Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)
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Rock Island State Park, located at Rock Island, between McMinnville and Sparta, is a state park in central Tennessee, USA. Situated at the confluence of the Collins and Caney Fork Rivers, the park's most prominent feature is the Great Falls gorge created from the Collins River feeding into valley of the Caney Fork River. Over the course of time, these falls carved out a sizeable gorge from the limestone. This gorge provides scenic overlooks, smaller waterfalls, and many deep pools. The park's 883 acres (3.6 km²) contain many other attractions, including a natural sand beach on Center Hill Lake, a 19th Century textile mill, and one of Tennessee's earliest hydroelectric plants. Almost a century ago the Tennessee Electric Power Company dammed both the Caney fork River and the Collins River just downstream from their confluence by what is now known as the Great Falls Dam. Decades later the US Army Corps of Engineers established a modern hydroelectric dam far downstream which created Center Hill Lake. The Center Hill Lake reservior (which also impounds Tennessee's Rocky River) backs up into Rock Island State Park.
The impoundment of the Collins River was partially defeated by underground caverns that funneled water through a sizable hill to form the "Twin Falls" which cascade into the gorge about a mile below the Great Falls Dam. The Tennesee Electric Power Company attempted to stopper this flow more than once without success; a failure that takes on a ominous significence now that the US Army Corps of Engineers has reported that both its Wolf Creek (Kentucky) and Caney Fork Dams are in danger of failure due to seepage through underground caverns.
Kayakers know this park for its excellent playboating. Below Great Falls Dam is a series of rapids with a well-known, constant, retentive "hole" that allows playboaters to hone their whitewater kayaking skills, riding the wave, spinning, rolling and performing other tricks. The nearby town of Rock Island, TN, is home of Jackson Kayaks, a manufacturer of whitewater kayaks. Eric Jackson is a champion freestyle (playboating) kayaker.
This area was used for a considerable number of exterior shots and stunts in the 1994 Sylvester Stallone film, The Specialist.
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