CHAPTER II. 



TALLAPOOSA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES. 



1. TALLAPOOSA RIVER AT MILSTEAD, ALABAMA. 



Tallapoosa River rises in the west-central part of Georgia 

 and flows in a southwesterly direction into Alabama, where 

 it joins the Coosa, to form Alabama River, 6 miles above 

 Montgomery, Alabama. Its upper tributaries drain an area 

 between the Chattahoochee and Coosa basins. At Tallassee, 

 Alabama, it crosses the southern fall line. The shoals at 

 this place have a fall of 60 feet, forming an obstruction to 

 navigation. The drainage area is largely wooded, with cul- 

 tivated fields at short intervals. A gaging station was estab- 

 lished at Milstead on August 7, 1897, at the bridge of the 

 Tallassee & Montgomery Railway, about one-fourth of a 

 mile from Milstead, Alabama. The bridge is of iron, two 

 spans of about 155 feet each, with short wooden trestles at 

 each end. The initial point of measurement is the end of the 

 iron bridge, left bank, downstream side. The rod of wire 

 gage is fastened to outside of guard rail on downstream side 

 of bridge. The bench mark is top of second crossbeam from 

 left-bank pier, downstream end, and is 60.00 feet above 

 datum. The channel is straight at the bridge, and bends 

 above and below. The current is sluggish at low water and 

 obstructed by center pier of bridge. The banks are high, 

 but overflow at extreme high water for several hundred feet 

 on each side. The bed is fairly constant, and all water is con- 

 fined to the main channel by railroad embankments. The 

 observer is Seth Johnson, a farmer and fruit grower, Mil- 

 stead, Alabama. The plate A opposite shows this station. 



The following discharge measurements were made during 

 1897 by Max Hall : 



May 3, gage height, 6.20 feet; discharge, 7,333 second-feet. 

 July 15, gage height, 1.95 feet; discharge, 1,692 second-feet. 

 August 7, gage height, 2.42 feet; discharge, 2,292 second-feet. 

 September 4, gage height, 1.60 feet; discharge, 1,271 second-feet. 

 November 23, gage height, 1.20 feet; discharge, 677 second-feet. 

 December 16, gage height, 3.58 feet; discharge, 4,210 second-feet. 



