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The New River is formed by the confluence of the South Fork New
River and the North Fork New River in Ashe County, North
Carolina. It
then flows north into southwestern Virginia, passing near Galax,
Virginia and through a gorge in the Iron Mountains. Continuing north,
the river enters Pulaski County, Virginia, where it is impounded by
Claytor Dam, creating Claytor Lake. North of the dam the New River
accepts the Little River and passes the city of Radford, Virginia
before passing through Walker Mountain via a narrow water gap. After
flowing north through Giles County, Virginia and the town of Narrows,
the river crosses into West Virginia.
The New River is impounded by Bluestone
Dam, creating Bluestone
Lake in Summers County, West Virginia. The Bluestone River tributary
joins the New River in Bluestone Lake. Just below the dam the
Greenbrier River joins the New River, which continues its northward
course into the New River Gorge. Near the end of the gorge the river
flows by the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia. A few miles
northwest of Fayetteville the New River merges with the Gauley
River,
forming the Kanawha River. The Kanawha is a tributary of the
Ohio River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi
River.
Despite its name, the river is considered by some geologists to be
possibly the oldest river in the world, between 10 million and 360
million years old. According to local folklore, it is considered to be
second in age only to the Nile River and thus the oldest in North
America. However, the ages of rivers are very difficult to establish
with precision; as the wide range of possible ages for the New River
demonstrates, there is no established ranking of the ages of major
rivers. The New River flows in a generally south to north course,
which is against the southwest to northeast topology of the
Appalachian Mountains and the west to east flow of most other nearby
major rivers especially in Virginia and North Carolina. This
peculiarity may mean that the New River's formation preceded much of
the surrounding landscape, although again this hypothesis has not been
proven beyond doubt.
The New River is home to many species of freshwater game fish
including bass, trout, walleye, muskellunge, crappie, bluegill, carp,
or flathead and channel catfish.
The first recorded European exploration of the New River was the
fur trading Batts-Fallam expedition of 1671, sent by Abraham Wood.
Variant names of the New River include "Wood's River", after
Abraham Wood.
The New River is spanned by the New River Gorge Bridge near
Fayetteville, West Virginia. It is also a very popular river for white
water rafting (class II-IV in season, IV-VI during the spring
run-off), and several commercial outfitters offer a variety of guided
trips. Those willing to brave the colder water of spring will be
rewarded with a more exciting big-water experience.
The river is regarded by local residents as treacherous for waders
and swimmers. The river bed is heavily eroded and features large
potholes which may drop suddenly to a depth of ten or more feet; the
eroded riverbed also contributes to strong, treacherous currents and
whirlpools.
- Boone, North Carolina
- Jefferson, North Carolina
- Fairlawn, Virginia
- Fries, Virginia
- Gauley Bridge, West Virginia
- Glen Lyn, Virginia
- Hinton, West Virginia
- Narrows, Virginia
- Pearisburg, Virginia
- Parrott, Virginia
- Pembroke, Virginia
- Radford, Virginia
- Rich Creek, Virginia
- Thurmond, West Virginia
Listed from upstream to downstream:
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the New River
has also been known as:
- Conhaway River
- Great Konhaway River
- Kanawha River
- Kunhaway River
- Mon-don-ga-cha-te
- Wood River
- Wood's River
- Woods River
- Adams, Noah, Far Appalachia: Following the New River North
(2001), provides an informal, personal account of the river's natural
history and local culture
- DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer
of North Carolina, Virginia, and
West Virginia.
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