Roanoke River
Roanoke River Staunton River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Virginia, North Carolina |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Confluence of North and South Forks |
• location | Lafayette, Virginia |
• coordinates | 37°14′15″N 80°12′49″W / 37.23750°N 80.21361°W |
• elevation | 1,194 ft (364 m) |
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 |
The Roanoke River (
Staunton River is also the name of the northern political district of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where a large section of the river serves as the boundary between Campbell County, Virginia (to the north) and Pittsylvania County (to the south).
The Roanoke River State Trail is a
Description
The river has its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia at Lafayette in Montgomery 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 of Floyd, Roanoke, and Montgomery counties and flows generally north, joining the North Fork from the south.
The combined stream flows northeast between mountain ridges through the
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 by
History
The Roanoke River valley was the homeland of various
In 1883, the small town of Big Lick on the river was selected as a major shops and terminal point for the new
The Roanoke River was prone to serious flooding prior to the completion of the John H. Kerr Dam in 1953. Construction of the dam was precipitated by the 1940 South Carolina hurricane, which caused record flooding in the Roanoke River basin and led to calls for better flood control mechanisms.
In 1997, the
On November 18, 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law adding the Roanoke River Paddle Trail as its twelfth State Trail.[4]
See also
- List of North Carolina rivers
- List of Virginia rivers
- South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region
References
- ^ "Roanoke River Basin" (PDF). www.deq.state.va.us/vrrbac/. Virginia Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Roanoke River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "Staunton River". www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=175. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
- ^ a b
"Session Law 2021-180" (PDF). Raleigh, North Carolina: General Assembly of North Carolina. November 18, 2021. Section 14.7.(g). Retrieved November 30, 2021.
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[.]
- ^ a b "About RRP". Windsor, North Carolina: Roanoke River Partners. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Roanoke Super Highway". www.unctv.org. UNC-TV. Archived from the original on 2004-12-30.
- ^ Roanoke Archived 2007-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, Visit Roanoke, Virginia Website