Pic(k) of the Week: Running the rapids

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Rafters run the 'Olympic' rapids (Class IV, V) on the upper Ocoee River.

Ocoee River State Park in Cherokee National Forest.
Ducktown, Tennessee, USA.
1 August 2026.

The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton.

The river is called the Toccoa for its 56 miles (90 km) through Georgia, until it reaches the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The remainder is called the Ocoee through Tennessee. The name Ocoee originates from the Cherokee name for Passiflora incarnata, the passion flower. Toccoa comes from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful."

The Ocoee is known for its Class III-V whitewater rapids, appealing to kayakers and rafting enthusiasts. The upper section of the Ocoee was host to whitewater slalom events during the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics held primarily in Atlanta, about 100 miles (160 km) to the south.

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Clifford Brown, Max Roach: The Blues Walk

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Pic(k) of the Week: Rafting the Ocoee

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A respite on the Ocoee River (calm between Class III and IV rapids).

Ocoee River State Park in Cherokee National Forest.
Tennessee, USA.
22 August 2026.

The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton.

The river is called the Toccoa for its 56 miles (90 km) through Georgia, until it reaches the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The remainder is called the Ocoee through Tennessee. The name Ocoee originates from the Cherokee name for Passiflora incarnata, the passion flower. Toccoa comes from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful."

The Ocoee is known for its Class III-V whitewater rapids, appealing to kayakers and rafting enthusiasts. It is also home to the local salamander, Desmognathus ocoee. The upper section of the Ocoee was host to whitewater slalom events during the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics held primarily in Atlanta, about 100 miles (160 km) to the south.

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Duke Ellington: Suite from The River (Village Virgins)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Dogwood riverside

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Its teal-hued drupes fruiting, a small, native silky dogwood shrub (Cornus amomum) grows on a rocky bank of the Ocoee River.

Ocoee Whitewater Center in the Cherokee National Forest.
Ducktown, Tennessee, USA.
1 August 2026.

Cornus amomum — commonly known as silky dogwood — is a deciduous shrub in the dogwood family, native to central and the eastern part of the United States and parts of Canada. It is typically found in swamp borders and wetlands, and near streams and ponds.

Silky dogwood may grow 6 to 12 feet tall (1.8 to 3.6 m). The leaves and twigs have silky hairs. A distinctive feature of this shrub is the dark brown pith in 1- to 2-year-old stems and the dark reddish twigs. Clusters of creamy white flowers bloom in the spring followed by small, 1-inch (2.5cm) blue drupes [stone fruits] that ripen in late summer.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

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Duke Ellington: Suite from The River (The Giggling Rapids)

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