The Yadkin–Pee Dee River Basin (alternatively watershed or

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

) is a large river basin in the eastern United States, covering around 7,221 square miles, making it the second largest in the state 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 ...

. Its headwaters rise near

Blowing Rock, North Carolina Blowing Rock is a town in Watauga and Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 1,397 at the 2021 census. The Caldwell County portion of Blowing Rock is part of the Hickory–Lenoir– Morganton Metropolita ...

, and the basin drains to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Winyah Bay The Winyaw were a Native American tribe living near Winyah Bay, Black River, and the lower course of the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. The Winyaw people disappeared as a distinct entity after 1720 and are thought to have merged with the Wacca ...

, east of

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

. The majority of the basin is within the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

geographical area of the United States, but it also drains the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

s of North and South Carolina, and parts 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 ...

, in North Carolina. It is part of the larger South Atlantic–Gulf Water Resource Region.

Geography

The watershed starts in the northwestern corner of North Carolina near Blowing Rock (protruding only slightly into Carroll and

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

counties of

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 ...

) and extends south by southeast, crossing the south central border into South Carolina, with slightly more than half of the watershed in North Carolina. It is the second largest in the state. The basin covers an area approximately 433 miles long and includes 5,862 miles of

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

and

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 ...

s, 22,988 acres of lakes and has an area of about 7,221 square miles. Over 22,988 acres of the basin is covered by lakes. The basin is home to 93 separate

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, in 21

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

with an estimated population of 1,463,535 (2000 U.S. Census). The basin covers a number of geographical areas, starting at the Appalachian Mountains and the

North Carolina Foothills Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geography, geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Easter ...

continuing through the central Piedmont area, into the Sandhills region and Coastal Plains before finally exiting into the

Features

The watershed is home to a number of unique geological features, such as Pilot Mountain, a 2,421 ft metamorphic

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

, which was the original inspiration for "Mount Pilot" in the 1960s television show ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''. This is near

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,611. History Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina an ...

, the basis for the city of

Mayberry Mayberry, North Carolina, is a fictional community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968) and ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971); Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reuni ...

Additionally, the region is home to a number of

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

s and other natural wonders including

Blowing Rock Blowing Rock may refer to: * The town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina ** The rocky outcropping Blowing Rock (land feature), near the town of the same name * Blowing Rock, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Caribbean island belonging to Anguil ...

, parts of the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

Tanglewood Park Tanglewood Park is a recreation center and park in Clemmons, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA. It is located on the Yadkin River between Clemmons and Bermuda Run. It is home to the annual "Tanglewood Festival of Lights," a display of lights ...

, the 45,000 acre

Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge The Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge (NWR) located in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from a headquarters located in McBee, South Carolina. ...

and the 50,000 acre

Uwharrie National Forest Uwharrie National Forest ( ) Talk Like A Tarheel
from the North Car ...

. The

Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge Situated along the Pee Dee River, Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge contains in Anson and Richmond Counties, North Carolina. The refuge was established to provide wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl. The refuge was established in October 19 ...

, an 8,443-acre wildlife preserve for waterfowl, lies completely within the confines of the watershed. Over half of the total land area is forested, including the Uwharrie National Forest. There are 38 aquatic rare species within the basin, including the

Shortnose sturgeon The shortnose sturgeon (''Acipenser brevirostrum'') is a small and endangered species of North American sturgeon. The earliest remains of the species are from the Late Cretaceous Period, over 70 million years ago.National Oceanic and Atmospher ...

and

Carolina heelsplitter The Carolina heelsplitter (''Lasmigona decorata'') is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae. It is named the "Carolina heelsplitter" because in life the sharp edge of the valves protrudes from the s ...

, which are listed as federally endangered.

Bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

can be found in the locality of

Badin Lake Badin Lake is one of a series of lakes created by the damming of the Yadkin- Pee Dee River in the Uwharrie Lakes Region of the United States. The Badin Lake Dam was built in 1917 to support local aluminum smelting plant, Alcoa, and the associa ...

. The bald eagle sightings were so common in the area that Alcoa's subsidiary, Yadkin, Inc., developed a Bald Eagle Management Plan. The eagles migrate through, but do not generally nest in the area. In North Carolina, 42 percent of the state's dairy cattle are raised in the basin (half of that number in the South Yadkin Subbasin alone). Also 36 percent of the poultry population (approximately 66 million birds) in the state. Hog farming has been a contentious issue in many parts of North Carolina, but the river basin only supports 2 percent of North Carolina's swine population. Crop lands decreased by 46 percent between 1982 and 1992, while urban development increased by 38 percent.

Hydrology

There are 22,988

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s of lakes and 5,863

miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...

s in the basin. Five major

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s exist within the watershed, all in North Carolina, including: * W. Kerr Scott Reservoir *

High Rock Lake High Rock Lake is a reservoir located on the Yadkin River in central North Carolina in the counties of Davidson and Rowan. Built in 1926-27 by the Tallassee Power Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), the ...

Tuckertown Reservoir The Tuckertown Reservoir is the reservoir formed by the Tuckertown Dam at the North end of Badin Lake and the High Rock Dam at the bottom of High Rock Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The reservoir is loca ...

Falls Reservoir Falls Reservoir is part of the Yadkin River Project in North Carolina and managed by Alcoa as part of their hydroelectric business. It is the last of four reservoirs along a stretch of the Yadkin River. Falls Reservoir is the smallest of the ...

All the major lakes except the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir generate

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

for the " Yadkin Project" which is under the control of the

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

producing company

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

, and licensed to operate by the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

(FERC). The combined Yadkin Project has a total generating capacity of almost 215

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

of electricity. The

Narrows Dam Narrows Dam is a dam located 6 miles north of Murfreesboro, Arkansas, that impounds the water of the Little Missouri River (Arkansas) to create Lake Greeson. Narrows Dam was authorized as a flood control and hydroelectric power project by the Flo ...

and powerhouse development at

is the only hydroelectric project in North Carolina that is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. A number of large rivers flow within the Yadkin–Pee Dee watershed, totaling 5,946 linear river miles. In South Carolina, these include the

Lynches River Lynches River, named for Thomas Lynch, Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence, rises in North Carolina near Waxhaw, North Carolina, at about 700 feet (210 m) elevation, flowing only a short distance to the South Carolina border, and th ...

Great Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River, is known as t ...

Little Pee Dee River The Little Pee Dee River is a tributary of the Pee Dee River (which originates in the Appalachian Mountains where it is known as the Yadkin River). The Little Pee Dee technically arises near Laurinburg, North Carolina as Gum Swamp, which flows so ...

, Black River and

Waccamaw River The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles (225 km) long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1,110 square miles (2886 km²) in the coastal plain ...

, while in North Carolina, the major rivers include the

Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, po ...

South Yadkin River The South Yadkin River is a long river that flows through Alexander, Davie, Iredell, Rowan, and Wilkes counties of North Carolina. The mouth is located north of High Rock Lake, where the South Yadkin River meets the Yadkin River. Major citi ...

, Abbotts Creek, Roaring River,

Uwharrie River The Uwharrie River () is a long river, in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina in the United States. It is a tributary of the Pee Dee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Course The Uwharrie River rises in northwestern Randolph ...

and

Rocky River Rocky River may refer to: Localities *Rocky River, Ohio, USA * Rocky River, New South Wales near Uralla, Australia Electorates *Electoral district of Rocky River (South Australia) Streams In Australia: * Rocky River (New South Wales) * R ...

Water quality

There are a number of water quality issues within the basins. In an average water basin, between 5 and 58 tons per square mile per year (t/mi²/yr) of fine-grained sediment are removed from the surrounding land in

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when th ...

but the Yadkin–Pee Dee River Basin sees 300 t/mi²/yr in runoff due to rapid population growth and agricultural practices that leave bare soil exposed to erosion. thirty-nine percent of rivers within the North Carolina section of the basin fail to meet the state water quality standards and are listed as "impaired".

References

Citations Bibliography *

External links

Yadkin–Pee Dee River Basin AssociationYadkin–Pee Dee River Basin Water Supply Planning
– N. C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources
River flow for watershed's rivers
United States Geological Survey (

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...