= Tallulah_Gorge =

======================================================================
= Tallulah_Gorge =
======================================================================

Introduction
======================================================================
The Tallulah Gorge is a canyon in the southern Appalachian Mountains
of the U.S. state of Georgia. Located near the town of Tallulah Falls
in the northeastern part of the state, the gorge was formed by the
Tallulah River as it cut through the Tallulah Dome rock formation. It
measures approximately 2 mi long and almost 1000 ft deep. Georgia's
Tallulah Gorge State Park protects much of the gorge and its
waterfalls. The Tallulah Gorge has been dubbed one of the "Seven
Natural Wonders of Georgia".

Tallulah Falls Lake lies just above the gorge. It was created in 1913
by a hydroelectric dam built by Georgia Railway and Power (now Georgia
Power) in order to run Atlanta's city streetcars. The dam still
collects most of the water from the falls via a 6666 ft tunnel sluice
or penstock around the falls. It then redirects the water to a 72 MW
hydropower electricity generation station downstream. This station
lies at an elevation 608 ft below the lake, but a few days each year
the dam releases water and the lake's water levels rise considerably.
The days when water is released are especially popular for recreation,
including kayaking and whitewater rafting.

History
======================================================================
Since the early 19th century, Tallulah Gorge and its waterfalls have
been a tourist attraction. In 1882, Tallulah Falls Railway was built,
increasing the accessibility of the area to visitors from Atlanta and
elsewhere in Georgia, and the gorge became North Georgia's leading
tourist attraction. Resort hotels and bars sprang up to serve the
tourist trade, which, after the addition of the railway, swelled to as
many as 2,000 people on any given Sunday. In 1883, tightrope walker
Professor Bachman crossed the gorge as part of a publicity stunt for a
local hotel. On July 18, 1970, Karl Wallenda became the second man to
walk across the gorge on a tightrope.

In the 1910s, Georgia Railway and Power began building dams on the
river. The town of Burton, Georgia was purchased and its residents
relocated. The area was cleared and then flooded to become Lake Burton
in 1919. Many nearby residents opposed the dams, including Helen
Dortch Longstreet, widow of Confederate general James Longstreet, who
led an unsuccessful campaign in 1911 to have Tallulah Gorge protected
by the state. The Georgia Assembly was unable to raise the $1 million
required to purchase the gorge, but Mrs. Longstreet's efforts are
among the first recorded conservation movements in Georgia. Once the
dam was completed in 1913, the roar of the Tallulah Falls (which could
be heard for miles from the gorge) was quieted, and tourism dwindled.
A state park was created by Georgia governor Zell Miller in
cooperation with Georgia Power.

Etymology
======================================================================
Georgians have long assumed that Tallulah was a Cherokee word, given
the prominence of Cherokee history in the extreme northern part of the
state. The word's etymology remains uncertain, and it does not clearly
match either Cherokee or nearby Muscogean languages such as Creek. In
his book 'Georgia Place-names', Kenneth K. Krakow cites John Mooney,
an authority on the Cherokee language who traced the name from the
Native American word 'talulu' or 'taruri' but concluded that both
forms are untranslatable. Krakow also mentions that the American
actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902–1968) was named for her grandmother,
who was named after Tallulah Falls.

Tallulah Falls in popular culture
======================================================================
*The opening credits of the 1976 film 'Grizzly' were filmed while
flying through the gorge, and several key shots were taken in one of
the gift shops on the gorge rim.
*On July 18, 1970, the then 65-year-old Karl Wallenda performed a
high-wire walk across the Tallulah Gorge.
*Parts of the 1972 film 'Deliverance' were filmed in the gorge.
*Portions of the 2018 film 'Avengers: Infinity War' were filmed in the
state park.

Geology and ecology
======================================================================
Tallulah Dome is a rock formation caused by the double folding of the
Earth's crust during the formation of Pangaea, about 500 to 250
million years ago. The dome is made up of mostly quartzite along with
schist.

Because of the variation in sunlight, shade, and moisture caused by
the steep cliffs, several different ecosystems exist in and around the
canyon-like gorge. The persistent trillium, an endangered species of
trillium, grows in this river basin and only few other parts of the
South Carolina/Georgia area.

Additional photographs
======================================================================
Image:tallulah_gorge2.jpg|
Image:Tallulah_Falls2.jpg|
Image:Tallulah Falls 7151.jpg|
Image:Tallulah gorge hawthorne pool.jpg|Hawthorne Pool inside Tallulah
Gorge State Park
Image:Tallulah gorge bottom.jpg|View of the Tallulah River at the
bottom of the gorge

Sources
======================================================================
*Edwards, Leslie. "Tallulah Gorge Article." Georgia Botanical Society.
Accessed January 20, 2006.
*[http://www.gabotsoc.org/articleTallulahgorge.htm Georgia Botanical
Society-Home Page ]
*[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-949
'Tallulah Falls and Gorge,' New Georgia Encyclopedia]
*[http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Tallulah_Gorge_State_Park 'Tallulah Gorge
State Park', About North Georgia]

External links
======================================================================
*[http://www.parkmaps.com/USA/Georgia/State/Tallulah_Gorge_Park_Tallulah_Falls_GA/detailspage.htm
ParkMaps website]

License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallulah_Gorge