[5][6] The upper section of the Saline is a clear, cold-water stream with a series of fast-running shoals interspersed with quiet pools.

After the merger of the three forks, the river flattens and travels through Grant, Cleveland, Bradley, and Ashley counties.

Cotton, timber, and staves (to make wood barrels) were shipped downstream each winter and spring (while the river water was high) to New Orleans and Monroe, Louisiana.

Steamboat traffic on the Saline river was considerably reduced with the arrival of the rail system in 1880.

One of the last steamboats on the Saline River was the Gate City,[13] which sank on October 14, 1913, near Warren.