James River (Virginia)
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The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is 547.160 km (340 miles) long and drains a watershed comprising 27,019 km² (10,432 square miles), including about 4% open water, an area with a population of 2.5 million people (2000). It is one of the larger rivers in the United States that remains entirely in a single state.
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[edit] Geography, watershed
The James River forms in the Allegheny Mountains, near Iron Gate on the border between Alleghany and Botetourt counties from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers, and flows into the Chesapeake Bay at Hampton Roads. Tidal waters extend west to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, at its fall line, (the head of navigation). Larger tributaries draining to the tidal portion include the Appomattox River, Chickahominy River, Pagan River, Warwick River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River.
[edit] History
The Native Americans called the James River the Powhatan River. The English colonists named it "James" after King James I of England, as they also did their first permanent English settlement in the Americas in 1607 at Jamestown, along the banks of the James River.
The upper reaches of the river were explored by fur trading parties sent by Abraham Wood during the late 17th century.
Navigation of the river played an important role in early Virginia commerce and the settlement of the interior. Produce from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond through such port towns as Lynchburg, Scottsville, Columbia and Buchanan. Below the falls at Richmond, many James River plantations had their own wharfs, and additional ports and early railheads were located at City Point, Claremont, Scotland, and Smithfield.
[edit] James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River was also considered as a route for transport of produce from the Ohio Valley. The James River and Kanawha Canal was built for this purpose, to provide a link between the James and the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. However, before it could be fully completed, in the mid-19th century, railroads emerged as a more practical technology and eclipsed canals for economical transportation. In the 1880s, the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad was laid along the eastern portion of the canal's towpath. In modern times, this rail line serves as a water-level route of CSX Transportation, used primarily in transporting West Virginia coal to export coal piers at Newport News.
[edit] Recreation
The James River also contains numerous parks and other recreational attractions. Canoeing, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming are some of the activities that people enjoy along the river during the summer. From the rivers start in the Blue Ridge mountains to Richmond, Virginia, numerous rapids and pools offer fishing and white water rafting. After the fall line and continuing east of Richmond, the river is better suited for water skiing and other large boat recreation.
[edit] Bridges below Richmond
In the Hampton Roads area, the river is as much as five miles (8 km) wide at points. Due to ocean-going shipping upriver as far as the Port of Richmond, a combination of ferryboats, high bridges and bridge-tunnels are used for highway traffic. Crossings east to west include:
- The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
- The James River Bridge
- The Jamestown Ferry (toll-free)
- The Benjamin Harrison Bridge near Hopewell. This is a drawbridge on State Route 156 which replaced ferry service in 1966. It was the site of major collision of a ship in 1977.
- The Varina-Enon Bridge is a high cable-stayed bridge carrying I-295 which was the second of its type in the U.S. when it was completed.
- The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge carries the Pocahontas Parkway (State Route 895) via a high-level bridge to connect to State Route 150 at Interstate 95.
The SR 895 high level crossing is the last bridge east of the Deepwater Port of Richmond and head of ocean-going navigation at the fall line of the James River. West of this point, potential flooding is more of an engineering concern than clearance for watercraft.
[edit] Bicycles
The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel prohibit bicycles, but bicyclists may take the Jamestown Ferry. [1] After a fatal accident on the Boulevard Bridge, the City of Richmond requires bicycles to travel on the sidewalk for the length of the bridge.
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[edit] Trivia
- The College of William and Mary and State of Virginia's program for peregrine falcons uses the high towers of several James River bridges as breeding and nesting sites.
- In 1977, a major collision with a ship put the Benjamin Harrison Bridge out of service for more than a year.
- In the town of Buchanan, in Botetourt County, the high school is named after the James River. So is another high school in Chesterfield County and an elementary school in James City County. James River Day School is a private school located in Lynchburg, Virginia also named after the James River.
- The James River Reserve Fleet, part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, known locally as the "Ghost Fleet", is anchored in James River at Mulberry Island and Fort Eustis near Newport News.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Profile James River
[edit] Further reading
- Heritage of the James River Talk by Ann Woodlief at James River Symposium, 1995
- James River Association
