Oostanaula River
| Oostanaula River | ||
 The Oostanaula River near the border between Gordon and Floyd Counties |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 356448 | |
| location | Georgia , USA | |
| River system | Mobile River | |
| Drain over | Coosa → Alabama → Mobile River → Mobile Bay | |
| origin | Confluence of the Coosawattee and Conasauga Rivers 34 ° 32 ′ 37 ″ N , 84 ° 54 ′ 10 ″ W |
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| confluence | in Rome with the Etowah River to the Coosa River Coordinates: 34 ° 15 '14 " N , 85 ° 10' 36" W 34 ° 15 '14 " N , 85 ° 10' 36" W
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| length | 70 km | |
The Oostanaula River is a river in the northwest of the US state Georgia . It has a length of 70 km and is created by the confluence of the Coosawattee River and the Conasauga River .
The gradient is only slight at 0.30 cm per mile (1,609 km) and there are no rapids. The course of the river meanders slowly through Gordon County and Floyd Counties until it meets the Etowah River in Rome . From here the two rivers form the Coosa River .
The name Oostanaula , which has been handed down in numerous different forms and spellings from the 16th to the 19th century, is said to go back to a word from the Cherokee language that means “shallow river” (or “rock that blocks the way” or . "Stone dam over a river") means.
fishes
The Oostanaula River has an extremely species-rich fish population, including food fish such as carp , smallmouth buffalo ( Ictiobus bubalus ), sucker carp , catfish and perch-like , but especially small fish such as minnow or darter . They make up over half of the 114 endemic fish species of the Upper Coosa Basin and are characterized by their intense colors, which range from neon blue to emerald green to fire red. The abundance of fish speaks for the good water quality.
bridges
The Oostanaula River is spanned by about a dozen bridges in its course, some of which are historically significant. In Rome, immediately before the confluence with the Etowah River, a former railway bridge has been preserved, which was built in the 1880s for the Chattanooga, Rome & Columbus Railroad as a swing bridge on a cylindrical central pillar to allow steamboat traffic to pass through. In 1891 the line was taken over by the Central of Georgia Railway . After the last railway line operated by CSX Transportation was closed, the bridge was taken over by the city of Rome and Floyd Counties, converted into a pedestrian bridge and renamed the Robert Redden Foot Bridge .
A single-track railway bridge crosses the river south of Resaca , the predecessor of which was probably built in 1847 when the Western and Atlantic Railroad was built. In the American Civil War , this bridge played a role in the Andrews Raid . In this theft of a steam locomotive by Union troops on April 12, 1862, the bridge was supposed to be destroyed by setting fire to its wooden frame. However, due to previous heavy rainfall, the wood was so wet that the attempt failed.
In the Battle of Resaca from May 13 to 15, 1864 as part of the Atlanta campaign , Union troops under Major General James Birdseye McPherson initially tried unsuccessfully to destroy the bridge in order to interrupt the main Confederate supply line with the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The bridge was then burned by the Confederate forces on their retreat.