Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
A towboat pushes a line of barges through a forested, red-banked bend of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

Rivers & Geography

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is the 234-mile, ten-lock heart of Marine Highway M-65.

One system, five rivers.

Marine Highway M-65 runs 1,364 miles across four states on five river systems. Scroll to follow the route from Paducah to the Gulf.

Map of Marine Highway M-65: the Tennessee River from Paducah to Knoxville, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, the Black Warrior River to Birmingham, and the Tombigbee and Mobile Rivers to the Port of Mobile.KENTUCKYTENNESSEEALABAMAMISSISSIPPIKentucky LockPickwick LockWilson LockWheeler LockGuntersville LockNickajack LockChickamauga LockWatts Bar LockFort Loudoun LockWhitten LockMontgomery LockRankin LockFulton LockWilkins LockThad Cochran LockAberdeen LockStennis LockBevill LockHeflin LockDemopolis LockCoffeeville LockSelden LockOliver LockHolt LockBankhead LockPaducahFlorenceDecaturChattanoogaKnoxvilleColumbusDemopolisBirminghamMobileM-55 · Cairo, ILM-10 · Gulf
Lock

Tennessee River

652 river miles

Paducah, KY to Knoxville, TN

The whole Tennessee River is part of M-65. From Paducah, it runs south through Kentucky Lake to Pickwick Lake, where the Tenn-Tom begins, then east across North Alabama to Chattanooga and Knoxville.

The water itself flows the other way, from Knoxville toward Paducah.

Nine locks
Kentucky, Pickwick, Wilson, Wheeler, Guntersville, Nickajack, Chickamauga, Watts Bar and Fort Loudoun
Channel
11-foot minimum depth maintained by TVA
300 feet wide

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

234 miles

Pickwick Lake to Demopolis, AL

The heart of M-65. The Tenn-Tom links the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee, giving the Tennessee Valley a direct water route to the Gulf.

Ten locks
Each 110 by 600 feet
341 feet of lift in all
Channel
9 feet deep in the river sections, 12 feet in the canal and Divide Cut
300 feet wide, 280 in the Divide Cut

Black Warrior River

168 river miles

Demopolis to the Port of Birmingham, AL

The Black Warrior carries traffic northeast from Demopolis toward Birmingham. Its 168 river miles end where the Mulberry and Locust forks meet; the Port of Birmingham sits a short way up the Locust Fork, on the same pool.

Four locks
Selden, Oliver, Holt and Bankhead
Channel
9 feet deep
200 feet wide

Tombigbee River

172 river miles

Demopolis to the Mobile River

Below Demopolis, the Tennessee and Birmingham routes travel together on the Tombigbee toward the coast.

Two locks
Demopolis and Coffeeville
Coffeeville is the last lock before tidewater
Channel
9 feet deep
200 feet wide

Mobile River

45 river miles

To the Port of Mobile, AL

The Mobile River brings M-65 to the Port of Mobile. With its 50-foot ship channel, finished in October 2025, Mobile is the deepest container port on the Gulf.

Channel
Upper river: 9 feet deep, 200 feet wide
Mobile Harbor: 50 feet deep

Where M-65 connects

M-65 links to two other Marine Highways and an interstate.

M-55
At Paducah, the Tennessee River meets the Ohio. About 45 miles downstream, at Cairo, Illinois, M-65 connects to M-55.
M-10
At Mobile, M-65 connects to M-10, which runs along the Gulf Coast.
Interstate 65
On land, the route follows I-65.

Paducah to the Gulf, lock by lock.

Twenty-five locks keep traffic moving on M-65: nine on the Tennessee River, ten on the Tenn-Tom, four on the Black Warrior and two on the Tombigbee.

Swipe sideways to follow each drawing.

Paducah to Mobile

Southbound from Paducah, two Tennessee River locks lift traffic to Pickwick Lake. From there the Tenn-Tom’s ten locks and two more on the Tombigbee step it down to sea level at Mobile.

0100200300400ftKentucky Lock, Tennessee River mile 22.4: 57 ft normal liftKentucky57 ftPickwick Lock, Tennessee River mile 206.7: 55 ft normal liftPickwick55 ftWhitten Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 411.9: 84 ft normal liftWhitten84 ftMontgomery Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 406.7: 30 ft normal liftMontgomery30 ftRankin Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 398.4: 30 ft normal liftRankin30 ftFulton Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 391.0: 25 ft normal liftFulton25 ftWilkins Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 376.3: 25 ft normal liftWilkins25 ftCochran Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 371.1: 30 ft normal liftCochran30 ftAberdeen Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 357.5: 27 ft normal liftAberdeen27 ftStennis Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 334.7: 27 ft normal liftStennis27 ftBevill Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 306.8: 27 ft normal liftBevill27 ftHeflin Lock, Tenn-Tom River mile 266.1: 36 ft normal liftHeflin36 ftDemopolis Lock, Tombigbee River mile 213.2: 40 ft normal liftDemopolis40 ftCoffeeville Lock, Tombigbee River mile 116.6: 34 ft normal liftCoffeeville34 ftPaducahKentuckyLakePickwickLakeMobileTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway · 10 locks · 341 ft

Pickwick Lake to Knoxville

Seven more Tennessee River locks rise to Fort Loudoun Lake, 813 feet above sea level, at Knoxville.

400500600700800ftWilson Lock, Tennessee River mile 259.4: 94 ft normal liftWilson94 ftWheeler Lock, Tennessee River mile 274.9: 48 ft normal liftWheeler48 ftGuntersville Lock, Tennessee River mile 349.0: 39 ft normal liftGuntersville39 ftNickajack Lock, Tennessee River mile 424.7: 39 ft normal liftNickajack39 ftChickamauga Lock, Tennessee River mile 471.0: 49 ft normal liftChickamauga49 ftWatts Bar Lock, Tennessee River mile 529.9: 58 ft normal liftWatts Bar58 ftFort Loudoun Lock, Tennessee River mile 602.3: 72 ft normal liftFort Loudoun72 ftPickwickLakeKnoxville

Demopolis to Birmingham

Four Black Warrior locks rise to Bankhead Lake, the pool that serves the Port of Birmingham.

0100200300ftSelden Lock, Black Warrior River mile 261.1: 22 ft normal liftSelden22 ftOliver Lock, Black Warrior River mile 337.6: 28 ft normal liftOliver28 ftHolt Lock, Black Warrior River mile 347.0: 64 ft normal liftHolt64 ftBankhead Lock, Black Warrior River mile 365.1: 68 ft normal liftBankhead68 ftDemopolisBirmingham

Heights are drawn to scale at normal pool levels; the distance between locks is not. Water levels vary with the season.

See all 25 locks in a table
Locks on Marine Highway M-65, in route order
RiverLockRiver mileNormal lift (ft)
TennesseeKentucky22.457
TennesseePickwick206.755
TennesseeWilson259.494
TennesseeWheeler274.948
TennesseeGuntersville349.039
TennesseeNickajack424.739
TennesseeChickamauga471.049
TennesseeWatts Bar529.958
TennesseeFort Loudoun602.372
Tenn-TomWhitten411.984
Tenn-TomMontgomery406.730
Tenn-TomRankin398.430
Tenn-TomFulton391.025
Tenn-TomWilkins376.325
Tenn-TomCochran371.130
Tenn-TomAberdeen357.527
Tenn-TomStennis334.727
Tenn-TomBevill306.827
Tenn-TomHeflin266.136
TombigbeeDemopolis213.240
TombigbeeCoffeeville116.634
Black WarriorSelden261.122
Black WarriorOliver337.628
Black WarriorHolt347.064
Black WarriorBankhead365.168

Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigation Data Center lock data; USACE and TVA normal pool levels.

See the whole corridor on the map.

Find ports, terminals and sites along the rivers of M-65.

Explore the Corridor Map