Roanoke or Albemarle basin follows and bounds on the Yadkin, Cape Fear, and both sub-basins of Pamtico. The Roanoke is the first Atlantic river which, advancing from the south-westward, derives its remote sources from the interior of the Blue Ridge. This stream has its most distant fountains in Montgomery county, Virginia, at an elevation of about 2200 feet above the Atlantic tides, and within eight miles from the main channel of New river, with the Kittatinny chain intervening. From this comparatively elevated origin, and deriving con fluent water from numerous creeks from the valley between the Blue Ridge and Kittatinny, and between the sources of Little river branch of New river and those of James river, Roanoke flows north-eastward 20 miles to Salem in Botetourt county, having al ready fallen upwards of 1200 feet. The water level at Salem is by actual admeasurement 1002 feet above the level of the Atlantic Ocean. Below Sa lem. the main stream bends to eastward 20 miles to its passage through Blue Ridge. Below Blue Ridge the Roanoke flows to the south-eastward 25 miles, receising the entire drain of that part of the valley between Blue Ridge and South East Moun tain which is occupied by Franklin county. Pass ing South East Mountain, between Bedford and Pittsylvania counties, the now considerable volume sweeps by an elongated elliptical curve to the north, and round to S.E., but by a general course of south-east by east 50 miles to the influx of Dan ri ver from the west.
Dan river, very little inferior in volume or length of course to the Roanoke, rises in the valley between the Blue Ridge and South East Mountain, inter locking sources on the south with the Yadkin, and on the north with the Franklin county branches of Roanoke, and opposite to the eastern confluents of New river. Pursuing a general comparative course of 110 miles, and draining the northern parts of Stokes, Rockingham, Caswell, Person, and Gran ville counties, North Carolina, with all Patrick and Henry, and great part of Pittsylvania and Hali fax counties, in Virginia, Dan river joins the Roan oke in the wester side of Mecklenburg county. Be low their junction, the united waters pursue a direc tion a little south of cast, sixty miles, to the lower falls and head of tide water, at Weldon, having, at about midway between the mouth of Dan and Wel don, passed from Virginia into North Carolina. Having met the tides, the Roanoke, by a very tor tuous channel, assumes a south-eastern comparative course of 50 miles, and thence eastward 25 miles. to its junction with Chowan river, at the head of Albemarle Sound.
The entire valley of Roanoke, by either the main stream or Dan river, is about 250 miles compara tive course, but the channel is a greater length. By comparative courses, it is only 155 miles from Salem to the falls at Weldon, whilst, by authority of a report made to the Roanoke Company, the inter mediate actual channel is 244 miles. From the pre
ceding proportions, the real windings of this river amount to near four hundred miles.
That part of the basin of Roanoke comprising the valleys of that stream and Dan river, above their junction, is 110 miles from cast to west, with a mean width of 60, or 6600 square miles. The lower part of the basin is very narrow, as, in a di rect distance of 125 miles from the mouth of Dan river to the head of Albemarle Sound, the mean width can hardly be stated at 15 miles, area 1875 square miles. Taking the whole surface into one view, the area amounts to 8475 square miles, mean breadth 37, very nearly.
Chowan river enters the head of Albemarle Sound to the north of the mouth of Roanoke, and is itself formed by two branches, the Meheren and Notta way. The Meheren, or south-western branch, rises in Mecklenburg, Charlotte, and Lunenburg coun ties, Virginia, interlocking sources with those of Nottaway, Appamattox, and some small confluents of Roanoke. The comparative length is about 100 miles in a direction of south-east by east; 18 or 20 miles of the lowest part of its channel in North Carolina.
The united waters of Nottaway Proper and Black water form a considerably larger stream than the Meheren. The extreme sources of Nottaway are in Prince Edward county, Virginia, between those of Meheren and Appamattox. Flowing thence, by corn parative distance, seventy miles, in a direction very little S. of E. and draining, on the left, a part of Nottaway, Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Sussex counties, and, from the right, part of Lunenburg, Brunswick, Greeneville, and Sussex. At very near the centre of the latter county, the Nottaway inflects to south-east, and continues that direction 40 miles, to its junction with Blackwater, almost exactly on the line between Virginia and North Carolina.
The Blackwater is one of those rivers of the At lantic slope of the United States, which appears to have been formed by nature to facilitate the con struction of an inland line of canal navigation. This stream rises in Prince George county, and very near the junction of Appamattox with James river. Flowing thence southeastward 40 miles,by compara tive courses, between Surry and Sussex, and between Southampton and Isle of Wight, it thence bends to nearly due south, 30 miles, to its union with Not taway. The latter, below the influx of Blackwater, flows about eight miles a little west of south, to its junction with the Meheren, to form Chowan river. The course of the IIeheren is preserved by the united waters for twenty miles, between Hertford and Gates counties, and thence gradually opening into a bay which extends a little east of south, 25 miles, to the mouth of Roanoke.