 the tellico river rises in the westernmost mountains of the u.s. state of north carolina, but it flows mainly through monroe county, tennessee. it is a major tributary of the little tennessee river and is one of the primary streams draining the unicoi mountains. the tellico river and its main tributaries are renowned for their brook, brown, and rainbow trout fishing. upstream from tellico lake, above tellico plains, tennessee, the tellico is a premier trout stream. it meanders through a mountain gorge before reaching the broad plains downstream of tellico plains. ==hydrography== the tellico river rises in the unicoi range near the tennessee-north carolina state line, in the nantahala national forest. the north carolina side includes the upper tellico off-highway vehicle area. after the river crosses into tennessee and enters the cherokee national forest, it is joined by its major tributaries, the bald and north rivers. the tellico river basin was logged by the babcock lumber company in the early 20th century. the present-day road up the tellico river from tellico plains was built on the old babcock logging railroad bed. after the tellico river basin forests were cut, babock sold the land to the united states forest service. the tellico river's rocky descent provides class iii-iv whitewater recreation. the runs are especially popular during the spring because of higher water levels. the narrow extreme rapids on the tellico river are well suited for kayaks, canoes - c1's and duckies, but not for larger rafts. there is continuous access to the river from the road, but these runs are popular: * trout hatchery to bridge above the bald river confluence, class ii-iii * the ledges - from the bridge above the bald river confluence to bridge below jared's knee, class iii-iv * bridge below jared's knee to ranger station, class ii-iii * ranger station to tellico plains, class i-iii ==etymology== according to the united states geological survey, variant names of the tellico river include delaquay river, talequo river, terrique river, and tellequo river. t
Landforms_of_Cherokee_County,_North_Carolina Landforms_of_Monroe_County,_Tennessee Rivers_of_North_Carolina Rivers_of_Tennessee