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The Tallulah Gorge is a canyon in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the U.S. state of Georgia. Located near the town of Tallulah Falls in the northeastern part of the state, the gorge was formed by the Tallulah River as it cut through the Tallulah Dome rock formation. It measures approximately 2 miles (3 km) long and almost 1,000 feet (300 m) deep. [1] Georgia's Tallulah Gorge State Park protects much of the gorge and its waterfalls. The Tallulah Gorge has been dubbed one of the "Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia". [2]
Tallulah Falls Lake lies just above the gorge. It was created in 1913 by a hydroelectric dam built by Georgia Railway and Power (now Georgia Power) in order to run Atlanta's city streetcars. The dam still collects most of the water from the falls via a 6,666-foot (2,032 m) tunnel sluice or penstock around the falls. It then redirects the water to a 72 MW hydropower electricity generation station downstream. This station lies at an elevation 608 feet (185 m) below the lake, but a few days each year the dam releases water and the lake's water levels rise considerably. The days when water is released are especially popular for recreation, including kayaking and whitewater rafting. [3]
Since the early 19th century, Tallulah Gorge and its waterfalls have been a tourist attraction. In 1882, Tallulah Falls Railway was built, increasing the accessibility of the area to visitors from Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia, and the gorge became North Georgia's leading tourist attraction. Resort hotels and bars sprang up to serve the tourist trade, which, after the addition of the railway, swelled to as many as 2,000 people on any given Sunday. In 1883, tightrope walker Professor Bachman crossed the gorge as part of a publicity stunt for a local hotel. On July 18, 1970, Karl Wallenda became the second man to walk across the gorge on a tightrope.
In the 1910s, Georgia Railway and Power began building dams on the river. The town of Burton, Georgia was purchased and its residents relocated. The area was cleared and then flooded to become Lake Burton in 1919. Many nearby residents opposed the dams, including Helen Dortch Longstreet, widow of Confederate general James Longstreet, who led an unsuccessful campaign in 1911 to have Tallulah Gorge protected by the state. The Georgia Assembly was unable to raise the $1 million required to purchase the gorge, but Mrs. Longstreet's efforts are among the first recorded conservation movements in Georgia. Once the dam was completed in 1913, the roar of the Tallulah Falls (which could be heard for miles from the gorge) was quieted, and tourism dwindled. A state park was created by Georgia governor Zell Miller in cooperation with Georgia Power. [4]
Georgians have long assumed that Tallulah was a Cherokee word, given the prominence of Cherokee history in the extreme northern part of the state. The word's etymology remains uncertain, and it does not clearly match either Cherokee or nearby Muscogean languages such as Creek. In his book Georgia Place-names, Kenneth K. Krakow cites John Mooney, an authority on the Cherokee language who traced the name from the Native American word talulu or taruri but concluded that both forms are untranslatable. Krakow also mentions that the American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902–1968) was named for her grandmother, who was named after Tallulah Falls. [5]
Tallulah Dome is a rock formation caused by the double folding of the Earth's crust during the formation of Pangaea, about 500 to 250 million years ago. The dome is made up of mostly quartzite along with schist.
Because of the variation in sunlight, shade, and moisture caused by the steep cliffs, several different ecosystems exist in and around the canyon-like gorge. The persistent trillium, an endangered species of trillium, grows in this river basin and only few other parts of the South Carolina/Georgia area.
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, which straddles the international border of the two countries. It is also known as the Canadian Falls. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York.
Rabun County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,883, up from 16,276 in 2010. The county seat is Clayton. With an average annual rainfall of over 70 inches (1,800 mm), Rabun County has the title of the rainiest county in Georgia and is one of the rainiest counties east of the Cascades. The year 2018 was the wettest on record in the county's history. The National Weather Service cooperative observation station in northwest Rabun's Germany Valley measured 116.48 inches of rain during the year. During 2020, the Germany Valley NWS station reported a yearly precipitation total of 100.19 inches.
Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft). The region around it is inhabited by several species of plants and animals.
Karl Wallenda was a German-American high wire artist. He was the founder of The Flying Wallendas, a daredevil circus troupe whose members performed dangerous stunts far above the ground, often without a safety net.
The Tallulah River is a 47.7-mile-long (76.8 km) river in Georgia and North Carolina. It begins in Clay County, North Carolina, near Standing Indian Mountain in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness and flows south into Georgia, crossing the state line into Towns County. The river travels through Rabun County and ends in Habersham County. It cuts through the Tallulah Dome rock formation to form the Tallulah Gorge and its several waterfalls. The Tallulah River intersects with the Chattooga River to form the Tugaloo River at Lake Tugalo in Habersham County. It joins South Carolina's Seneca River at Lake Hartwell to form the Savannah River, which flows southeastward into the Atlantic Ocean.
Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "Last Battle of the Cherokees" in this area during the Nickajack Expedition. On November 24, 1863, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Lookout Mountain took place here.
Little River is a 60-mile (97 km) river in Tennessee which drains a 380-square-mile (980 km2) area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first 18 miles (29 km) of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The remaining 42 miles (68 km) flow out of the mountains through Blount County to join the Tennessee River at Fort Loudon Lake in Knox County.
The Tugaloo River is a 45.9-mile-long (73.9 km) river that forms part of the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. It was named for the historic Cherokee town of Tugaloo at the mouth of Toccoa Creek, south of present-day Toccoa, Georgia and Travelers Rest State Historic Site in Stephens County, Georgia.
Lake Jocassee is a 7,500-acre (30 km2), 300-foot (91 m) deep reservoir in northwest South Carolina. It was created in 1973 by the state in partnership with Duke Power. The lake is known for the clean and cold Appalachian mountain rivers that flow into it, keeping its waters cool and clear year-round. The Jocassee Dam, which forms the lake, is 385 feet (117 m) high and 1,750 feet (530 m) long. The lake is within Devils Fork State Park.
Burgess Falls State Park is a state park and state natural area in Putnam County and White County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The park is situated around a steep gorge in which the Falling Water River drops 250 feet (76 m) in elevation in less than a mile, culminating in a 136-foot (41 m) cataract waterfall.
Rock Island State Park is a state park in Warren County and White County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. The park is named after the community of Rock Island, Tennessee, which in turn received its name from an island on the Caney Fork upstream from the Collins River confluence and Great Falls Dam. Rock Island State Park is centered on a peninsula created by the confluence of these two rivers and extends downstream to the headwaters of Center Hill Lake.
North Georgia is the northern hilly/mountainous region in the U.S. state of Georgia. At the time of the arrival of settlers from Europe, it was inhabited largely by the Cherokee. The counties of north Georgia were often scenes of important events in the history of Georgia. It was the site of many American Civil War battles, including the Battle of Lookout Mountain and the Battle of Chickamauga, leading up to the Atlanta Campaign. Today, particularly in the northeast portion of the region, tourism sustains the local economy.
Tallulah Gorge State Park is a 2,689-acre (1,088 ha) Georgia state park adjacent to Tallulah Falls, Georgia, along the county line between Rabun and Habersham Counties. The park surrounds Tallulah Gorge, a 1,000-foot (300 m) deep gorge formed by the action of the Tallulah River, which runs along the floor of the gorge. The major attractions of the gorge are the six waterfalls known as the Tallulah Falls, which cause the river to drop 500 feet over one mile.
Lake Rabun is a twisty 835-acre (3.4 km2) reservoir with 25 miles (40 km) of shoreline located in the Northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Georgia in Rabun County. It is the third lake in a six-lake series that follows the original course of the Tallulah River. The series begins with Lake Burton as the northernmost lake, followed by Lake Seed, Lake Rabun, Lake Tallulah Falls, Lake Tugalo, and Lake Yonah. Lake Rabun was built in a deep valley located along a 10-mile (16 km) section of the Tallulah River.
Lake Burton is a 2,775 acres (11.23 km2) reservoir with 62 miles (100 km) of shoreline located in the northeastern corner of Georgia in Rabun County. The lake is owned and administered by the Georgia Power/Southern Company, but it is a public lake. Noted for the remarkable clarity of its water and surrounded by the biodiverse ecosystem of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the lake celebrated its centennial in 2020.
Terrapin Point is an observation area located in Niagara Falls, New York at the western tip of Goat Island, next to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is one of two major observation areas to overlook the falls and lower Niagara Gorge on the New York side, the other being Prospect Point further downriver.
Nikolas Wallenda is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, and is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. Wallenda walked 1,800 feet (550 m) on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest walk, on March 4, 2020.
Northeast Georgia is a region of Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the North Georgia mountains or Georgia mountain region, while the southern part is still hilly but much flatter in topography. Northeast Georgia is also served by the Asheville/Spartanburg/Greenville/Anderson market. Largest cities in the region: Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Toccoa, Dahlonega, Cumming.
Nantahala Township is located in North Carolina, United States in the part of Macon County which is west of Wayah Gap. It has a population of 1,711.