The North River is a 55.3-mile-long (89.0 km) river in the mountains and Shenandoah Valley of northern Virginia, the United States. It joins the South River at Port Republic to form the South Fork Shenandoah River.
The river rises at 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level in western Augusta County, below Dyers Knob on Shenandoah Mountain along the Virginia-West Virginia border. From the man-made Elkhorn Lake it flows south and then east through the George Washington National Forest. The river breaks out of the Allegheny Mountains at North River Gap and flows into the broad Valley of Virginia. The river passes through the town of Bridgewater and flows southeast, joining the South River at Port Republic. The Middle River, a major tributary, joins the North River just west of the town of Grottoes, four miles above the juncture with the South River.
Other towns along the river include Mount Solon, Stokesville, Sangersville, Natural Chimneys, Mount Crawford, and the village of North River.
The river is popular among canoeists, rafters and inner tubers. At one point during the 19th century barges shipped goods upstream via a canal/lock system.
Typical wildlife of the North River includes the Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Canada Goose, Belted Kingfisher, Baltimore Oriole, Painted Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Largemouth Bass, Sun Perch, Catfish, Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, White-tailed Deer, Raccoon, Opossum, Brown Bats, Freshwater Clams, Mink, Tiger Swallowtail and Ebony Jewelwing.
Typical plant life of the North River includes the Cardinal flower, Joe-Pye Weed, Purple Monkeyflower, Great Blue Lobelia, Bulrush, Yellow Iris, American Sycamore, cottonwood, Box-elder, Silver Maple, Virginia Bluebells, and Spring Beauty.
Famous quotes containing the words north, river and/or fork:
“In England if something goes wrong—say, if one finds a skunk in the garden—he writes to the family solicitor, who proceeds to take the proper measures; whereas in America, you telephone the fire department. Each satisfies a characteristic need; in the English, love of order and legalistic procedure; and here in America, what you like is something vivid, and red, and swift.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)
“Though man is the only beast that can write, he has small reason to be proud of it. When he utters something that is wise it is nothing that the river horse does not know, and most of his creations are the result of accident.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)
“Every country we conquer feeds us. And these are just a few of the good things we’ll have when this war is over.... Slaves working for us everywhere while we sit back with a fork in our hands and a whip on our knees.”
—Curtis Siodmak (1902–1988)