The North Anna River is a principal

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the Pamunkey River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 in central

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 ...

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 consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Via the Pamunkey and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

rivers, it is part of the watershed of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. The river was the site of the

Battle of North Anna The Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the Nor ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, the river has also been known as "Northa-Anna" and as the main stem of the Pamunkey River.

Course

The North Anna River is formed by a confluence of smaller streams in western

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and flows generally southeastwardly. The river's course is used to define all or portions of the southern boundaries of Orange, Spotsylvania and Caroline counties; and the northern boundaries of Louisa and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

counties. It joins the South Anna River to form the Pamunkey River on the common boundary of Caroline and Hanover counties, about northeast of the town of Ashland. The North Anna Dam on the common boundary of Louisa and Spotsylvania counties causes the river to form

Lake Anna Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater inland reservoirs in Virginia, covering an area of , and located south of Washington, D.C., in Louisa and Spotsylvania counties (and partially in Orange County at the northern tip). The lake is easil ...

, which was created to provide water for the adjacent

North Anna Nuclear Generating Station The North Anna Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on a site in Louisa County, Virginia, Louisa County, Virginia, in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic United States. The site is operated by Dominion Resources, Dominion Genera ...

. Near its mouth the North Anna River collects the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. Other tributaries of the North Anna include Pamunkey Creek and Contrary Creek.

References

Columbia Gazetter of North America entry
* DeLorme (2005). ''Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. . {{authority control Rivers of Virginia Tributaries of the York River (Virginia) Rivers of Caroline County, Virginia Rivers of Hanover County, Virginia Rivers of Louisa County, Virginia Rivers of Orange County, Virginia Rivers of Spotsylvania County, Virginia Greater Richmond Region

Course

See also

References