Deep River is a tributary of the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a 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 in the town of ...

, approximately long, in north central

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Deep River is a translation of the Indian name ''sapponah'', "deep river". Paddling is popular on the river. Deep River is flanked by the planned Deep River State Trail and several other parks and preservation areas including Carbonton Dam Park, House in the Horseshoe Historic Site, Deep River Park and Deep River Camelback Truss Bridge, Endor Iron Furnace, White Pines Nature Preserve, Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse, and Mermaid Point. There river is habitat to two federally-endangered species, the Cape Fear shiner, a critically endangered minnow, and the Atlantic Pigtoe, an endangered mussel.

Course

Deep River rises in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

country in western Guilford County, east of Kernersville. It flows southeast past High Point and Randleman, forming the Randleman Lake. It passes northeast of Asheboro, then flows east to Franklinville then to Ramseur, then passing north of Sanford. The Rocky River enters the Deep River at the White Pines Nature Preserve. Deep River joins

Haw River The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, which is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, a ...

at Mermaid Point near Moncure to form the

Dams

Deep River has 12 dams or relict dam structures and is the source river of the Randleman lake project that covers of property on the river near U.S. Route 220. The river crosses the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

of North Carolina, an area where rivers are quite rocky and have a moderately high gradient. This gradient was used to power mills along the river to support the early

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

industry in North Carolina. The river, popular with

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ists, was a center of a great deal of activity during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

at places such as Franklinville and the House In The Horseshoe. The Lockville Dam, built of stone, is the only portion of the 19th-century Deep River lock and dam system that remains today. Until recently, the Deep River was host to the Carbonton Dam, the largest dam on the river at high and wide. In the fall of 2005, the dam was removed for the purpose of creating environmental mitigation credit by Restoration Systems, LLC, a leading environmental mitigation company in North Carolina. The project restored of the former impoundment around the House in the Horseshoe to free-flowing river.

Tributaries

References

{{authority control Rivers of North Carolina Rivers of Chatham County, North Carolina Rivers of Guilford County, North Carolina Rivers of Lee County, North Carolina Rivers of Moore County, North Carolina Rivers of Randolph County, North Carolina