Coharie is the name for the

Great Coharie Creek Great Coharie Creek is a long 5th order tributary to the Black River in Sampson County, North Carolina. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as: *Cohary Swamp Course Great Co ...

and its tributary the Little Coharie Creek, both in

Sampson County, North Carolina Sampson County is the largest county, by land area, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,036. Its county seat is Clinton. History Sampson County was established in April 1784 following the America ...

. The Great Coharie Creek is a tributary of the Black River that joins the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Caro ...

that flows into 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 ...

. Coharie also refers to the Coharie Formation, named for the creeks, a terrace and shoreline at about 215 feet above sea level on the mid- to southern East Coast. The name ''Coharie'' was adopted by the

Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina. Formerly known as the Coharie Indian People, Inc. and the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, the group's 2,700 me ...

, a

state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established unde ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

. The tribe claims "descent from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina." In 1910, residents of Herrings Township along the Coharie creeks identified as being of Croatan descent.

Etymology

''Coharie'' could be an

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoia ...

, perhaps

Tuscarora language Tuscarora, sometimes called , was the Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people, spoken in southern Ontario, Canada, North Carolina and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls, in the United States, before going into hibernation in late 20 ...

, word that translates as ''driftwood''.

References

Sampson County, North Carolina Rivers of North Carolina Names of places in the Americas {{SampsonCountyNC-geo-stub