Atlantic Coast Rivers of the Southeastern United States
Book Chapter
Jennings, CA, Anderson, EP, Benke, AC et al. (2023). Atlantic Coast Rivers of the Southeastern United States
. 68-123. 10.1016/B978-0-12-818847-7.00024-0
Jennings, CA, Anderson, EP, Benke, AC et al. (2023). Atlantic Coast Rivers of the Southeastern United States
. 68-123. 10.1016/B978-0-12-818847-7.00024-0
Rivers of this chapter cover ∼8 degree of latitude from northern Virginia to northern Florida. Although Indigenous Peoples caused nominal alterations to these rivers, the influx of Europeans in the 1800s caused massive changes from dams, diversions, mining, and poor land management. This chapter adds detailed descriptions of eight rivers to those described in the first edition. They range in size from relatively large river basins (∼40,000km2) draining 4–5 physiographic provinces to smaller basins (<10,000km2), often draining only Coastal Plain. Although substantial precipitation occurs throughout the year in all basins, runoff is typically highest during winter and spring. Except for rivers found only in the Coastal Plain, seasonal flows are typically regulated by large dams, usually found at or above the Fall Line. The diversity of native fish species is relatively high (50 to >100 species per river), but some rivers have high populations of >30 nonnatives.
