12 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



feet, or an average of 12 feet per mile. The upper part of the river is enclosed 

 between parallel mountain ranges which are heavily timbered; the lower part is 

 in a fertile and populous valley 15 to 20 mile.'j wide. The only tributary of 

 importance is South Fork, which flows from the northwest and enters the river 

 near the state line. The drainage basin of the Catawba in North Carolina is 

 upward of 3,000 square miles. 



The Broad River lies entirely above the fall-line, and is quite similar to the 

 upper Catawba, but with less descent. Its important tributaries in North Caro 

 lina are the Green, First Broad, and Second Broad rivers, which, with the main 

 stream, have a drainage of 1,400 square miles in the state. 



The various branches of the Santee have essentially the same fish life. The 

 number of species known from the Catawba is relatively large, the principal groups 

 being the suckers, minnows, and darters, all of which are abundant. Brook 

 trout abound in the headwaters. 



THE RIVERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI DRAINAGE BASIN. 



The streams on the western slope of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina 

 belong to two systems — the Kanawha and the Tennessee — which are respectively 

 tributary to the Ohio and the Mississippi. While representing a comparatively 

 small part of the fresh waters of North Carolina, these streams, have special inter- 

 est because of their beauty, the picturesque mountain regions through which 

 they flow, and the nature of their fish life. 



That part of the Kanawha River within the state of North Carolina is the 

 headwaters, under the name of New River, which rises in Watauga, Ashe, and 

 Alleghany counties, and soon passes out of the state into Grayson County, Vir- 

 ginia. The principal branches are North and South forks and Little River, 

 whose drainage area is between 700 and 800 square miles. The tributaries of the 

 New River within North Carolina are rapid mountain streams running mostly 

 through deep rocky gorges. 



The upper waters of the Tennessee River within the borders of North Carolina 

 are the tributaries of the Holston River, the Hiawassee River, and the head- 

 waters of the Tennessee proper. 



The branches of the Ho'ston River are the Watauga, the Toe or Doe, and the 

 French Broad, the last sometimes considered an independent tributary of the 

 Tennessee. The Watauga River takes its rise on the northern side of Grand- 

 father Mountain and has a course of 30 miles within the state, cutting through a 

 deep mountain gorge at the Tennessee state line; it drains about 160 square 

 miles of mountain and cultivated lands in North Carolina, and is throughout a 

 swift stream. The Toe River is formed by several branches arising in Mitchell 

 and Yancey counties; the length of the main stream, until it breaks through the 

 mountains and enters Tennessee, is about 75 miles, and it drains 640 square 

 miles, mostly virgin forest. In Tennessee and also in the adjoining part of North 

 Carolina, this stream is called the Nolechucky. The French Broad River 



