| Pigeon River | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | North Carolina, Tennessee |
| Part of | French Broad River → Tennessee → Ohio → Mississippi |
| Source | |
| - coordinates | |
| Mouth | |
| - coordinates | |
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The Pigeon drainage basin.
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The Pigeon River of western North Carolina and east Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina. Below this, it flows roughly parallel to Interstate 40 for many miles and is impounded by a dam -- Walters Dam -- belonging to Progress Energy (Waterville) before entering Tennessee, where it flows into the French Broad River.
The river takes its name from the passenger pigeon, an extinct bird whose migration route once included the river valley in North Carolina.[1]
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The Pigeon River dam was started in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The project was started by Carolina Power & Light and was completed by its affiliate Phoenix Electric Co. The concrete dam is 180 ft (55 m) high by 800 ft long. The brick power plant (visible from I-40 is actually 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the dam. A tunnel 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long stretches from the dam to the power plant.[2]
The floods following the series of storms spawned by hurricanes Frances and Ivan in September 2004 have changed the character of the river. The rains lasted days and flooding was severe. Portions of the towns of Canton and Clyde were completely underwater, and there was significant damage to a large portion of both towns.[3][4] Farther upstream the water levels reached unprecedented levels. Part of Interstate 40 collapsed into the river gorge because of the force of the floodwaters. This began when trees on the hill beside the highway fell in the river, followed by the soil the trees had held in place. The shoulder gave way, and a guardrail ended up just hanging.[5]
A large paper mill (once part of Champion International Paper and now the Blue Ridge Paper Company) in Canton was the primary source of considerable dioxin and particulate matter pollution discharged into the Pigeon River. The pollution situation in the river became a minor issue in the campaign for the 1988 Presidential election. As Al Gore started his first run for the Presidency, Newsweek magazine reported that Gore was pressured by North Carolina Senator Terry Sanford and Congressman Jamie Clarke to ease up on his campaign against Champion's wastewater discharges into the Pigeon River. According to Newsweek, Gore complied with their request, writing to the United States Environmental Protection Agency to oppose tighter water pollution control requirements ("Gore's Pollution Problem", Newsweek, 24 November 1997). This issue came up again during the 2000 Presidential election.
Recreational rafting is popular in two sections of the river, the Upper and the Lower. Both sections are found in Hartford, Tennessee. The Upper section begins at the powerhouse(located right on the North Carolina/Tennessee border) and features Class III-IV whitewater rapids. The Lower section features gentle waves and beautiful scenery.[6]