Cartecay River

Cartecay River
Map
Physical characteristics
SourceRoston Creek
 • locationWhite Path, Georgia
 • coordinates34°43′44″N 84°20′49″W / 34.729°N 84.347°W / 34.729; -84.347
 • elevation3,079 ft (938 m)
MouthCoosawattee River
 • location
Ellijay, Georgia
 • coordinates
34°41′29″N 84°29′01″W / 34.6914744°N 84.4835388°W / 34.6914744; -84.4835388[1]
 • elevation
575 ft (175 m)[2]
Length19.1 mi (30.7 km)
Basin size135 sq mi (350 km2)

The Cartecay River is a 19.1-mile-long (30.7 km)[2] river that runs into Ellijay, Georgia, in Gilmer County. It is the site of a class II whitewater run.

The Cartecay and Ellijay rivers meet in Ellijay to form the Coosawattee River. The Cartecay and most of its watershed are located within the southeast corner of Gilmer County, Georgia, but there are small sections of the watershed in Fannin, Pickens, and Dawson counties.

Blackberry Falls rapid on the Cartecay River near Ellijay

Much of the river runs east to west and is bordered by Georgia State Route 52. The Cartecay River basin covers 86,734 acres (351.0 km2) in total area. The major tributaries are Clear Creek, Licklog Creek, Owltown Creek, Anderson Creek and Tickanetley Creek. The land is mostly undeveloped, but the river passes through some residential developments. The headwaters of the Cartecay River begin in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Coosawattee River
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 27, 2011