The South Fork Catawba River (better known as the South Fork River)
begins south of
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...
just northwest of the intersection of
US Highway 321 and
North Carolina Highway 10
North Carolina Highway 10 (NC 10) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Originally established as the state's central highway, from Murphy to Beaufort, it now serves to connect the city of Newton with the nea ...
, at the confluence of the
Henry Fork and
Jacob Fork. The South Fork Catawba River travels 48.5 miles, passing along the communities of
Lincolnton,
High Shoals,
McAdenville, and
Cramerton, to
Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir or man-made lake in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of 13,400 acres (54.2 km2) (20.9 mi2) (5420 ha) and features of shoreline.
History
The man-made lake was first form ...
where its now submerged confluence with 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 ...
lies near the North Carolina and
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
border.
Signage on roadways crossing the river acknowledge it as the "South Fork River".
The river is part of the
Santee River
}
The Santee River is a river in South Carolina in the United States, and is long. The Santee and its tributaries provide the principal drainage for the coastal areas of southeastern South Carolina and navigation for the central coastal plain of ...
Watershed.
Variant names
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 ...
, it has also been known historically as:
*Little Catawba River
*South Fork
*South Fork River
*South Fork of the Catawbaw River
See also
*
List of North Carolina rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries alphabetically indented under each larger stream's name.
Atlantic Ocean
* North Landing Riv ...
References
Tributaries of the Catawba River
Rivers of Catawba County, North Carolina
Rivers of Gaston County, North Carolina
Rivers of Lincoln County, North Carolina
Rivers of North Carolina
{{NorthCarolina-river-stub