The Cartecay and most of its watershed are located within the southeast corner of Gilmer County, Georgia, but there are small sections of the watershed in Fannin, Pickens, and Dawson counties.

Much of the river runs east to west and is bordered by Georgia State Route 52.

The Cartecay River basin covers 86,734 acres (351.0 km2) in total area.

The headwaters of the Cartecay River begin in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

This article related to a river in the US state of Georgia is a stub.