Big Reed Island Creek is one of the largest tributaries of the New River (part of the Upper New Watershed) situated in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

Physiographic Province physiographic province is a geographic region with a characteristic geomorphology, and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements. The continents are subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific characte ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. The main stem of the river flows for approximately 95.98 kilometers (~60 miles) from the headwater source at Hurricane Knob in Meadows of Dan, Virginia (elev. 944 m) and opens to the New River via Big Reed Junction near Hiwassee, Virginia (see Map 1). Several tributaries and a confluence of smaller streams flow through the region, adding over a hundred extra miles to the length of the watershed. The principal named tributaries to Big Reed are Bear Creek, Big Branch, Bobbitt Creek, Buckhorn Creek, Burks Fork, Grassy Creek, Greasy Creek, Little Snake Creek, Pine Creek, Snake Creek, Stone Mountain Creek, Sulphur Spring Branch. It covers approximately 110.5 km² (27,318 acres) and crosses Pulaski, Floyd, and

Carroll County, Virginia Carroll County is a United States county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Roughly one fifth of the county lies in the Virginia Piedmont region, while the rest is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The count ...

in the southwestern part of the state.

Land Use

The 2030 Carroll County Plan has a lot of information regarding the

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

and

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

that influence the Big Reed Island Creek watershed. Most of the land in the area is rural with a gentle rolling landscape, and includes

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and open space. Table 1 and Map 2 from the comprehensive plan highlights the acreage and percent of existing land use in the county. Over half (54.4%) of the existing land use in Carroll Co. is designated for agriculture while 16% is described as vacant or open space. Forested areas are the next most abundant land cover type with 11.5% of the existing land used for forestry. Residential development is the single most intensive use of developed land in rural areas, and 11.4% of the existing land in Carroll County is used for either suburban residential, urban residential, or commercial development. The 2030 Carroll County Plan has a very low projected rate of growth for the county, but says that the greatest demand on the land in the coming decades will come from the residential sector. Wetlands comprise 1.5% of the land in

. Figure 1 on the next page shows the types of wetlands listed in the county and includes freshwater emergent wetlands, freshwater forested/shrub wetlands, freshwater ponds, and riverines and other. These areas filter and replenish groundwater, act as a flood buffer, provide and protect important habitats, and mitigate and prevent erosion.

References

USGS Geographic Names Information Service
*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Virginia (1974) *

{{authority control Rivers of Virginia Rivers of Carroll County, Virginia

Land Use

See also

References