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The New River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, approximately 320 mi (515 km) long, in the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia in the United States. Much of the river's course through West Virginia is designated as the New River Gorge National River.
It is formed by the confluence of the South Fork New River and the North Fork New River in Ashe County, North Carolina, then flows through southwestern Virginia, and into West Virginia, where it joins the Gauley River to form the Kanawha.
Despite its name, the river is considered by geologists to be one of the oldest rivers in the world, between 10 million and 360 million years old. It is sometimes considered to be second in age only to the Nile River and thus the oldest in North America. Like the Nile, the New River flows in a generally South-North course. The New River is one of the American Heritage Rivers of the United States.
It is the home to many species of fish suitable for fishing including bass, trout, walleye, muskellunge, crappie, bluegill, carp, or flathead and channel catfish.
The New River is spanned by the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia.
Cities and towns along the New River
- Boone, North Carolina
- Fairlawn, Virginia
- Fries, Virginia
- Gauley Bridge, West Virginia
- Glen Lyn, Virginia
- Hinton, West Virginia
- Narrows, Virginia
- Pearisburg, Virginia
- Pembroke, Virginia
- Radford, Virginia
- Rich Creek, Virginia
- Thurmond, West Virginia
Parks, Forests and Trails along the New River
Listed from upstream to downstream:
- New River State Park, North Carolina
- New River Trail State Park, Virginia
- Shot Tower Historical State Park, Virginia
- Claytor Lake State Park, Virginia
- Jefferson National Forest
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Bluestone State Park, West Virginia
- New River Gorge National River
- Babcock State Park, West Virginia
- Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the New River has also been known as:
- Conhaway River
- Great Konhaway River
- Kanawha River
- Kunhaway River
- Mon-don-ga-cha-te
- Wood River
- Wood's River
- Woods River
See also
External links
- New River Watershed Roundtable
- Friends of the New River
- Fishing in the New River
- National Committee for the New River
- New River State Park
- Geology of the New River Gorge in WV
American Heritage Rivers | Rivers of North Carolina | Rivers of Virginia | Rivers of West Virginia | Rivers of West Virginia | Kanawha River
"New River (West Virginia)"