Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River | |
---|---|
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Black Warrior River | |
Mouth | |
• location | Mobile River, at Mobile, Alabama |
Length | 200 miles (320 km) |
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the
The name "Tombigbee" comes from
Description
The river begins in northeastern Mississippi just south of the Pharr Mounds near the northern county line of Itawamba County, at what was once known as the source of the east fork of the river.[3] Historically, the beginning of the river was in northern Monroe County at the confluence of Town Creek (also known as West Fork Tombigbee River) and the east fork of the river.
The river flows east through Aberdeen Lake near Aberdeen, and Columbus Lake near Columbus. It flows through Aliceville Lake on the Mississippi-Alabama border, then generally SSE across western Alabama in a highly meandering course, past Gainesville and Demopolis. There it is joined from the northeast by the Black Warrior River. South of Demopolis it flows generally south across southwestern Alabama (forming Sumter and Choctaw counties' borders with Marengo County). Past Jackson it joins the Alabama River from the north on the Mobile-Baldwin county line, approximately 30 mi (50 km) north of Mobile; this confluence forms the Mobile River.[3]
After the completion of the
In addition to the Black Warrior, the river is joined by the Buttahatchee River from the east, north of Columbus, Mississippi. To the South of Columbus, Luxapalila Creek joins with the Tombigbee River, approximately 5.2 miles from downtown Columbus. Approximately 10 mi (15 km) north of Gainesville, it is joined from the north by the Sipsey River. At Gainesville, it is joined from the west by the Noxubee River.
The Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge is along the river in southwestern Alabama, approximately 20 mi (30 km) northwest of Jackson.
The upper reaches of the Tombigbee formed the homeland of the formidable
Lock and dams
The Tombigbee River has five lock and dams along its length. Lock & Dams are listed from north to south; the river mile indicates the distance from the mouth of the Mobile River at Mobile Bay.
- John C. Stennis Lock & Dam is located at river mile 334.7
- Tom Bevill Lock & Dam is located at river mile 306.8
- Howell Heflin Lock & Dam is located at river mile 266.1
- Demopolis Lock & Dam is located at river mile 213.2
- Coffeeville Lock and Dam is located at river mile 116.6.[4]
Tributaries
Tributaries that empty directly into the Tombigbee:
- West River
- Bassetts Creek (Washington County)
- Bassett Creek(Clarke County)
- Jackson Creek
- Santa Bogue Creek
- Turkey Creek
- Okatuppa Creek
- Oak Slush Creek
- Big Tallawampa Creek
- Bashi Creek
- Wahalak Creek
- Sucarbowa Creek
- Horse Creek
- Tuckabum Creek
- Beaver Creek
- Kinterbish Creek
- Chickasaw Bogue
- Cotohaga Creek
- Sucarnoochee River
- Spring Creek
- Hall Creek
- Black Warrior River
- Brush Creek
- Trussells Creek
- Noxubee River
- Sipsey River
- Lubbub Creek
- Big Creek
- Luxapallila Creek
- Buttahatchee River
- Tibbee Creek
- Town Creek
- Bull Mountain Creek
Cahaba incident
On April 28, 1979, a tugboat named
One of the two main ventilator funnels had tilted to the center, yet one engine was still running, and the captain steered to anchor the tugboat in a flooded cornfield. Another downstream tugboat, M/V Tallapoosa, rescued the captain and all three crew members; with the pilot, then secured the two barges of coal. The barges were later towed to Mobile by the same company's towboat M/V Mauvilla. The Mauvilla is otherwise notable for its later involvement in the
Recreation
Pleasure boats, cruising America's Great Loop, use the waterway each year in the fall.
Folklore
The river is closely associated with several steamboat disasters, including the Eliza Battle[7] and James T. Staples.
The "Tombigbee River Waltz" or the singing song "Tombigbee River" are beloved old time waltzes performed by fiddlers including James Bryan, Kenny Jackson, Jay Ungar and Eric Hatling. The song was featured as a Charles Ingalls song in the Little House books.
See also
- List of Alabama rivers
- List of Mississippi rivers
- South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region
References
- ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ Patricia Galloway, Choctaw Genesis, 1500-1700, University of Nebraska Press, 1998
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tombigbee River. Retrieved 14 June 2005.
- ^ Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District
- ^ a b c d Bjarne & Captain Michael L. Smith, "The Tugboat story" Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine (M/V Cahaba), Monet.fi (Finland), January 2006
- ^ "Cahaba Towboat Incident" Archived 2002-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Emmet Calhoun (14 August 1942). "Recollections: Eliza Battle". Birmingham News. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
31°8′11″N 87°56′39″W / 31.13639°N 87.94417°W
External links
- Media related to Tombigbee River at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AL-7, "Bridges of the Upper Tombigbee River Valley, Cochrane, Pickens County, AL", 14 photos, 1 data page, 3 photo caption pages