Other Definitions
coosa river (dict)
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Coosa RiverThe Coosa River is one of Alabama's most utilized rivers. It begins in the northwestern corner of Georgia where several mountain tributaries of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Cumberland Plateau join together, mostly notably, the Conasauga, Coosawattee, Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers. Around 90% of the Coosa River's length is located in Alabama. The river starts in Rome, Georgia and ends just north of the Alabama state capital, Montgomery. The Coosa River Basin is one of the rainiest places in the US, with the average precipitation rate ranging from 52 to 64 inches per year. Only two areas in the northwest states of Washington and Oregon get more rain than the Coosa River Basin. There are a total of seven dams between Georgia and the Coosas confluence with the Tallapoosa River which alter the Coosa River's natural flow for its entire length in Alabama. Although the idea of using the Coosa as a navigational waterway into the interior of northeastern Alabama never materialized, hydroelectric power dams have proved very costly to the species located in the mainstem of the Coosa River. In Alabam itself, most of the river has been dammed, with the Alabama Power Company maintaining 6 power dams on the Coosa to this day. History Native Americans had been living on the Coosa Valley for centuries before Hernando de Soto and his men became the first Europeans to discover it in 1540. De Soto used the native tribes for their food, natural resources, and women as they explored the valley (present-day Alabama and Georgia). However, the natives were not pleased with the manner in which de Soto ravaged their land, forcing the Choctaw chief, Tascalusa, 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 left the state demoralized and headed westward, however the toll on the tribes were far greater, with the widespread disease left by the Spanish killing off many of Choctaw tribes or a period of a century. A couple of decades after the Spanish left the Coosa Valley, the British established heavy trading ties with the tribes around the early 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 Europeans docked coming and going from their home countries. However, towards the late 17th century, almost all trade (British or otherwise) ceased with the rampant tribal uprisings brought on by the Yamasee uprising in the Carolinas. Yet the bickering over control of the area between France and Britain did not stop, even with the mass migration of Europeans from the Coosa valley. It wasn't until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 that the French relinquished their holdings. After the United States won its independence, the remaining tribes formed a union called the Upper Creeks, which was brutally defeated by General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Afterwards, the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814 gave the Creeks land between the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, but were edged out by white settlers who had begun moving into the places which were not included in the nation. The first river town to form in the Coosa Basin settled at the foot of the last water falls on the Coosa River, the Devils Staircase, with the town name Wetumpka (or "falling stream") adopted shortly thereafter. 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: The Coosa River consists of the following lakes starting north to south: - Weiss
- Neely Henry
- Logan Martin
- Lay
- Mitchell
*Jordan
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