The Roanoke Valley ( ) in

southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...

is an area adjacent to and including the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

between the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

to the east and the

Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a range that run from Nova Scotia in Canada to Alabama in the United States. The Appalachi ...

to the west. The

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the two independent cities of Roanoke and Salem.

Boundaries

The Roanoke Valley is about long, from the Roanoke River

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

near Virginia's Explore Park in the east to Shawsville in the west, and as much as wide around Roanoke City though the width is closer to in most areas. The Roanoke Valley is part of the valley and ridge province of Virginia, which also includes the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

to the northeast and the New River Valley to the southwest. The Roanoke Valley is bound to the west by a ridgeline commonly known as Christiansburg Mountain, to the north by a ridgeline formed by Fort Lewis Mountain and Brushy Mountain, and to the southwest by a ridgeline formed by

Poor Mountain Poor Mountain is a ridge of high peaks located in Roanoke County, Virginia and Montgomery County, Virginia. At 3,928 feet, Poor Mountain is the tallest mountain in the immediate area. Poor Mountain has the largest known population, by far, of ...

and adjacent peaks in the Blue Ridge, which also forms the east and southeast boundaries of the valley. However, this area generally features isolated peaks and wide gaps, with the notable exception of the aforementioned gorge, instead of continuous ridgelines. Historically, the Roanoke Valley was an important fork on the Great Wagon Road, with one branch leading to the Carolina

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 ...

region and the other branch, the

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...

, leading to Tennessee and Kentucky.

Roanoke MSA

The Roanoke Valley is sometimes synonymous with the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is made up of the political subdivisions of Roanoke City, Salem, Roanoke County, Botetourt County, Franklin County, and Craig County. Adjacent communities such as western Bedford County (part of the Lynchburg MSA) and eastern Montgomery County (part of the New River Valley MSA) are also often considered parts of the Roanoke Valley. More frequently, the Roanoke Valley refers to the core urban and

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

areas, generally Roanoke City, Salem, Roanoke County within the geographic Roanoke Valley, and southern Botetourt County; however, areas of Franklin County and Bedford County near

Smith Mountain Lake Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia, United States, located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impoundin ...

are becoming increasingly suburban.

Politics

In a political context, the Roanoke Valley usually refers collectively to Roanoke City, Salem, and Roanoke County. Some governmental functions are consolidated. For example, there is a regional sewer authority, a regional

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

system, and the Roanoke Regional Airport is governed by a regional commission. Salem has traditionally been more reluctant to participate in these efforts, while Botetourt County's participation has grown, most recently joining the water and sewer authority and regional greenway commission. Whether more functions should be provided on a consolidated basis, or if the governments should be consolidated, is an often discussed issue. Consolidation referendums in 1969 and 1990 failed because of the opposition of voters in Roanoke County. The issue has remained dormant since the 1990 referendum.

Education

The city of Roanoke hosts the main campus of Virginia Western Community College, part of the Virginia Community College System. There are currently three, four-year institutions of higher learning in the valley: *

Ferrum College Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia. The college was established in 1913 as the "Ferrum Training School" (also referred to as the "Ferrum Institute" by its board of trustees) for primary and secondary education to serve the ...

- Ferrum *

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

- Roanoke/ Cloverdale *

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

- Salem In addition, there are 12 public high schools in the Roanoke Valley. They are: * Cave Spring High School, Roanoke ( Roanoke County) * Craig County High School, New Castle ( Craig County) * Franklin County High School, Rocky Mount ( Franklin County) * Glenvar High School, Salem ( Roanoke County) * Hidden Valley High School, Roanoke ( Roanoke County) * James River High School, Springwood ( Botetourt County) * Lord Botetourt High School, Daleville ( Botetourt County) * Northside High School, Roanoke ( Roanoke County) * Patrick Henry High School, Roanoke ( Roanoke City) * Salem High School, Salem (Salem City) * William Byrd High School, Vinton, ( Roanoke County) * William Fleming High School, Roanoke ( Roanoke City)

Professional sports

As of 2025, two professional sports teams play in the Roanoke Valley: * Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs ( Roanoke): Members of the

Southern Professional Hockey League The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indian ...

since 2016 *

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

( Salem): Members of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

under various names since 1968. The

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

A-Advance affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

since 2009.

Trivia

The Roanoke Valley contains the lowest point above sea level in the mountains of

. As a result, the Norfolk and Western Railway chose the valley as its primary route between the ports of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

in eastern Virginia and the coal fields of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. The Norfolk and Western was headquartered in Roanoke for nearly a century before merging with the Southern Railway; the newly merged

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's corporate headquarters moved to

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The railroad has remained a major employer in the valley, though major layoffs were recently announced.

References

External links

Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau
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