History of New River

The history of New River is quite interesting. While this river is not as famous as many others, it is actually considered by many to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. This large river is over 300 miles (150 km) long and flows through North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. It has been designated an American Heritage River and there are numerous national parks along its banks in all three states that it flows through. The West Virginia New River is also known as the New River Gorge National River.

The New River was also known in the past as "Wood's River", named so after Abraham Wood, the main who sent the exploration team that first recorded this particular river in the late 1600s; other names that this river has been called are the Conhaway River, Great Konhaway River and the Mon-don-ga-cha-te.

Even before the settlers came to America and started exploring the country, there were Indian villages on the banks of the New River. The valley was beautiful and an ideal place to grow crops; the river made is possible for the Indians to travel from one place to another quickly and easily. It is thought that the river was first discovered by fur traders; the trail to the river became well used over time, by fur traders in particular. It was not until the eighteenth century that the settlers started pouring into the New River Valley; at this time the river was known as Wood's River, although it was probably better known by one of the Indian names mentioned above well before the settlers arrived in the area.

Later on, the river became a source of contention between the English and the French, both of whom were eager to claim the New World and all it had to offer. The British placed the king's insignia on the New River's banks, angering the French. Both French and English explorers were eager to claim the river and surrounding areas for their respective countries; in fact, this claim was not fully resolved until the Revolutionary war, when America became a country in its own right and took claim of the land for its own.

In the last fifty years, a number of bridges have been built over the New River. The New River Gorge Bridge took three years to build and is over thirty years old. It is the second highest vehicle bridge on the American continent; at the time of its construction it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world, although since then it has fallen to third place in that category. The bridge spans the West Virginia New River.

The Virginia New River has had a dam built on it, creating Claytor lake. The river then continues on to West Virginia where another dam, Bluestone Dam, has been built, creating Bluestone Lake; another river also flows into this particular lake. Yet another river joins the New River down the line; both rivers are then diverted for over three miles in order to generate electricity in the region.

Fishing on the New River has taken place for the last several hundred years, if not longer. The river has an abundance of fish life. One can presently find bass, trout, walleye, muskellunge, crappie, bluegill, carp, flathead and channel catfish in the river. Besides fishing, water rafting is also a popular sport. New River and the lakes that it has created in recent times are also popular swimming spots. The North Carolina New River empties out into the Atlantic ocean; the New River, unlike most other rivers on the American continent, flows from south to north instead of north to south.

The New River has a very old history. It has been around for thousands of years and it is likely that people have been living at its banks for many hundreds of years before the settlers turned up and started populating the valley and using the river for trade. The New River continues to play an important part of the United States, providing not only electricity but also national parks, swimming and rafting possibilities. The river is also a great spot for fishing in all three states that it runs through.