Unicoi Mountains - Geography

Geography

The Unicoi Mountains stretch for roughly 37 miles (60 km) between the Little Tennessee River in the north and the Hiwassee River to the south, and for approximately 60 miles (97 km) from its foothills along the Tennessee River at the range's western extreme to the Cheoah River at its eastern extreme. The range covers just over 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2).

The sources of several rivers and major streams are located high in the Unicoi Mountains. The Tellico River rises on the slopes of McDaniel Bald in the southeastern corner of the Unicois and flows northwestward across the entire range before emptying into the Little Tennessee River near Vonore, Tennessee. Another tributary of the Little Tennessee, Citico Creek, is formed by the convergence of two streams which rise in a densely-forested area of the northwestern Unicois known as Jeffrey Hell. The Bald River rises on the slopes of Beaverdam Bald in the southern Unicois and winds its way northward through a scenic gorge before plunging over an oft-photographed 90-foot (27 m) waterfall en route to its mouth along the Tellico River. Santeetlah Creek rises on the western slope of Huckleberry Knob and flows down around the base of the mountain en route to the Santeetlah Lake impoundment of the Cheoah River to the east. Its tributary, Little Santeetlah Creek, drains the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.