Dan River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dan River |
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View of the Dan River, Danville, Virginia
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Location of the mouth of Dan River
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Other name(s) | Tributary to Roanoke River |
Country | United States |
States | Virginia North Carolina |
Counties (Virginia) | Floyd Halifax Mecklenburg Patrick Pittsylvania |
Counties (North Carolina) | Caswell Rockingham Stokes |
Physical characteristics | |
Main source | divide between Dan River, Smith River and New River about 2 miles northeast of Rock Castle Gap 3,170 ft (970 m) 36°46′41″N 080°21′54″W / 36.77806°N 80.36500°W |
River mouth | John H. Kerr Reservoir (Roanoke River) Stanton River State Park 300 ft (91 m) 36°39′22″N 078°35′55″W / 36.65611°N 78.59861°W |
Length | 214 mi (344 km) |
Basin features | |
Progression | generally east |
River system | Roanoke River |
Basin size | 3,300 square miles (8,500 km2) |
Tributaries |
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Waterbodies | Cockrum Millpond John H. Kerr Reservoir |
The Dan River flows 214 miles (344 km) in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It rises in Patrick County, Virginia, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it back into Virginia through only Pittsylvania County before reentering North Carolina near the border between Caswell County and Rockingham County. It flows into northern Caswell County and then back into southern Virginia (briefly Pittsylvania County, then into Halifax County) and finally into Kerr Reservoir on the Roanoke River.
The name of the river was first recorded by William Byrd II in 1728, during an expedition to survey the Virginia border, though Byrd did not explain the reason for the name. A variant name is "South Branch Roanoke River".
In 2014, a large amount of coal ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, spilled into the river, prompting a cleanup process costing an estimated $300 million.
Dan River is also the name of the southeastern political district of Pittsylvania County, where a small section of the river serves as the boundary between Pittsylvania County and the city of Danville.