Holston
Holston is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 36.49°, -82.70°
About Holston
The Holston River is a 136-mile (219 km) river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and northwestern North Carolina. The Holston's confluence with the French Broad River at Knoxville marks the beginning of the Tennessee River.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Holston River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Holston in Depth
Course
The North Fork flows 138 miles (222 km) southwest from Sharon Springs in Bland County, Virginia. The Middle Fork flows 56.5 miles (90.9 km) from near the western border of Wythe County, Virginia, joining the South Fork in Washington County, Virginia, southeast of Abingdon. The South Fork rises near Sugar Grove in Smyth County and flows 112 miles (180 km) southwest to join the North Fork at Kingsport. The Watauga River, a tributary of the South Fork Holston, flows 78.5 miles (126.3 km) westward from Watauga County, North Carolina.
History
Maps by early French explorers in this area identified what is now known as the Holston River as the "Cherokee River", after the tribe they encountered. The United States settlers and army fought with the Cherokee over land in Tennessee, North Carolina, and further South into Georgia and Alabama. In the 1830s the government forced the Cherokee out on the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), under the authority of the Indian Removal Act passed by Congress in 1830.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Holston River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Holston: Key Facts
| Length | 219 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 9,700 km² |
| Source | North Fork Holston River |
| Mouth | Tennessee River |
| Drainage system | Holston River drainage basin |
| Tributaries | North Fork Holston River, South Fork Holston River |
Facts from Wikidata Q1333747 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Holston: Quick Answers
- Where is Holston?
- Holston is located in United States, at 36.4920° N, 82.6992° W.
- Are there dams on the Holston?
- No dam on the Holston is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.