Synopses & Reviews
From its headwaters on the southern slope of the Tennessee Valley divide near Dahlonega to its confluence with the Oostanaula to form the Coosa in Rome, the Etowah is a river full of interesting surprises. Paddle over Native American fish weirs and past the Etowah Indian Mounds, one of the most intact Mississippian Culture sites in the Southeast. See the quarter-mile tunnel created to divert the Etowah during Georgiaandrsquo;s gold rush and the pilings from antebellum bridges burned in the Civil War. This guide offers all the information needed for even novice paddlers to feel comfortable jumping in a boat and heading downstream, including detailed, accurate maps; put in/take out and optimal river flow information; mile-by-mile points of interest; and an illustrated natural history guide to help identify animals and plants commonly seen in and around the river. A fishing primer offers tips to understand the habits of some of the many native fish species found in the Etowah, from trout in the riverandrsquo;s upper reaches to bass and bream in the midsection and catfish and drum below Lake Allatoona. Along the way, river explorers will come to understand the threats facing this unique Georgia place, and the guide offers suggestions for how to take action to help protect the Etowah and keep its beauty and biodiversity safe for future explorers.
Features:
- an introduction and overview of the river
- chapters describing each river section with detailed maps and notes on river access and points of interest
- a compact natural history guide featuring species of interest found along Georgiaandrsquo;s rivers
- notes on safety and boating etiquette
- a fishing primer
- notes on organizations working to protect the river
A Georgia River Network Guidebook
Published in association with the Coosa River Basin Initiative
A Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book
About the Author
Joe Cook is executive director of the Coosa River Basin Initiative and coordinator of Georgia River Networkandrsquo;s annual Paddle Georgia event. His photography has been widely published, and he is the coauthor with Monica Cook of River Song: A Journey Down the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
viiIntroduction 1
Safety 6
Boating Etiquette 8
How to Use This Book 11
An Etowah River Fishing Primer by Paul Diprima 13
THE RIVER
Headwaters andbull; Hightower Gap to Hightower Church Road 21
Hightower andbull; Hightower Church Road to Ga. 9 29
Etowah Falls andbull; Ga. 9 to Castleberry Bridge Road 35
Tunneling for Gold andbull; Castleberry Bridge Road to Ga. 136 41
Big Savannah andbull; Ga. 136 to Ga. 9 47
Dawson Forest andbull; Ga. 9 to Kelly Bridge Road 53
Eagleandrsquo;s Beak andbull; Kelly Bridge Road to Old Federal Road 59
McGraw Ford andbull; Old Federal Road to East Cherokee Drive 63
Canton andbull; East Cherokee Drive to Boling Park 69
Lake Allatoona Backwaters andbull; Boling Park to Knox Bridge 75
Lake Allatoona andbull; Knox Bridge to Allatoona Dam 79
Indian Mounds andbull; Base of Allatoona Dam to Henry Floydandrsquo;s 87
Euharlee andbull; Henry Floydandrsquo;s to Euharlee Road 97
Hardin Bridge andbull; Euharlee Road to U.S. 411 105
Reynolds Bend andbull; U.S. 411 to Ga. Loop 1 / Grizzard Park 111
Rome andbull; Ga. Loop 1 / Grizzard Park to Lock and Dam Park 119
Animals and Plants along Georgia Rivers 127
Protecting the Etowah 161
Photo Credits 163