Blue Ridge Country July/August 2020 - 32

wetland bogs are crucial for natural water
purification processes.
Factoid: Wilbur Dam was the first hydroelectric construction in the state, going online in 1912. As one of the first recipients of the new technology, the city of
Elizabethton, Tennessee was once known
as the "City of Power."
Challenges: The currently excellent
water quality across the basin's streams
and bogs are in danger of contamination
from pesticides, fertilizers, road salt and
other human wastes transported via runoff waters.
Get Involved:
* Watauga Riverkeeper (mountaintrue.
org): "Key protector and watchdog of the
Watauga River Basin in western North
Carolina."

Clinch River
Second only to the Amazon in concentrations of rare aquatic species, the Clinch is
recognized as the most biodiverse river in
the entirety of the Northern Hemisphere.
Description: This river flows for 300
miles in Virginia and Tennessee through
the gigantic landform feature known as
the Great Appalachian Valley. There are
two dams that create navigable lakes upstream. River waters can be characterized
as calm, cool and swift over much of the
route.
What to do: Thirteen miles of tailwaters below Norris Dam are world-class
trout fishing waters for rainbow, brook
and brown. Paddle and float at various
points with the option to snorkel in the
clear waters. Boating, water skiing, swimming, camping, hiking and picnicking are
popular at both lakes (with a small marina
available on Norris Lake).

COURTESY OF VA STATE PARKS

VISITNC.COM

COURTESY OF TVA

Factoid: From 1895 to 1936, Clinch
River pearls were sought by buyers from
around the world. These freshwater gems
from river mussels came in a variety of
shapes, colors and sizes-one found in
1903 was three-quarters of an inch long,
egg-shaped and weighed 117.5 grains,
making it the second largest in the world
at the time.
Challenges: The country's largest coal
ash disaster in 2008 released 1.1 billion
gallons of toxic slurry into the Clinch
and Emory rivers when the wet storage pond dike breached. In 2015, the
cleanup was declared complete, leaving
homes, health and environmental systems forever altered.

Get Involved:
* The Clinch River Valley Initiative
(voicesforbiodiversity.org): "A collaborative effort in southwest Virginia, focusing
on the Clinch River Valley - one of the
most biodiverse river systems in North
America."

Holston River
Among the rivers we are visiting, this waterway has had measurable effects upon
the livelihood and character of the nation.
Its qualities, location and resources have
all played crucial and varying roles in the
successes (and failures) of human life.
Description: The Holston proper is
formed by the confluence of miles of
three main tributaries called the North,
Middle and South forks. At 100 yards
or more wide in places, this 136-mile
river is mostly shallow, slow and outside
the reach of water releases from hydroelectric dams. In Knoxville, it joins the
French Broad River to create the headwaters of the Tennessee River.

TOP: The Watauga River flows through Tennessee and North Carolina.
ABOVE MIDDLE: The Holston River's flow is through Virginia and Tennessee.
LEFT: The Clinch River is recognized as among the most biodiverse in the Northern Hemisphere.

BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

Blue Ridge Country July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2020