The Dan River flows in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It rises in

Patrick County, Virginia Patrick County is a county located on the central southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,608. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Pie ...

, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it flows back into

through

Pittsylvania County Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical A ...

before reentering

near the border between

Caswell County Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yanceyville. Partially bordering the state of Virginia ...

and Rockingham County. It flows into northern Caswell County and then back into southern

(briefly Pittsylvania County, then into Halifax County) and finally into Kerr Reservoir on the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the App ...

. The name of the river was first recorded by

William Byrd II William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virg ...

in 1728, during an expedition to survey the Virginia border, though Byrd did not explain the reason for the name. A variant name is "South Branch Roanoke River". In 2014, a large amount of

coal ash Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when de ...

, a byproduct of coal combustion, spilled into the river, prompting a cleanup process costing an estimated $300 million. Dan River is also the name of the southeastern political district of Pittsylvania County, where a small section of the river serves as the boundary between Pittsylvania County and the city of Danville. On June 25, 2021, the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

passed a law adding the river's

paddle trail A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered w ...

in Stokes and Rockingham Counties as its eleventh State Trail.

References

External links

Dan River State Trail
official website for the state paddle trail.
Map of the Dan River Watershed
{{authority control Rivers of Caswell County, North Carolina Rivers of Rockingham County, North Carolina Rivers of Stokes County, North Carolina Rivers of Patrick County, Virginia Rivers of North Carolina Rivers of Virginia Tributaries of the Roanoke River

See also

References

External links