4.5 River Basins
4.5.8 French Broad River Basin 4.5.8.1 River Basin Description
Te French Broad River Basin in North Carolina encompasses 2,830 square miles, includ- ing 4,136 stream miles, and is entirely within the Mountain ecoregion. Te headwaters are entirely within North Carolina. Te basin drains from the north and western slopes of the Black Mountains, the highest range in the eastern United States. Te upper mainstem French Broad River system drains from the high mountains of the Blue Ridge and fows through the broad, fat valley of the Asheville Basin. Te French Broad River Basin in North Carolina is composed of three major subbasins, each of which individually fow northwest into Tennessee: French Broad River, Pigeon River, and Nolichucky River. • Within the Asheville Basin, the French Broad and tributaries are relatively low gra- dient and share many habitat characteristics with streams in more lowland areas. Consequently, a number of aquatic species more typical of the Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and even Coastal Plain are known from this part of the French Broad and nowhere else in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Near the city of Asheville, the French Broad fows out of the Asheville Basin and descends a relatively steep, narrow gorge before entering Tennessee. Tere are no major dams and reservoirs on the mainstem French Broad in North Carolina; however, there are three run-of-river impoundments with small detention pools (Craggy, Capitola, and Redmon). Tere are multiple small dams and impoundments on larger tributaries (e.g., Lake Julian, Beetree Reservoir, Enka Lake) and many more on smaller streams, especially in the upper portion of the water- shed in Henderson and Transylvania counties. • Te topography of the Pigeon River watershed is similar, with high-gradient headwa- ters, a relatively fat midsection, and a steep gorge near the Tennessee border. Dams and impoundments in the Pigeon River subbasin include Walters Dam/Waterville Lake (with a 12-mile bypassed reach downstream), Lake Junaluska, Allen Creek Reservoir, and Lake Logan. • Te midSection of the Nolichucky River watershed lacks substantial fat areas and remains more high gradient and gorge-like throughout its length in North Carolina. While there are a few small impoundments on minor tributaries, there are no dams on the Nolichucky River and its major tributaries. Approximately 77% of the basin is forested, 11% is agriculture, 11% is considered developed, 1% is grassland, and less than 1% is wetlands (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013) . Much of the forested land is at the higher elevations and lies within the boundaries of Pisgah National Forest, Blue Ridge Parkway, and a portion within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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