Caney Fork River, river formed by the confluence of the Collins and Rocky rivers in central Tennessee, U.S. It flows for 144 miles (232 km) in a northwesterly direction to the Cumberland River, near Carthage, in Smith county. On the river are two dams: Center Hill Dam (completed in 1951), impounding Center Hill Lake; and the Great Falls Dam (1925), creating Great Falls Reservoir, part of the Tennessee Valley Authority.