4.5 River Basins
4.5.6 Catawba River Basin 4.5.6.1 River Basin Description
Te Catawba River Basin is located in the south central portion of western North Carolina in the Mountain and Piedmont ecoregions. Headwaters begin in the western side of McDowell County and fow eastward into the Piedmont before turning southeast and fow ing toward the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Te basin covers approximately 3,285 square miles and has more than 7,940 miles of freshwater streams. Te Linville River, one of only four rivers in the state designated as a Natural and Scenic River, is located in the Catawba River Basin (National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, n.d.) . Te Linville River fows through the Pisgah National Forest Wilderness area and into Lake James. Practically all of the Catawba River from Lake James south is impounded by a chain of dams before entering South Carolina. Tis basin, along with the Broad River Basin, forms the headwaters of the Santee-Cooper River system which fows through South Carolina to the Atlantic Ocean. Tere are three major river drainages in the basin: • Upper Catawba: major tributaries include Catawba River headwaters, Linville River, North Muddy Creek, Warrior Fork, Johns River, Silver Creek, Lower Creek, Little River, Gunpowder Creek, Muddy Fork, Dutchman’s Creek, and Crowders Creek. • Lower Catawba: major tributaries include Twelve Mile Creek, Six Mile Creek, Waxhaw Branch, Irwin Creek, McAlpine Creek, and Sugar Creek. • South Fork Catawba: major tributaries include Henry Fork, Jacob Fork, Clark Creek, and Long Creek. Based on 2011 National Land Cover Dataset information land use in the basin was esti- mated to be 54% forested, 23% urban or developed, 16% agricultural, 3% grassland, and less than 1% wetland (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013). Te Catawba River Basin encompasses all or portions of 11 counties and 61 municipali- ties, including the largest municipality in the state (Charlotte). Other large municipalities include Gastonia, Hickory, Huntersville, Lenoir, Mooresville, and Morganton. Figure 4.11 depicts the geographic location of the basin. 4.5.6.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions Tere are 3,100 miles of freshwater streams and 54,363 acres of lake and reservoir waters in the basin that have been classifed by NCDWR for best uses. Tere are 11 HQW (108,638 acres) and 7 ORW (107,910 acres) Special Management Strategy Areas in the basin (NCDWR
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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