97,.129 

Mud Creek of French Broad River, conditions on. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .· 52 

Mulberry Gap, N. C., conditions near.... .. ...................... 116 

Mulberry River, conditions on... . ............. . ................. 116 

Murphy, N.C., conditions near . .............................. 73,74-76 

Muscle Shoals Canal, conditions at. ....... .' . ........ . ........... . 82,83 _ 

N. 

Nacoochee Valley, conditions in and near ... . ......... . : ... ,..... 97 

Nantahala River, conditions on ... ... .... .. ................ . .... 72,128 . 

Navigation, rivers affording .. ..... .. ................ .. ....... :... 11 

N ebo, N. C., conditions near ... . ....... . . . . . .. : .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .. . . 112 

New River, basin of, conditions in ................ .. . ...... . .. . 1'16--120 

description of. .... .. .. .... .. .... ......................... 8, 116-117 

examination of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Noeton, Tenn., conditions at. ................... : ............... 42-43 

Nolichucky River, basin of, conditions in ...... .. .. . . 43-50,128,129,130 

bridge_ over, view of. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . 44 

description o·r .. .. . . .............................. . ... . ..... : . 43-44 

flood-at, effects of, view showing ..... . :.. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . 44 

gorge of, view of. ..... . : ..... ... .. .. ......... .. .. . ........... · 46 

Norris, N. G., erosion near. . . . . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 36 

North Pacolet River, basin of, conditions in ....... _ .... . .... 108,110-111 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

North Saluda River, conditions on .................. . .......... 107-108 ' 

Norton, N. C., conditions near................................... 67 

Nottley River, conditions on............ .. .... .. ................. 76 

o: 

Oak Grove, Tenn., erosion at........... . ........................ 59 

Ocoee River, conditions on .. .. . ........................ . ......... 77-79 

Oconalufty River, basin of, conditions in ..... .. .. .. ...... 65,66-68,128 

Old Fort, N. C., condftio'ns near .................... ... .. ....... 48,112 

Oostanaula Creek, conditions on ...... .. .. .. , ..... .. · .. .. . ... . " .. 129 

Oostanaula River, basin of, onditions in ..... . .. ... ...... .... . 90-92,128 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

Ore Knob, N.C., conditions near................................ 118 

Osborne, N.C., conditions near.................................. 75 
INDEX. 135 

Page. 

Ostin~ Creek, conditions on ..... . _ .................... ~ .. ___ . __ _ . 109 

Otto, N. C., conditions near.... . .......... . .. . . . . . ............... 69 

Ox Creek, conditions on .. _. ___ .. _ .. _ .. _._ .. _ .. . _ .. _ ...... __ . . _: .. 58 

P. 

Paces Bridge, Ga., conditions near._ .. _. _____ ._ .. __ ............. 100 

Pacolet River, conditions on_ .. _______ __ ._. ___ . ___ ._ .... . .... . . 128,129 

See also North Pacolet and South Pacolet. 

Paducah, Ky., conditions near._._._._ ... _. ____ ._ .. _ ... _......... 81 

Painter, N. C., erosion near. .. _. _ . . __ . . ___ . __ . ___ ._ . . __ .. _ ... __ .__ 66 

floods at .... __ . _ .. _ .. _____ .'. _ .. _ .. _ .... _____ .. _ .. _ ... _ . . . . . . . 67 

Paint Fork, changes on __ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. _ ... _ ...... _ ... _............. 58 

Pandora, Tenn., erosion near ... __ .................. _ .. __ .. _...... 38 

Panther Creek of Little Tennessee River, conditions on ..... _._. 71,128 

Panther Creek of Tugaloo River, conditions on ...... _ ... . .. . . .. 106,129 

Panther Creek Island, Tenn., conditions near .... _. ___ ._._ ... ___ . 90 

Park's ferry, Ga., conditions near._ ... _._ ...... _ .. __ .. _ ... ___ . __ . 107 

Parsons, W.Va., conditions near ..... ______ . _ .. _ . . . _ .. . ......... - 122 

Paynes Landing, Ala., conditions near. . . ____ . ______ .. _______ .... 88 

Peach Bottom Mountain, erosion on_ .. _. ____ _ ._ . .... ________ .... 118 

Peachtree Creek, conditions on .. .~ _ . . ____ ... . _. ___ . _____ : __ ___ . 76 

Pecks Run, conditions on .. __ .. _ . . _ .. __ . ____ ._. ___ .. __ .__________ 124 

Pentecost towhead, Ky., conditions near ... . __ .. _ .. __ __ . . __ ._.... 90 

Perkin's ferry, Ga., conditions near_ ..... ____ . ________ .. __ .. _.____ 106 

;persimmon Creek, conditions on .. ___________ . ___ . ___ . __ . __ .. .... 102 

Petticoat Bar,Tenn., conditions near ... __ ._._ ... _._ . __________ ... 88 

Pickens, W.Va., conditions near ... ___ __ ._._ .. __ .. _ .. _._. ____ ._ 123,124 

Pickle Island, Tenn., filling at ..... _. __ . __ . .. __ . __ . ____________ . _ 60 

Pickles Bar, Tenn., conditions near_ . . . ____ . __ .. _ .. ______ ___ _ .... 

Pigeon River, basin of, conditions in ..... __ . __ . . . _ .. _____ . ___ _ 

basin of, view in ... ···-------------------- ____ ... .. __ ---- ___ . 

See also Big Pigeon; Little Pigeon. 

85 

C0-64 

20 

Pine Creek, conditions on._. ___ _ . . __ .. ___ . __ . _____ . ______ . .. ... . . 118 

Pine Island, Ala., conditions near_. ____ ____ .• ___ : ___ . ____ .. . ..... 87 

Pineola, N.C., conditions near._. __ . __ . ___ . _________ .. _ ........ 112-113 

Piney Island, Tenn., conditions near._. ~ __ . __ .. ____ ............ . . 86 

Pink Bed, N. C., conditions near .... _ .. _ ... _ ............. . ..... -. 54 

Piper Gap, Va., conditions near. __ . __ . . ...... _._ ..... _........ . .. 117 

Pirkle:s Jerry, Ga., conditions near. ........... __ ................. 100 

Pisgah Mountain, clearings on .. :: _ .. _. ___ ..... _ .. __ . _........... 61 

Pittsburg, floods at ....... _ .. _ ... __ ... __ . . . _. ___ ........ _ ... __ . 121,127 

rainfall at, charts showing .......... _ . .... _ . . . _ .. __ ... _ . . . . . . . 126 

Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., conditions near ....... _ ............... - 88 

Pleasant Retreat, Ga., conditions near ..... _ ..... _ ... :_._ .. _ .... \:f7, 129 

Plum Orchard Creek, conditions on ... __ . . _, __ .... ~.............. 102 

Poole's ferry, Ga., conditions near .......... __ ..... __ ............ 94 

Popcorn Creek, conditions on .... _ ... _. ___ .. _ .... ___ . :.-.. __ .... 102, 129 

Poplar, N.C., floods at.......... . ............................... 45 

Population, number and distribution of.. ___ .. _ .. _. ___ . __ .. _ ... _. 10 

Portland, W.Va., conditionsnear ..................... : ......... 123 

Portman, S. C., power plant at, view of. ..... _._ . . __ .. _ .... _._.__ 36 

Post Oak, Tenn., conditions near ...... __ .. _. ___ ._._._ .. __ .. __ ._: 84 

Potato Creek, erosion at .............. . ......... . ........... __ . __ . 78-79 

Poverty Branch, conditions near . . ............. :._._ .. __ .. __ .. __ . 58 

Power development, extent oL ... _ ................. __ . _ .. __ . . _ .. 13-15 

Power plants, viewsof. •......................................... 14,36 

Powers Ferry, Ga., conditions near .... __ . __ ...... _ .... __ .. __ . __ __ 100 

Prater Island, Tenn., conditions near .... __ . __ .. _ .. __ .. _ .. __ .. __ ._ 84 

Prather Creek, conditions on .. _ .. _. _______ ... ___ . __ . __ .. __ .. _. __ . 105 

Prathers Bridge, S. C., con<;litions near._. __ ._ .. _ . . _ .. _ .. _._._. __ . 106 

Precipitation, amount and distribution of .. _ .. _ .. _ .. __ . __ .. _. ___ . 9-10 

Presley, Ga., c_onditions near._. ________ ... _ .. _ .. __ . __ ....... . .... 73-74 

Preston Is!and,_ Tenn., conditions near ........... _ .. _: ._._._..... 85 

Price Cree~, condiqons on .... _ .... ___ . __ ._._ ....... _ .. _ ...... _ .. _ 91 

Q. 

Qualla Indian Reservation. N.C., conditions in ............ _..... 66 

Rabun Gap, Ga., conditions near ...... __ .. _ .. __ ............ _. 68-69,103 

.Railways, lines of. . _ .. _ ... _. __ .. _______ .... . .. .' .......... _ ... __ .. 10 

.Rainfall, amount and distribution of .. -.. -- . .. . .. ----- .. -..... --- 9-10 

:Reddie River, conditions on ..... _ .. . ....... _ .. .... .. __ ... _ .. .... _ 115 

.Red Marble Gap, N.C., conditions near .. ___ ._. ____ ._ .. _ ...... _.. 74 

Redstone Creek, conditions ori. _ ... : . . _ .. _. _ .. __ .. _ .. ... __ .. _.... 126 

Reedy Patch Creek, conditions on .. : ... _ . . ·._ ...... ___ .. :......... 110 

Reems Creek, conditions on ................... . .. _. __ ... _.· .. _.... 58 

Reynoldsburg Island, conditions near ....... ; .................... 89 

Rhea Forge, Tenn., floods near ............................... -.. . 

Rich Hill Creek, conditions on ...... _ ... _ ................ -- .. -.. -

Rich Mountain, W.Va., conditions at ..... _ .. . _: ._ . . __ .. . _ .. __ .. _ 

Hivers, changes in regimen of. ...... _ ... _ ..... ___ .... __ ... . ..... . 

gorges of ......... _ ..... _ . _ . _ .. __ . _ ......... _ ... ·. __ . . _ .... _ .. . 

location and general courses oL .. _ . . . _ .. _ .. __ .. _ .. __ . __ . .. _ .. 

transportation by .... _ .. _ ...... _ ... _ ... _.:_ ... _ .. _ .......... . 

See also Streams. 

Page. 

38 

119 

124 

25-30 

1-8 

8 

11 

Riverside, Ala., conditions near ......... _ ...... _ .. .. .. __ .. . _..... 95 

Riverton, Ala., conditions near ..... _._._ .. __ .. _ .. _._._._ . . _._. 80-81,88 

Roads, character of..._._. _ ..... ___ . .. _ .. __ ..... _ .. _ ... ·_ . .. . _ ... _. 10-11 

Roane Creek, conditions on ..... -.· .. __ . .. __ .~ ... _ ..... ___ . __ . . 37, 38,129 

Roan Mountain station, Tenn., erosion near_ . _. ____ . . __ ........ 39-40 

Roaring Gap, N.C., conditions near ...... . ................. 68,117,118 

Robbinsville, N. C., conditions near .. ___ .. _ .. _ .. __ .. _ .. _ ... _ .. _.. 64 

Roches Bar, Tenn., conditions near ... _ ..... _ ......... __ . ... .... . 89 

Rock Creek of South Toe River, conditions on .. _ .. __ . ___ .. _ ... : . 48 

Rock Creek of Tugaloo River, conditions near .. _. _ ... _ .. __ ..... 106 

Rockport bar, dredging at. ................. _ .. _ .... __ .... __ ... _. 83 

Rockport Island, Tenn., conditions near ................ , ... _.... 89 

Rock Quarry Bar, Tenn., conditions near .. _ .. _ .. ~ .. _ .... _._..... 84 

Rockwood Landing, Tenn., conditions near_ ...... __ . . ..... _ .. _.. 85 

Rocky Fork of Mill River, conditions on .... _ ...... _ .. __ .. . _..... 54 

Rocky Point Ferry, N. C., conditions near ... _ ... _ .. _ .. _. ___ .. _.. 71 

Roger Islands, Tenn., conditions near .... _ .. _ ..... _ ... __ .. _...... 84 

Roger's ferry, Ga., conditions near._ ... _ .. __ ..... . ... · . .. _ .. _..... 100 

Rome, Ga., conditions near .... _ .. _ ...... _._._ .. _ ...... _ ...... 93, 94, 9.6 

Rosnan, N. C., conditions near ..... _ .. __ .. _ ...... .... ...... _. .... 53 

Roswell, Ga., conditions near ..... __ ..... _ ... _................... 100 

Round Island, Tenn., conditions near. .. _. ___ . __ . . . . _ . . .. _ .. ,..... 85 

Round Knob, N.C., conditions near .... _ . . _ ...... _. __ .. _ .... .. 112 

Rowlesburg, W.Va., conditions near ... _ .. .. _. _ .. _. ____ .. _..... 125 

Russells .Bridge, S.C., conditions near ...... . . _._ ...... _ .... _ .. _.. 103 

Russel Shoals, Tenn., conditions near ... _ .. _ ........ _ ... __ ..... _. 84 

Rutherfordton, N.C .. , conditions near.. __ __ ._. ___ ... .. _._ ... _.... 112 

s. 

St. George, W. Va., conditions near ........ _ . _ .............. _ ... _ 122 

Saluda, N.C., conditions near ... __ .. __ . __ _ ._ .. : . .. ... __ ,......... 109 

mountains near ........... __ ._ ......... __ .. _ .... · ... _........ 108 

Saluda River, basin of, conditions in ... _._ ·_._ .... .. _. __ c • • • 107-108,130 

examination of ..... _ .. ... __ .. _ ......... __ ..... _ .. _ . ... _ ..... _. 5 

Sand, mantle of, land mined by, view of. .. _ .... _ ..... _ .. _, ... _.. 22 

8andy Bottom, N. C., conditions near ..... _ .. __ ._ ... _ .. _ .. . _ .. _.. 54 

Sandymush Creek, conditions on .. _ ... _ ......... _. __ .. ... __ . _ .. 56, 129 

Santee Creek, conditions in ....... _ ... _. _____ .. _ .. _ ... __ .. . .. _.... 97 

Sassafras Gap, Ga., conditions near. .. _. ___ . : _. __ .. : .... ___ .. .. ... 91 

S3tulah Mountain, conditions near. . .... __ .. _ .. _ ... . __ . __ _ ._ .. . _. 68 

Savanna_h Creek, conditions on ... _ .. _ .. __ .. _. ___ . . .......... _ . .. 70,129 

Savannah River, basin of, conditions in ... _ .. ... _._ 101-107,128,129,130 

description of. .............. _ ...... _ .. ... . _. __ .. __ .. _ ... _ .. 101,105 

examination of. .... _ ............... _......................... 5 

Savannah towhead, Tenn., conditions near .......... _ .. _ ... _ .. _._ 87 

Sawyer Creek, conditions on ....... __ .. __ .. _ ..... _ ... · .......... _ 71,128 

Sealey Mountain, conditions near._ ......... _ .. __ ._ ... _ .... _._... 68 

Scott Creek, conditions on ... __ ... _ .. _ ... _ .. __ . __ . __ ... _ ... __ ._.. 65 

Scott Point, conditions at. ... _ .................. ____ .. _._. __ .. _.. 82 

Selma, Ala., conditions near .... _ ...... __ .. __ ___ .. _ . ...... _ .. _ .. _ 95-96 

Seneca River, conditions near __ .. _ . ... ...... _ .. _ .. __ . . __ .. __ .. _ 106-107 

power plant on, view of. •.. _ ............... ... ... _._.. .. ..... 36 

Seven Island Ford, Ga., conditions near ..... _.- ... _._ .. __ ... _ .. _.. 99 

Seven Islands, Tenn., conditions near .. _ . _ ..... _ . ___ .......... _ . . 85 

Sevenmile Island, Ky., conditions near ... : ....... ___ . __ .. _ ... _ .. 88,90 

Seven mile Ridge, conditions on .. , . _ ............... _ ... . .... ·. __ . . 49 

Shad burn's ferry, Ga., conditions near. .. __ ......... ___ ._ ...... _. 99 

Shallow Ford, Ga., conditions near._ .. __ .. _,._ .............. _.... 99 

Shavers Fork, conditions on:............ . .............. . ... . .... 172 

Shavers Ridge, W.Va., clearings on._ .... . _ .. _ .. _ .. __ .. _ ... _ .. _. 122 

Shaws Landing, Ala., conditions near ............ _._._ .......... ~ 88 

Sheep Mountain, conditions near ... , ........... . ............ __ ... 53 

Shell Creek, floods on ............. .... '.. ........ . ... . ............. 39 

Shelor's ferry, Ga., conditions nea:r:-. __ ........... . ... _ .. .... __ .. 106, 129 

Shelton Laurel Creek, conditions on._ ....... .. ·. _____ ... _. _ ...... 56,128 

Shoal Creek, conditions near ..... _:................ . . .. .. . ....... 98 . 

Shoals, N.C., conditions near. .. __ __ . ............................ 115 

Shooting Creek, conditions on .. _ .. _ .. _ .. ___ ..................... 75,128 

Shull's mill, N.C., floods near ...... _ .. . _ .. _...................... 36 

Shut-in Creek, conditions on ....... __ .. _ ... _ ............. __ ..... 55,128 
136 INDEX. 

Page. 

Silver, Ga., conditions near ..... ... _ ............. _ ... _............ 91 

Silver Creek, conditions on....................................... 109 

Sister Islands, Tenn., conditions near ................... _.. ...... 84 

Sixmile Creek, conditions on ...... .. .. . ....... .... . ... ....... _.... 100 

Skillet towhead, Tenn., conditions near. . . ... . ........ . ........ . . 87 

Smelters, effects of, on vegetation ............................... 78,118 

Snake Mountain, N.C., conditions near...... ..... . .... ..... ... .. 119 

Soco Creek, erosion on ......... ...... _,._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 66 

Soco Gap, N.C., conditions near ................................ 62,130 

Soddy Islands, Tenn., conditions near ....... .................... 86 

Soils, effects of, on erosion ... _ ........... . .. . ... . ....... . .. .. .. . .. 18-20 

Sonoma, N. C., conditions near ......... , .. ... . ..... .. .. .. ...... _ 6Q-61 

Soque River, conditions on._ ..................................... 96,98 

South Pacolet River, basin of, conditions in ................ 108,110-111 

description of .......... _ ...... _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

South Saluda River, conditions on._......... . ......... .... ... .. . 108 

South Toe River, conditions on .... ... ......... . ...... _ .... ...... 47-48 

Sparta, N. C., conditions near ........................ _ . . . . . . . . . 118, 120 

Spartanburg, S. C., floods at. ...... . . . ... .. .......... . ........ . 110-111 

Spear's mill, Tenn., floods at .... . ..... _ . ..... ....... . . ....... .. _. 42 

Spillcorn Creek, conditions on .. . ... .. ... : ........................ 56-57 

Spivey Mountain, clearings on ............ . . _ ....... _............ 54 

Spring Creek, conditions on ................................... _. 56, 129 

Springtown, Tenn., conditions near ......... .................... _. 77 

Standing Stone Mountain, scarp at. ... ... .. ...................... 107 

State Line Island, Ala., conditions near ... _... ....... ............ 88 

Steels Creek, conditions on.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . 112 

Stone Mountain, Tenn., gorge in........... ... ..... .... .......... 35 

Stony Fork, conditions on ...................... _................ 114 

Stony Point, Tenn., conditions near .................... . .. . ..... 41-42 

Stradley Mountain, clearings on and near .... . ........... . ....... 54-55 

Streams, aggradation of, view of........ ........... ......... . ..... 22 

classification of, by timber, floods, etc ........... .. . . ....... 128-130 

See also Rivers. 

Stream regimen, changes in. . . . .. . .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. . . 25-30 

Strickland's ferry, Ga., conditions near .................... '....... 100 

Stringer's ford, Ga., conditions near.............................. 99 

Stump House Mountain, clearings on......... . ............ ....... 104 

Sugar Gr.o:ve, N. C., landslips near...... ................ .......... 39 

-Sugar Loaf Mountain, clearings on............................... 109 

Surgoinsville, Tenn., conditions near......... .... ... ..... ...... .. 42 

Sutherland, N. C., conditions near .................... -. ..... ..... 119 

Swallow Bluff Island, Tenn.; conditions near.... . ..... .. .. . . ..... 89 

Swan Island, erosion at.......................................... 59 

Swannanoa, N. C., conditions near... ..... ..... .. ......... .... ... 51 

Swannanoa Gap, conditions near... ........... . .. ................ 51 

Swannanoa Mountains, clearings on.............................. 51 

Swannanoa River, conditions on ............ . .. . ......... . ... 51-52,130 

Sweetwater Island, Tenn., conditions near........ .. ............ . . 85 

T. 

Table Rock, S.C., conditions near.................. . ............ 112 

viewsof............................... ..... ... .. ............. 16 

Tablerock Creek, conditions on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112, 128 

Talking Rock, Ga., conditions near... .. .. .. .. . . . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . 91 

Talking Rock Creek, conditions on... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

Tallulah Falls, conditions near ............ .. ................... 102-103 

State park at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 

Tallulah River, basin of, conditions in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101-103, 130 

description of................. ..... ........ ... ...... .. ....... 101 

Taylor Creek, conditions on .... ,.............. ...... .... . ... .... . 104 

Temperatures in the region.......... ...... .... ...... ............. 9-10 

Tennessee Island, Ky., conditions near... ... ..................... 90 

Tennessee River, basin of, description of. ..... . . : ...... ...... .... 32-90 

conditions on, Chattanooga to Riverton ...................... 8~88 

Knoxville to Chattanooga ................•............... 83-86 

Riverton to Paducah ............................. ....... 88-90 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-90 

deposition in ................................................. 80-83 

examination of. .... ..... .. .. .. .. ............. .... . .. .. .. . .. . . 

government work on . .... ..... .. ............ .. ..... ..... . 79,82-84 

islands in .......... . ....... . . ..... ....... ... ... .. .. . . .. ...... 79-80 

Terracing to prevent erosion, views showing ......... _ ...... _ ...... 22,30 

Terrapin Creek, conditions on... .... ........ ......... ....... ..... 95 

Terrys Creek, conditions on ........ · .............. ,.... .. ......... 108 

Terry's ferry, Ga., conditions near................... . ............ 100 

Page. 

Teter Creek, conditions on._ .. _.................................. 123 

Three Fork basin, W.Va., conditions in._....................... 123 

Three Forks, N.C., conditions near........... .... ............... 61 

'l'hreemile Island, Ky., conditions near........................... 90 

Three Springs, Tenn., floods at................................... 42 

Tiger River, basin of, conditions in ... . . .... .. . . . . .. 108, 110-111,128,129 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

Timber in the region, extent and character of..................... 8-9 

Timbered basins, streams in, character of floods b ......... 128-129,130 

Timpson Creek, conditions on .................................. 102,129 

Tito, N. C., conditions near .•. ................. .... ..... . ......... 62 

Toe River, conditions on .. .. ... .. ................. : .............. 45-46 

See also South Toe; North Toe. 

Topography, features of ................. ·_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 

Toxaway, S. C., conditions near ................................ 104-105 

Toxaway Creek, conditions on .................... ....... ...... 104, 105 

Trade, Tenn., clearings near. .. .................................. 38 

Transportation, facilities for ............ .... .............. ... ..... 10-11 

Treadwell, Ga., conditions near............. ...... ............... 91 

Tryon Mountain, N.C., clearings on....... ............ .......... 109 

Tuckaleeche Cove, Tenn., conditions near ................... ,.... 64 

Tuckasegee Creek, conditions near................ ..... ... .. ..... 71 

Tuckasegee River, basin of, conditions in .................... 65-68,128 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 

Tugaloo River, conditions on ........... ............... 105-107,129,130 

Turkey Creek Island, Tenn., conditions near......... . ........... 89 

Turkey Run, conditions on............ ..... ...... ... ..... .... ... 124 

Turleys Island, Tenn., floods at.................... ... ........... 43 

Tusquitee Creek, conditions on .................................. 75,128 

Twomile Creek, conditions on.................................... 100 

Tygart Valley River, conditions on ............. .......... . .... 123-125 

u. 

Unaka Mountains, gorge in... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Unaka Springs, Tenn., bridge at, view of......................... 44 

floods at .......................... . ....... . ..... , ............ 45 

effects of, view of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . 44 

Unicoi Gap, Ga., conditions near.............. ... ................ 73 

Upper Creek, conditions on ............................. _........ 112 

Upper S~le Creek Island, Tenn., conditions near................. 86 

v. 

Valle Crucis, N.C., floods near............... .................... 35 

Valley River, conditions on .................. ...... .......... 74-75,128 

Venus, S. C., conditions near ................................. _... 108 

Village Creek, S. C., conditions on............... ... .............. 104 

Visage, N.C., conditions near..................... .... ........... 75 

w. 

Walhalla, S.C., conditions near ................................ 104,105 

Walnut Creek, conditions on.................. .......... . ........ 109 

Wards Mill Branch, conditions on................... . ............ 117 

War Womans Creek, conditions on ............................. 103,129 

Warsaw Ferry, Ga., conditions near.............. . ............... 100 

Watauga Creek, conditions near .............. . .................. 70,129 

Watauga Gap, N.C., conditions near...... .. ..................... 70 

Watauga River, lower basin of, conditions in ..................... 41,129 

upper basin of, conditions in ............. ..... ........... 34-40,129 

Watauga Valley; Tenn., flood at...... ..... ...................... 34 

Water powers, destruction of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

development of. ............ . .......... . ................... 8,13-15 

Watts Island, Tenn., conditions near... ................. ......... 86 

Waynesville, N. C., conditions near. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

view near ...... . ............. ........ ...... _........ . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Wayside, N.C., conditions near.......... ............... ......... 70 

Weary Hut Creek, conditions near. .... ................. ..... .... 67 

Webb Creek, conditions near... ......... ...... .. ................. 63 

Webster, N.C., conditions near .. ... .......................... 64,65, 70 

West Fork of Chattooga River, conditions near................... 103 

West Fork of Monongahela River, conditions on ..... .... .... ... 125-126 

Weston, W.Va., conditions near...................... .. ..... .... 12& 

White Creek, conditions on .................... ........ .... . ..... 98, 129 

Whitehead, N. C., conditions near. . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . 118-

White Oak Island, Tenn., conditions near.. ... .. ... .. ....... ..... goWhites Creek Island, Tenn., conditions near.... ............... . 85, 

Whites Creek Shoals, Tenn., conditions near..... . .. . ........... 85 

Whiteside Cove, Ga., conditions in ............................. 103, 104 
INDEX. 137 

Page. 

Whiteside Mountain, conditions on ........................ ___ .___ 68 

view of. .................... ... .. . .................... :. . . . . . . 16 

White Water River, conditions on ........ __ ..................... 104 

Whittier, N.C., conditions near ... .. ...... .... .. . .. ___ ... . ....... 65 

Whittington, N. C., conditions near.......... . ..... ..... ......... 115 

Wilkesboro, N.C., conditions near ...... .. ............. . ....... 114-115 

Williams Ferry, Tenn., floods at................................ 42 

Williams Island, Tenn., conditions near ............. .. ......... .. 84,87 

Wilmot, N.C., conditions near................................... 65 

Wilson Creek of Watauga River, conditions on ..... ........... 39,40,129 

Wilson Creek of Yadkin River, conditions on .......... .. ... . ... __ 113 

Wilson Island, Tenn., conditions near ...... __ .... ________ .. ____ ._ 85 

Windfall Creek, conditions on ......... . ...... .. ............. .. .. _ 119 

Windy Gap, N.C., conditions near .......... __ .................. _ 57 

Winfield, W.Va., conditions near ... __ . . .... __ ................... 125 

Page. 

Wolf Island, Tenn., conditions near. .. ......... ....... -........... 88 

Wood's ferry, Ala., conditions on................................ 95 

Y. 

Yadkin River, basin of, conditions in ..... .. ................... 113-116 

description of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 J 3-115 

examinatiqn of.................... . .......................... 6 

power on... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 

Yellow Creek, N.C., clearings near.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

Yellow Creek Mountain, clearings on.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

Yellow Gap, N.C., conditions near ........... .... ......... . --.... 54 

Youghiogheny River, basin oL ............................. -. ... 121 

z. 

Zionsville, N. C., clearings near..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

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