Watershed wormhole

August 19, 2016

Yesterday we crossed the Pickwick Reservoir in the Tennessee River. I assumed that any boats that wanted to get from Pickwick Reservoir down to the Gulf of Mexico would need to travel via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Not so! The US army corps of engineers has created a watery wormhole called the Tennessee Tombigbee waterway, known as the Tenn Tom. Ships can make a bee line from the Tennessee River to Mobile Bay, saving hundreds of miles.

The Tenn Tom is not a relic of the lost age of canals. Although the army corps of engineers conducted a survey for the canal back in 1827, construction did not start until 145 years later in 1972. The canal was completed in 1985. The 234 mile Tenn Tom waterway includes a 39 mile cut through the divide between watersheds. The cut is 175 feet deep.

Natchez Trace Parkway crossing the Tenn Tom.

We saw a small yellow entity several times today. Possibly it was an exotic insect, possibly it was team S.

There's that yellow thing again down there.

The Tenn Tom waterway is a surprisingly new engineering feat. We also passed surprisingly ancient mounds along the trace, raised by Mississippians thousands of years ago.

Was this expanse forested when the mounds were built, or was it kept clear of trees?

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