Savannah
Savannah is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 33.24°, -81.83°
About Savannah
The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, for a total distance of about 301 miles (484 km). The Savannah was formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River. Today this confluence is part of Lake Hartwell, a man-made reservoir constructed between 1955 and 1964.
Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form Georgia's northernmost border with South Carolina. A tributary of the Tugaloo, the Tallulah River, forms the northwest branch of the Savannah and features the two-mile-long (3 km) and almost 1,000-foot-deep (300 m) Tallulah Gorge. The Savannah River's drainage basin extends into the southeastern Appalachian Mountains and the state of North Carolina, and is bounded by the Eastern Continental Divide.
Two major cities in Georgia are located along the Savannah River: Savannah and Augusta. Founded in 1733 and 1736, respectively, they were nuclei of early English settlements during the colonial period of American history.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Savannah River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Savannah in Depth
Course
The Savannah River flows through a variety of climates and ecosystems during its course. It is considered an alluvial river, draining a 10,577-square-mile (27,390 km2) drainage basin and carrying large amounts of sediment to the ocean. At its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the climate is quite temperate. The river's tributaries receive a small amount of snow-melt runoff in the winter. The majority of the river's flow through the Piedmont region is dominated by large reservoirs. Below the Fall Line, the river slows and is surrounded by large blackwater bald cypress swamps. Numerous oxbow lakes mark the locations of old river channels, which have shifted course because of earthquakes and silting.
History
The river's banks have long been inhabited by various Native American nations and during the Mississippian period it was one of the most densely populated regions. However, due to escalating conflict between the Micoships of Ocute and Cofitachequi the river and surrounding areas became so depopulated it became known as the Wilderness of Ocute. In the 1600s the Westo are thought to have migrated from the northeast, pushed out by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who were engaging in their own expansionist campaign. This migration, beginning in the late 16th century, resulted in the Westo Indians reaching the present area of Augusta, Georgia, in the late 17th century.
Ecology
The Savannah River Basin in the Southeast region of the U.S. has been experiencing environmental change from anthropocentric activities. The Savannah River has the fourth-highest toxic discharge in the country, according to a 2009 report by Environment America. The conversion of the vegetation cover, including the urban growth, agriculture expansion, and deforestation and reforestation take place throughout the basin, especially near the lakes and tributary waters in the middle and lower Savannah Basin. The continuous change of land use such as the conversion of forest areas to other types of land cover and vice versa can significantly lead to increasing threats to the environmental systems of the region.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Savannah River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Savannah: Key Facts
| Length | 563 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 25,511 km² |
| Source | Seneca River |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| Drainage system | Savannah River drainage basin |
| Tributaries | Seneca River, Tugaloo River |
Facts from Wikidata Q370750 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Savannah: Quick Answers
- Where is Savannah?
- Savannah is located in United States, at 33.2370° N, 81.8333° W.
- Are there dams on the Savannah?
- No dam on the Savannah is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.