| Roanoke River Staunton River | |
|---|---|
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 Map of the Roanoke River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia,North Carolina |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North and South Forks |
| • location | Lafayette, Virginia |
| • coordinates | 37°14′15″N80°12′49″W / 37.23750°N 80.21361°W /37.23750; -80.21361 |
| • elevation | 1,194 ft (364 m) |
| Mouth | Albemarle Sound |
• location | Plymouth, North Carolina |
• coordinates | 35°56′33″N76°41′42″W / 35.94250°N 76.69500°W /35.94250; -76.69500 |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 410 mi (660 km) |
| Basin size | 9,680 sq mi (25,100 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Roanoke Rapids, 133.6 mi (215.0 km) from the mouth |
| • average | 7,802 cu ft/s (220.9 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 818 cu ft/s (23.2 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 261,000 cu ft/s (7,400 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Albemarle Sound |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Big Otter River,Falling River |
| • right | Dan River |
TheRoanoke River (/ˈroʊ.əˌnoʊk/ROH-ə-nohk) runs 410 miles (660 km) long[1] through southernVirginia and northeasternNorth Carolina in theUnited States.[2] A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of thecoastal plain from the eastern edge of theAppalachian Mountains southeast across thePiedmont toAlbemarle Sound. An important river throughout the history of the United States, it was the site of early settlement in theVirginia Colony and theCarolina Colony. An 81-mile (130 km) section[3] of its lower course in Virginia between the Leesville Lake andKerr Lake is known as theStaunton River, pronounced/ˈstæntən/, as is theShenandoah Valley city ofthat name. It is impounded along much of its middle course to form a chain of reservoirs.
Staunton River is also the name of the northern political district ofPittsylvania County, Virginia, where a large section of the river serves as the boundary betweenCampbell County, Virginia (to the north),Halifax County, Virginia (to the south east) andPittsylvania County (to the south west).
TheRoanoke River State Trail is apaddle trail which follows the lower portion of the river, fromRoanoke Rapids to the Albemarle Sound.[4][5]
The river has its headwaters in theBlue Ridge Mountains insouthwestern Virginia atLafayette inMontgomery County where the North Fork and South Fork of the river merge. The North Fork, approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, rises between two mountain ridges and flows initially southwest, then loops back to the northeast. The South Fork, approximately 20 miles (32 km) long, rises in several streams in the mountains on the border ofFloyd,Roanoke, and Montgomery counties and flows generally north, joining the North Fork from the south.
The combined stream flows northeast between mountain ridges through theRoanoke Valley, approximately 10 miles (16 km) toSalem, then east through the city ofRoanoke, emerging from agorge in the Blue Ridge Mountains southeast of Roanoke and forming the boundary betweenFranklin andBedford counties. The river flows generally east-southeast across the Piedmont of southern Virginia and enters northeastern North Carolina, passing north ofRoanoke Rapids at thefall line. The river flows southeast in a zigzag course across the coastal plain through theRoanoke River National Wildlife Refuge and then briefly turns north as it entersBatchelor Bay on the western end ofAlbemarle Sound. The Roanoke River is also known as the Staunton River for 80 miles betweenSmith Mountain Lake and convergence with theDan River atKerr Lake.
The river is impounded in six locations. The first is the Niagara Dam just south of the City of Roanoke in Roanoke County adjacent to the town of Vinton. It was constructed in 1906 to supply power for the Roanoke Electric Car streetcar system, and is currently owned and operated byAppalachian Power. It is then impounded twice in succession in the Piedmont of southwestern Virginia downstream from Roanoke to form theSmith Mountain Lake andLeesville Lake reservoirs. Farther downstream in southern along the North Carolina border, the river is impounded by theJohn H. Kerr Dam to form the expansiveKerr Lake. In northeastern North Carolina, three miles (4.8 km) west of Roanoke Rapids, the river is impounded to form theLake Gaston reservoir, and is impounded a final time to form Roanoke Rapids Lake.
The Roanoke River valley was the homeland of variousNative Americans, mostlyVirginia Siouan, such as theOccaneechi (today part of theHaliwa-Saponi) and theTutelo. The deadly spring floods earned it the name "River of Death".[6] The river's lower course began to be settled by Virginians about the middle of the 17th century, in what was known as theAlbemarle Settlements. The upper reaches of the Roanoke River were explored by fur trading parties sent byAbraham Wood in the late 17th century, but these were not settled by English until the early 18th century.
In 1883, the small town of Big Lick on the river was selected as a major shops and terminal point for the newNorfolk and Western Railway to meet theShenandoah Valley Railroad. Big Lick was renamedRoanoke for the river that bisected it, as the surroundingRoanoke County had been in 1838.[7]
The Roanoke River was prone to serious flooding prior to the completion of theJohn H. Kerr Dam in 1953. Construction of the dam was precipitated by the1940 South Carolina hurricane, which caused record flooding in the Roanoke River basin and led to calls for better flood control mechanisms.
In 1997, thenon-profit Roanoke River Partners formed to create apaddle trail along the river in North Carolina. The group established a system of river accesses and camping platforms betweenRoanoke Rapids and the Albemarle Sound, known as the Roanoke River Paddle Trail.[5]
On November 18, 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law adding the Roanoke River Paddle Trail as its twelfthState Trail.[4]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)The General Assembly authorizes the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to add the Roanoke River Paddle Trail in Halifax, Northampton, Bertie, Martin, and Washington Counties to the State Parks System as a State trail[.]
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