Cheoah River

The Cheoah River is a tributary of the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina in the United States.

Cheoah River Tributary to Little Tennessee River
Cheoah River in Tapoco, North Carolina
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Graham Swain
Physical characteristics
Source	Confluence of Sweetwater and Tulula Creeks
• location	Robbinsville, North Carolina
• coordinates	35°19′38.3196″N 83°48′7.635″W
• elevation	1,993 ft (607 m)[1]
Mouth
• location	Little Tennessee River
• coordinates	35°26′55.307″N 83°56′22.65″W
• elevation	1,106 ft (337 m)[1]
Length	18.16 mi (29.23 km)[2]
Basin size	215.14 sq mi (557.2 km2)[3]
Discharge
• location	Little Tennessee River
• average	687.43 cu ft/s (19.466 m3/s) at mouth with Little Tennessee River[3]
Basin features
Progression	northwest
River system	Little Tennessee → Tennessee → Ohio → Mississippi
Tributaries
• left	Tulula Creek Long Creek Stillhouse Hollow Massey Branch Snowbird Creek West Buffalo Creek Charikus Branch Farley Cove Santeetlah Creek Gold Mine Branch Rock Creek Laurel Branch Persimmon Tree Branch Falls Branch Deep Creek Frisby Branch Barker Creek Bear Creek Otter Rock Branch Yellowhammer Branch
• right	Sweetwater Creek Mountain Creek Ground Squirrel Branch East Buffalo Creek Gladdens Creek Cochran Creek Cochran Creek Yellow Creek Puncheon Camp Branch Halfmile Branch Meadow Branch
Waterbodies	Santeetlah Lake

It is located in Graham County in far western North Carolina, near Robbinsville, and is approximately 20 miles in length. Its headwaters are in the Appalachian Mountains where it flows northwest near Robbinsville, to the Lake Santeetlah and flows towards the Tennessee border with a terminus at the Little Tennessee between the Cheoah Dam and Lake Calderwood.

Etymology

The name Cheoah is derived from the Cherokee Native American word for "otter."^[4] According to the Geographic Names Information System, the river has also been known historically as:^[5]

• Cheowa River
• Cheowah River