The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi (660 km) long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont to Albemarle Sound. An important river throughout the history of the United States, it was the site of early settlement in the Virginia Colony and the Carolina Colony. Most of its upper course in Virginia between the City of Roanoke and Clarksville is known as the Staunton River. It is impounded along much of its middle course to form a chain of reservoirs.
In 2011, American Rivers named the Roanoke (Staunton) River the 3rd Most Endangered River in the country. It earned this position due to the possibility of uranium mining on one of its tributaries at the Coles Hill Uranium Deposit near Danville, Virginia.
Read more about Roanoke River: Description, History
Famous quotes containing the word river:
“The mountain may be approached more easily and directly on horseback and on foot from the northeast side, by the Aroostook road, and the Wassataquoik River; but in that case you see much less of the wilderness, none of the glorious river and lake scenery, and have no experience of the batteau and the boatman’s life.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)