This stretch of the river is also a geological boundary between the scattered hills of the Western Highland Rim to the northeast and the flatlands of West Tennessee to the northwest.

[3] Tennessee State Route 128 crosses the top of the dam, connecting the area to Savannah to the north.

Pickwick Lake has 496 miles (798 km) of shoreline and 43,100 acres (17,400 ha) of water surface, and has a flood-storage capacity of 417,700 acre-feet (515,200,000 m3).

The locks' lift raises and lowers vessels up to 63 feet (19 m) between Pickwick and Kentucky lakes.

The construction of Wilson Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1920s and the construction of Wheeler Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s flooded a large section of the shoals, but serious obstacles still remained between Riverton and Florence, especially in the vicinity of Tuscumbia.

[1][4] Pickwick Landing Dam was completed and the gates closed on February 8, 1938, although dredge work continued until 1941.