Chattooga River
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Note: There is also a Chattooga River in Chattooga County, Georgia and Cherokee County, Alabama.
The Chattooga River (also spelled Chatooga, Chatuga, and Chautaga, variant name Guinekelokee River) is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River. Its headwaters are located southwest of Cashiers, North Carolina, and it stretches 57 miles or 92km to where it flows through Lake Tugalo and the Tugaloo Dam, then has its confluence with the Tugaloo within Lake Yonah, held back by Yonah Dam. It begins in southern Jackson County, North Carolina, then flows southwestward between northwestern Oconee County, South Carolina and eastern Rabun County, Georgia. The "Chattooga" spelling was approved by the BGN in 1897.
The river was used as a setting for the fictional "Cahulawassee River" in the film Deliverance.
There is also a former mine named the Chattooga River Prospect.
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[edit] Geographic Significance
The Chattooga River serves as the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina after leaving North Carolina at latitude 35°N. This was set forth in the 1787 Treaty of Beaufort, and interpreted for the Chattooga River in the first Georgia v. South Carolina case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1922. This came about largely because the Chattooga was not specifically mentioned in the treaty, as it had not yet been surveyed. Had the Chattooga's origin not been at or in North Carolina (which at the time included Tennessee), the far northwestern tip of South Carolina would have extended back to the Mississippi River, north of a due-west line from the river's origin.
[edit] Wild and Scenic River
The Chattooga River is protected along a 15,432-acre corridor as a national Wild and Scenic River. 39.8 miles of the river have been designated “wild”, 2.5 miles “scenic,” and 14.6 miles “recreational” for a total of 56.9 miles. The Chattooga also bisects the Ellicott Rock Wilderness which straddles three states (Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina) and three National Forests (the Chattahoochee, Nantahala and Sumter National Forests. Much of the Georgia portion of the river is within the Tallulah Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest.
[edit] Tributaries
The river is split into three forks. The North Fork Chattooga River is the main fork, running along the state line, and is officially called just "Chattooga River". The East Fork Chattooga River (sometimes East Prong Chattooga River) runs in from Jackson County, North Carolina and then Oconee County, South Carolina, and is 7 miles or 11km long. The West Fork Chattooga River (variant name Gumekoloke Creek) runs in from Rabun County, Georgia, and is also a variant name for that county's Holcomb Creek, one of its own tributaries.
There are also other small tributaries.
[edit] Rafting
The Chattooga is one of the very few commercially-rafted class V rivers in the Southeast. In the spring, the river is lined with blooming pink and white mountain laurel. Spring is also a great time to go rafting, kayaking, or canoeing on the Chattooga for the higher spring waters. The Chattooga is a free-flowing river (no upstream dam to control the flow) which quickly responds to rainfall or drought conditions. As a drop-pool style river, rapids are followed by calm pools. In the summertime, the water is even warm enough to take a swim in one of these pools.
The Chattooga is separated into several sections with Section 0 starting out near Cashiers. Section III has Class II-IV rapids which rafters and kayakers frequent. Lush rhododendron line the banks. The minimum age requirement to raft this section is 10 years old. Section IV has long been regarded as one of the most challenging rivers to raft or kayak. This section includes Class III-IV+ rapids, including the famous Five Falls. The minimum age requirement to raft Section IV is 13.
In 1976, the United States Forest Service prohibited hand-powered floating down the uppermost 21 miles of the Chattooga River. The group American Whitewater filed suit on May 18, 2006 to challenge the ban.
