Clinch River
| Clinch River | ||
 Clinch River catchment area |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 1307258 | |
| location | Virginia , Tennessee (USA) | |
| River system | Mississippi River | |
| Drain over | Tennessee River → Ohio River → Mississippi River → Gulf of Mexico | |
| source | on Buckhorn Mountain in Tazewell County , Virginia, 37 ° 8 ′ 29 ″ N , 81 ° 27 ′ 41 ″ W |
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| muzzle | in the Tennessee River coordinates: 35 ° 51 '48 " N , 84 ° 31' 55" W 35 ° 51 '48 " N , 84 ° 31' 55" W. |
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| Mouth height |
226 m
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| length | 483 km | |
| Right tributaries | Powell River , Emory River | |
| Reservoirs flowed through | Norris Lake , Melton Hill Lake | |
| Medium-sized cities | Oak Ridge | |
 Clinch River at Speers Ferry in Scott County |
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The Clinch River is a 483 km long right tributary of the Tennessee River in southwest Virginia and east Tennessee in the United States .
River course
The Clinch River originates from Buckhorn Mountain in Tazewell County , Virginia. It flows southwest to Tennessee. The Clinch River is dammed twice: by the Norris Dam , the first dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) , and the Melton Hill Dam , the only non-mainstream TVA dam that has a lock. At Kingston the Clinch River flows into the Tennessee River.
An important tributary of the Clinch River is the Powell River . The catchment areas of the two rivers is separated by Powell Mountain . The following rivers flow into the Clinch River between the two dams: Coal Creek , Bull Run Creek and Beaver Creek . Poplar Creek flows into the Clinch River below the Melton Hill Dam.
history
A peninsula at the mouth of the Clinch River called "Southwest Point" was the site of a fortress, Fort Southwest Point , which was recently rebuilt. The place was important for the indigenous population. A treaty between the Cherokee and the settlers was signed here, allowing the capital of Tennessee to be relocated to this location.
The river used to be called "Clinch's River" or "Pelisipi River". A large coal-fired power plant is on the Clinch River, near Carbo in Russell County . It was built in 1957 and is owned by Appalachian Power , an American Electric Power company . On June 25, 2008, the Air Pollution Control Board of Tennessee approved the construction of another coal-fired power plant a few kilometers away near St. Paul for Dominion Virginia Power .
The pollution of the soil and water in the region by mining are the focus of environmentalists. Especially because several rare animal species live in the Clinch River. In the early 2000s, mussels were reintroduced to the Cleveland area, the population of which disappeared in the 20th century due to water pollution.
In 2008 fly ash found its way into the lower section of the Clinch River, below the mouth of the Emory River .
ecology
In the Clinch River above Clinton and below the Norris Dam, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency releases rainbow trout and brown trout .
Before the Clinch River was dammed, the river was an important habitat for freshwater clams and a major supplier of freshwater pearls. The rivers in the southern Appalachians are notable for their rich biodiversity of mussels.
In the past, mussels were an important part of the diet for the indigenous population. The settlers used the mussels as fishing bait and as pig feed. The freshwater pearl industry had its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Clinch River and Emory River were the center of this industry. Tennessee was among the six US states with the largest freshwater pearl production. With the construction of the TVA dams, the days of the mussel-based industry came to an end.