Black Warrior River

River in Alabama; length 287 km/178 mi. From its source in the southern Appalachian Mountains, northwest of Sand Mountain, it flows southwest into Bankhead Lake, then into Lake Tuscaloosa, before joining the Tombigbee River near Demopolis. The river's name is a translation of ‘Tuscaloosa’.

The Tombigbee's main tributary, the Black Warrior River provides water access to the Birmingham industrial area through its system of locks and dam-created lakes. At its northwestern headwaters the Lewis Smith Dam, northeast of Jasper, impounds the Sipsey and East forks, creating Lewis Smith Lake (area 86 sq km/33 sq mi), in the Bankhead National Forest.