3. Fall Line Rapids

3. Fall Line Rapids

Like its sister cities Macon, Milledgeville, and Augusta, Columbus, Georgia is located on the fall line. This predominant geological feature divides the more resistant geology of the Piedmont and the sedimentary rock Coastal Plain. The city is home to a number of cascades that occur with the rapid drop in elevation of 125 feet in 2.5 miles. Columbus is the northernmost point on the Chattahoochee River that was navigable to steam ships. The river was eventually dammed at multiple points to power a water-driven gristmill, cotton and wool textile production. In the 1890s the city harnessed the river for electrical power that made modern Columbus possible. With the removal of several dams in 2013 the city now embraces the river as recreational center with its 14-mile river walk and whitewater-rafting course.
Duncan, M S. "Fall Line." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 08 February 2013. Web. 18 March 20, 2014.

West Georgia Geology

Photo: Water Power Development at Falls of Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee River, Columbus, Muscogee County, GA (1827)
(Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print