The Linville River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in western

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 ...

. The river begins in the slopes of

Peak Mountain Peak Mountain, also called Copper Mountain, est. , is a traprock mountain located in East Granby, Connecticut, south of the Massachusetts border and 6 miles west of the Connecticut River. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that ex ...

, Sugar Mountain and

Flattop Mountain Flattop Mountain and Flat Top Mountain may refer to *in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consi ...

, in the Linville Gap area (also known as Tynecastle). As it goes south through Avery County, it passes through the communities of

Grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...

, Linville, Pineola, Crossnore and finally at Linville Falls. After entering Burke County at the community of Linville Falls, the river becomes the centerpiece of the Linville Falls and the Linville Gorge, an area referred to as "the Grand Canyon of North Carolina." After approximately 30 miles (48 km), the river ends at

Lake James Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with su ...

and the

Catawba River The Catawba River originates in Western North Carolina and flows into South Carolina, where it later becomes known as the Wateree River. The river is approximately 220 miles (350 km) long. It rises in the Appalachian Mountains and drains into ...

; the original confluence with the Catawba River has been flooded by the creation of the reservoir in 1923. In 1975, North Carolina designated of the river as Linville State Natural River, including it in the state's Natural and Scenic Rivers System.

References

Rivers of North Carolina Tributaries of the Catawba River Rivers of Avery County, North Carolina Rivers of Burke County, North Carolina Protected areas established in 1975 Pisgah National Forest {{NorthCarolina-river-stub