Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Watery Wednesday...Nantahala River

One of the main tourist attractions in this area is whitewater rafting. There are several rivers located just a short drive away, but around here it is the Nantahala River. "Nantahala" is Cherokee for "land of the noonday sun", the river runs through a narrow and steep gorge, where in some places the sun only reaches the ground when it is directly overhead.
The Nantahala River is formed at the base of a hydroelectric dam. Water is routed to the river through two circular tubes, from the upstream side of the dam. The water originates from the bottom of Nantahala Lake. As a result, the Nantahala River is a cool 50 degrees year-round. The river flows down hill, toward Fontana Lake. Fontana Lake, an enormous lake with just under 12,000 acres of surface area, is held suspended in place by Fontana Dam, the highest dam east of the Rockies, which holds back 30 miles of water.
Wy and I took a drive this morning and stopped to take a few pictures. I hope you enjoy.
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There are alot of rafting businessess with Nantahala Outdoor Center being the most prominent. They offer several different packages to spend the day doing, including Raft and Rail, which starts with a trip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway and ends with a trip down the river. The have cabins for rent and restaurants to eat at. Here is a bridge that crosses the river from the NOC to the rail area.

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It amazes me that even though it was a cooler 65 degrees this morning Wy decided that he had to get in the water (which is 50) and get his feet wet.

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I somehow managed to capture the water drops with the sun reflecting off them.

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7 comments:

The Pink Geranium or Jan's Place said...

these are wonderful pictures..,.,makes me want to be there...with my camera!

WildBlack said...

Thanks for the wonderful info! :)Beautiful pictures. Wish I could walk through that wooden bridge.
Ever tried rafting??

colleen said...

I actually have done a little rafting. It's been a few years but look forward to doing it again.

DesertHen said...

Great photos...makes me want to spend the day on a river somewhere! A lazy day, doing nothing but watching the water and reading!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots. Reminds me of our Tellico River. :)

Anonymous said...

Colleen - very good pics. The ones of the little boy are wonderful. I'm partial to little boys, in my case, big boys now, but they will always be little to me.

flowerweaver said...

I kayaked this with a friend once. I figured we could "boat scout" all 27 class III rapids.

Wrong, especially when thick fog descended on us soon after we launched. It was like running the entire thing blindfolded.

We amazingly made it through OK. One day I would like to run it again, just to see what I survived! LOL