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The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers. It begins at the Confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers in Rome, Georgia . Around 90% of the Coosa River's length is located in Alabama. The river starts in Rome, Georgia and ends just northeast of the Alabama state capital, Montgomery , where it joins the Tallapoosa River to form the Alabama River just south of Wetumpka . Coosa County, Alabama is located on the Coosa River. There are a total of seven Dam s between Georgia and the Coosa’s confluence with the Tallapoosa River which impound the Coosa River's natural flow for almost its entire length in Alabama. Hydroelectric Power dams have proved very valuable to the citizens of Alabama, but costly to some species Endemic to the mainstem of the Coosa River. In Alabama itself, most of the river has been impounded, with Alabama Power , a unit of the Southern Company , maintaining seven power dams on the Coosa River to this day. HISTORY Native Americans had been living on the Coosa Valley for millennia before Hernando De Soto and his men became the first Europeans to discover it in 1540. De Soto {Link without Title} enslaved, raped, and murdered thousands of people from the native tribes, as he demanded their food and natural resources, as they explored the valley (present-day Alabama and Georgia). The Coosa Chiefdom was one of the most powerful chiefdoms in the southeast at the time. The natives were not pleased with the manner in which de Soto ravaged their land, forcing the Choctaw chief, Tuscaloosa , to stage an attack on de Soto and his men in Mauvila , in the south of Alabama. Although the battle was won by the Spanish, de Soto soon left the state demoralized and headed westward. However, the toll on the tribes were far greater, with the widespread disease, especially smallpox, left by the Spanish killing off many of Choctaw tribes over a period of decades. Over a century after the Spanish left the Coosa Valley, the British established heavy trading ties with the tribes around the late 17th century, much to the dismay of France . The French believed that the Coosa River was a key gateway to the entire South and they earnestly wanted to control the valley, since the main transportation of the day was by Boat . The convergence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers was the gateway to Mobile Bay , which was where the French docked coming and going from their home countries. In the 18th century, almost all trade European and Indian trade in the southeast ceased during the tribal uprisings brought on by the Yamasee War against the Carolinas . After a few years, the Indian trade system was resumed under somewhat reformed policies. The conflict between the French and English over the Coosa Valley, and much of the southeast in general, continued. It wasn't until the Treaty Of Paris was signed in 1763, ending the French And Indian War , that France relinquished its holdings east of the Mississippi River. After the United States won its independence, the Coosa Valley was home to the Creeks and the Cherokee . After the Fort Mims Massacre , General Andrew Jackson led American troops, along with Cheroke allies, against the Creeks in the Creek War , which culminated in the Creek defeat at the Battle Of Horseshoe Bend . Afterwards, the Treaty Of Fort Jackson in 1814 forced the cession of a large amount of land from the Creeks, but left them a reserve between the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers. Even there the Creeks were edged out by white settlers who had begun moving into the places which were not included in the nation. Finally, during the 1820s and 1830s the Creeks, Cherokee, and virtually all the southeastern Indians were removed to present-day Oklahoma . The Cherokee removal is remembered as the Trail Of Tears . The Cherokee capital city of New Echota was located on the headwater tributaries of the Coosa River, in Georgia, until the Cherokee removal. The Creek and Choctaw removals were similar to the Cherokee Trail of Tears. After the removals, the Coosa River valley and the southeast in general was wide open for American settlers. This, in conjunction with new cotton hybrids that could be grown inland, resulted in large-scale migrations known as "Alabama Fever". The first river town to form in the Coosa Basin was at the foot of the last water falls on the Coosa River, the Devil’s Staircase , with the town name Wetumpka (or "falling stream") adopted shortly thereafter. The Coosa River played an important role into the early 20th century as a commercial waterway for Riverboat s along the upper section of the river for 200 miles south of Rome. However, shoals and waterfalls such the Devil's Staircase along the river's lowest 65 miles blocked the upper Coosa's riverboats from access to the Alabama River and the Gulf Of Mexico . The building of the dams on the Coosa--Lay, Mitchell and Jordan--allowed Alabama Power to pioneer new methods of controlling and eliminating Malaria which was a major health issue in rural Alabama in the early 1900's. So successful were their pioneering efforts in this area, that the Medical Division of the League Of Nations visited Alabama to study the new methods during the construction of Mitchell Dam.Jackson, Harvey H. III, Putting Loafing Streams To Work, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, pages 113, 145-46, 1997. The Popeye The Sailorman cartoons were inspired by Coosa River riverboat life and characters of the early 1900s in Rome, GA. Rome Georgia Website COOSA RIVER IMPOUNDMENTS AND SECTIONS The following table describers the seven impoundments on the Coosa River from the south to north built by the Alabama Power Company and well as the tailwater section below Jordan Dam. Henry H. Jackson III in his book ''Putting Loafing Streams To Work'' characterized the importance of the first Coosa River dams as follows:
FLORA AND FAUNA BIODIVERSITY HIGHLIGHTS In the Middle Coosa River Watershed, 281 occurrences of rare plant and animal species and natural communities have been documented, including 73 occurrences of 23 species that are federal or state protected. Ten conservation targets were chosen: the riverine system, matrix forest communities (oakhickory- pine forest), gray bat (Myotis grisescens), riparian vegetation, mountain longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest communities, red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), critically imperiled aquatic species (fish, mussels, and snails), southern hognose snake (Heterodon simus), caddisflies, and imperiled plants. Maintaining the biodiversity of the Coosa River system is particularly important because it has already lost a significant portion of its aquatic fauna to extinction. Alabama Non-Point Source Newsletter, Spring 2004 TRIBUTARIES The Coosa River's drainage has hundreds of tributaries, which have been divided into sections based on the different areas of the Watershed . The first four sections are tributary systems that converge to form the main artery of the Coosa River in Georgia. These main tributary rivers are the Conasauga and Coosawattee Rivers, which together then form the Oostanaula River. The Oostanaula then joins with the Etowah River in Rome, Georgia, forming the Coosa River. Other significant tributaries of the Coosa are:
MAJOR CITIES A number of significant cities lie on the banks of the Coosa River. They include:
ADVOCATES The Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association, founded in 1890 in Gadsden, Alabama to promote navigation on the Coosa River is a leading advocate of the economic, recreational and environmental benefits of the Coosa River system. Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association Website, History The Alabama Rivers Alliance works to unite the citizens of Alabama to protect peoples right to clean, healthy, waters. Alabama Rivers Alliance Website Alabama Water Watch is dedicated to volunteer citizen monitoring of water quality in Alabama Rivers. Alabama Water Watch Website The Alabama Power Foundation is a non-profit foundation providing grants for watershed, environmental and community projects along the Coosa River and within the state of Alabama Alabama Power Foundation Website The Coosa River Basin Initative is a grassroots environmental organization with the mission of informing and empowering citizens so that they may become involved in the process of creating a clean, healthy and economically viable Coosa River Basin. Coosa River Basin Initative Website REFERENCES NOTES |
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