river formed by the junction of the North and South forks just west of Kingsport, eastern Tennessee, U.S. It flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, joining the French Broad River near Knoxville to form the Tennessee River. Named for Stephen Holston, who built a cabin on its banks in 1746, it is 115 mi (185 km) long and has two important Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) installations along its course—Cherokee Dam on the Holston and South Holston Dam on the South Fork.