High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Etowah River rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, north of Atlanta. Its name is the Cherokee version of the original Muskogee word "Etalwa" which means a "trail crossing." On Matthew Carey's 1795 map the river was labeled "High Town River." On later maps, such as the 1839 Cass County map, it was referred to as "Hightower River," a name that was used in most early Cherokee records.