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Muscle Shoals, town (1990 pop. 9,611), Colbert co., NW Ala., on the Tennessee River opposite Florence; inc. 1923. It is the center of experimental development of phosphate and nitrate fertilizers and animal foods. Various products are made in the chemical works there. The river formerly descended in a series of rapids called Muscle Shoals (c.35 mi/56 km long with a drop of more than 130 ft/40 m). Previously unnavigable, the river became the site of a canal built by the state in the 1830s, but later it silted up and was abandoned; in 1890 a successful canal was constructed by U.S. army engineers. The area was bought (1933) by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with plans to develop hydroelectric power and navigation. The building of Wilson Dam (1925) and of Wheeler Dam (1936), however, resulted in the submersion of the Muscle Shoals rapids by about 10 ft (3 m) of water.
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