The Elk River is a tributary of the Tennessee River in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Alabama. The river is about 195 miles long. The Elk River rises in Grundy County, Tennessee, in Burroughs Cove near the community of Elkhead. It is bridged for the first time by State Route 50 near Pelham, Tennessee. At first it flows southwestward, and turns t…The Elk River is a tributary of the Tennessee River in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Alabama. The river is about 195 miles long. The Elk River rises in Grundy County, Tennessee, in Burroughs Cove near the community of Elkhead. It is bridged for the first time by State Route 50 near Pelham, Tennessee. At first it flows southwestward, and turns to flow more generally westward. It is then bridged by both U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 24. Shortly below this point, it forms the Coffee County – Franklin County line. It is first impounded by Elk River Dam, forming Woods Reservoir, the impoundment of which extends upstream to about the same point where the stream ceases to serve as the Coffee-Franklin County line and is entirely in Franklin County. This reservoir was built under the auspices of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, primarily to provide a large source of cooling water for the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, which has large wind tunnels and other military and scientific research equipment. This area is also used as a wildlife refuge. The reservoir is bridged by State Route 127.
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