The Black Warrior River is a tributary of the Tombigbee River, approximately 178 mi (286 km) long, in central Alabama in the United States. Its drains an area of 6,275 sq mi (16,250 km²) in east central Alabama, with its upper watershed encompassing a forested area of high bluffs at the extreme southern end of the Appalachian Mountains north and west of the city of Birmingham. In its lower reaches it flows across the forests of the coastal plain. It impounded along nearly its entire course in a chain of narrow reservoirs for hydroelectricity, drinking water, and as an aid to navigation.

Description

The river is formed approximately 25 mi (40 km) west of Birmingham by the confluence of the Mulberry and Locust forks, which join as arms of Lake Bankhead , a narrow reservoir on the upper river formed by the Bankhead Lock and Dam. Bankhead Lake and Holt Lake , formed by the Holt Lock and Dam, encompass the entire course of the river for its upper 50 mi (80 km) stretching southeast into central Tuscaloosa County, northwest of Tuscaloosa. It flows westward past downtown Tuscaloosa, the largest city on the river, then flows generally south is a highly meandering course, joining the Tombigbee from the northeast at Demopolis. The lower 30 mi (48 km) of the river are part of the narrow Lake Demopolis .

The river is a navigable along its entire course, forming part of the extended system of waterways that Mobile Bay to Birmingham.

It receives the North River from the north approximately 1 mi (1.6) northwest of Tuscaloosa.

See also

• List of Alabama rivers

External links

• Black Warrior Clean Water Partnership
• Black Warrior Riverkeepers