The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in the US state of

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 ...

, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

for water, power, and

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

. The river becomes the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River, is known a ...

at the confluence of the

Uwharrie River The Uwharrie River () is a long river, in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina in the United States. It is a tributary of the Pee Dee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Course The Uwharrie River rises in northwestern Randolp ...

south of the community of

Badin Badin ( Sindhi and ) is the main city and capital of Badin District in Sindh, Pakistan. It lies east of the Indus River. It is the 105th largest city in Pakistan. Badin is often called 'Sugar State' due to its production of sugar. Badin Dist ...

and east of the town of Albemarle. The river then flows into

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

near

Cheraw The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura,Sebeok, Thomas Albert''Native Languages of the Americas, Volume 2.''Plenum Press, 1977: 251. were a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands,Swanton''The Indians ...

, which is at 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 ...

. The entirety of the Yadkin River and the Great Pee Dee River is part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin.

Etymology

The meaning of the word Yadkin, derived from ''Yattken'', or ''Yattkin'', a

Siouan Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

Indian word, is unknown. In Siouan terminology it may mean "big tree" or "place of big trees." Alternate names include: :Adkin River :Atkin River :Big Yadkin River :Reatkin River :Sapona River :Yatkin River

Yadkin County, North Carolina Yadkin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 37,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat is Yadkinville, North Carolina, Yadkinville. Yadkin County i ...

, and its county seat, the town of

Yadkinville Yadkinville is a town in Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the Piedmont Triad, it is the county seat and most populous city of Yadkin County. History T ...

, are named after the river.

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Yadkin basin was inhabited by Siouan-speaking tribes. The Saura and

Tutelo The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a dialect of the Siouan Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of th ...

tribes are mentioned in historic records of the area. Before the Revolutionary War, colonial settlers of primarily Scots-Irish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

extraction migrated into the Yadkin basin from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

using the

Great Wagon Road The Great Wagon Road, also known as the Philadelphia Wagon Road, is a historic trail in the eastern United States that was first traveled by indigenous tribes, and later explorers, settlers, soldiers, and travelers. It extended from British Penn ...

and the Carolina Road. Notably, these included Moravian colonists from

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

who occupied the 100,000-acre

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

tract following its purchase in 1753 (See also

Old Salem Old Salem is a historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, which was originally settled by the Moravian community in 1766. It features a living-history museum which interprets the restored Moravian community. The non- ...

). On May 9, 1771, when marching to join Governor

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

's army at the

Battle of Alamance The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final confrontation of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over various issues with the Colonial Government. The Regulators primarily wanted reforms ...

, a colonial force was intercepted along the Yadkin in Rowan County by a larger force of

Regulators Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automatic control), a device that maintains a designated characteristic, as in: ** Battery regulator ** Pressure regulator ** Diving regulator ** Voltage regulator * Regulator (sewer), a control de ...

formed under Captain

Benjamin Merrill Captain Benjamin Merrill ( – June 19, 1771) was an American military officer, gunsmith and planter who served in the militia of Rowan County, North Carolina. He sided with the Regulator Movement in North Carolina, and was captured following the ...

. Realizing their forces were outnumbered, Tryon's men fell back to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, and were unable to join the governor until after the battle at Alamance was fought.''Captain Benjamin Merrell & The Regulators of Colonial North Carolina''
ia "History of the Liberty Baptist Association, by Elder Henry Sheets, Edwards & Broughton of Raleigh, N.C, (1907)" TAMU; accessed Aug 2018 In 1859 the NC Supreme court noted "it is certain that the Yadkin river is capable of private ownership and that some parts of the riverbed have been granted to private individuals." The court determined that the owners of the dam across the Yadkin could not have his property taken without just compensation.

Use

The river is extensively used for recreation. Fishing consists mostly of sunfish,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

and

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12–15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with whit ...

in the spring and early summer.

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 ' ...

ing and

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

ing are also possible. A portion of the river flows through

Pilot Mountain State Park Pilot Mountain State Park is a List of North Carolina state parks, North Carolina state park in Surry County, North Carolina, Surry and Yadkin County, North Carolina, Yadkin Counties, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Pinnacle, N ...

. Morrow Mountain State Park and the

Uwharrie National Forest Uwharrie National Forest ( ) Talk Like A Tarheel
from the North C ...

are along the banks of the river where the river's name changes to the

State trail

In 1985, the NC General Assembly established the Yadkin River State Trail as a

paddle trail Water trails (also known as blueways) are marked routes on navigable waterway such as rivers, lakes, canals, and coastlines for recreational use. They allow access to waterways for non-motorized boats and sometimes motorized vessels, inner tubes ...

which follows the river for . The paddle trail is a part of the North Carolina State Trails System, which is a section of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation. A system of launch points and

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

locations were created along the river for the trail.

Geography

Principal

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the Yadkin include the Reddies, Roaring, Mitchell,

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...

, Ararat and South Yadkin Rivers.

Water supply

Water supplies for many communities in North and South Carolina are taken from the Yadkin-Pee Dee and during drought years the division of the water is a contentious issue. The Mitchell River was impacted in the 1980s by massive runoff of sediment from land clearing at the Olde Beau development. Numerous citations from the NC EPA were issued against developer Earl Slick but the development proceeded. Cones Lake is a reservoir located immediately upstream of where the Yadkin River begins, marking it one of the initial sources of the Yadkin River.

Lakes created by dams along the Yadkin/Pee Dee River

There are many reservoirs created by damming the Yadkin and Pee Dee rivers within the bounds of North Carolina, and are listed from upstream to downstream: * W. Kerr Scott Reservoir *

High Rock Lake High Rock Lake is a reservoir located on the Yadkin River in central North Carolina in the counties of Davidson County, North Carolina, Davidson and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan. Built in 1926-27 by the Tallassee Power Company, a wholly o ...

Tuckertown Reservoir The Tuckertown Reservoir is the reservoir formed by the Tuckertown Dam at the North end of Badin Lake and the High Rock Dam at the bottom of High Rock Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The reservoir is lo ...

Badin Lake Badin Lake is one of a series of lakes created by the damming of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River in the Uwharrie Lakes Region of the United States. The Badin Lake Dam was built in 1917 to support local aluminum smelting plant, Alcoa, and the associate ...

Falls Reservoir Falls Reservoir is part of the Yadkin River Project in North Carolina and managed by Alcoa as part of their hydroelectric business. It is the last of four reservoirs along a stretch of the Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the lon ...

* Lake Tillery * Blewitt Falls Lake All but W. Kerr Scott generate hydroelectric power, and High Rock, Tuckertown, Badin, and Falls were managed by

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

under contract with the US Government, under oversight by the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates the interstate transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas and regulates the prices of interstate transport ...

(FERC). The contract with FERC expired in April 2008, and was under review after the N.C. Division of Water Quality revoked their water-quality certificate that the company needs to continue operating its power-generating dams along the river. The former governor of North Carolina,

Bev Perdue Beverly Marlene Eaves Perdue (née Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female governor o ...

, and other North Carolina politicians made it a priority to recapture the Yadkin River water rights, but this has been denied. On September 22, 2016, Alcoa received a license to operate until March 31, 2055, a period 12 years shorter than desired. The license requires a minimum water level and a swimming beach for High Rock Lake. The terms of the license will now apply to Cube Hydro Carolinas, which bought the hydroelectric power operations.

List of crossings

* Caldwell County **Many minor crossings of the Upper Yadkin **Multiple Crossings of (Yadkin River Road) **Grandin Road * Wilkes County ** in Ferguson **Browns Ford Road below the

W. Kerr Scott Dam The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in the US state of North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dam ...

** in Wilkesboro **Curtis Bridge Road in Wilkesboro **Wilkesboro Avenue () in Wilkesboro ** US 421 Business **Red White and Blue Road in Roaring River **Clingman Road in

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

* Surry County and

Yadkin County Yadkin County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 37,214 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Yadkinville. Yadkin County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

**South Bridge Street and South Gwyn Avenue ( US 21 Business connecting Elkin and Jonesville) ** ** in Crutchfield **Rockford Road / Richmond Hill Church Road in Rockford **Siloam Road in

Siloam Silwan or Siloam (; ; ) is a predominantly Palestinian district in East Jerusalem, on the southeastern outskirts of the current Old City of Jerusalem.

and Forsyth County ** in Donnaha (Reynolda Road) **Old US 421 (Yadkinville Road) ** **Shallowford Road * Davie County and Forsyth County ** between Bermuda Run and Clemmons ** between Bermuda Run and Clemmons **

Norfolk Southern Railway 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 ...

between Advance and Clemmons * Davie County and Davidson County ** * Rowan County and Davidson County **The Yadkin River Bridges at Trading Ford near Spencer ***

Wil-Cox Bridge The Wil-Cox Bridge is a historic concrete arch bridge, arch pedestrian bridge spanning the Yadkin River between Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan and Davidson County, North Carolina, Davidson counties in North Carolina. The bridge formerly car ...

***// ***

North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad is a state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina, to Charlotte. The railroad carries over 70 freight trains operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger trains (Amtrak's ...

/ Norfolk Southern Railway *** ** Bringle Ferry Bridge **/ * Stanly County and Montgomery County **

Winston-Salem Southbound Railway The Winston-Salem Southbound Railway is a short-line railroad jointly owned by CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), which provide it with equipment. It connects with NS at the north end in Winston-Salem, NC, Winston-Salem, ...

in Whitney **A service bridge at the

Narrows Dam and Power Plant Complex Narrows Dam and Power Plant Complex is a national historic district located at Badin, Stanly County, North Carolina. The district encompasses one contributing building and two contributing structures in the company town of Badin. The dam and ...

References

External links

Yadkin RiverkeeperYadkin River State Trail
official website for the state paddle trail.
General information about many of the dam projects on the river
*
Yadkin River entry on Water Wiki
{{authority control Rivers of North Carolina Rivers of Caldwell County, North Carolina Rivers of Wilkes County, North Carolina Rivers of Davidson County, North Carolina State parks of North Carolina Rivers of Surry County, North Carolina Rivers of Davie County, North Carolina Water trails Tributaries of the Pee Dee River North Carolina placenames of Native American origin no:Yadkin (elv)