Saint Marys River (Virginia)

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Saint Marys River
Country United States
Physical characteristics
Main source Virginia

The Saint Marys River is an 8.4-mile-long (13.5 km) [1] tributary of the South River in Augusta County in the U.S. state of Virginia. By the South and Maury rivers, it is part of the James River watershed.

Augusta County, Virginia county in Virginia, United States

Augusta County is a county located in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is the second-largest county in Virginia by total area, and it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. The county seat of Augusta is Staunton, although most of the administrative services have offices in neighboring Verona.

U.S. state constituent political entity sharing sovereignty as the United States of America

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Virginia State of the United States of America

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and "Mother of Presidents" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population as of 2017 is over 8.4 million.

The river flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains, rising north of the Blue Ridge Parkway near the highlands known as Big Levels, and flows west to the South River near the village of Steeles Tavern.

Blue Ridge Mountains mountain range

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range.

Blue Ridge Parkway scenic parkway in the United States

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. 441 on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48, though this designation is not signed.

Steeles Tavern, Virginia human settlement in United States of America

Steeles Tavern is an unincorporated community in Augusta County and Rockbridge County, Virginia. It lies at an elevation of 1683 feet.

See also

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Cowpasture River river in the United States of America

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Pedlar River river in the United States of America

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The Rockfish River is a 28.7-mile-long (46.2 km) tributary of the James River in central Virginia in the United States. Via the James River, it is part of the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay.

South River (South Fork Shenandoah River tributary) one of the two main tributaries of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River

The South River is one of the two main tributaries of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. It begins south of Waynesboro, Virginia, and flows northward to Port Republic, where it merges with the North River to form the South Fork. The river is 52.6 miles (84.7 km) long.

Bearwallow Creek is a 4.3-mile-long (6.9 km) tributary stream of Tearcoat Creek, itself a tributary of the North River, making it a part of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. Bearwallow Creek is located in Hampshire County, West Virginia. It rises on Chestnut Oak Ridge, from which it flows southwest along the ridge's eastern flanks and then begins its course southeast along Bear Wallow Hollow Road and U.S. Route 50 until its confluence with Tearcoat Creek at Pleasant Dale.

Rocky Mountain is a peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. It is located about 2 miles (3.5 km) east of Irish Gap, on the border of Rockbridge County and Amherst County; it is the highest point of both counties. Rocky Mountain is flanked to the northeast by Elk Pond Mountain, to the southwest by Grapevine Ridge, and to the south by Tar Jacket Ridge.

Maintop Mountain mountain in United States of America

Maintop Mountain is a mountain in Nelson County, Virginia. The mountain is a peak on a spur off the main Blue Ridge Mountains, about 2 miles (3 km) east of Elk Pond Mountain, and about 3.5 miles (5.5 km) west of The Priest. The mountain is located in the George Washington National Forest.

Tye River river in the United States of America

The Tye River is a 35.4-mile-long (57.0 km) tributary of the James River in central Virginia in the United States. Originating on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Nelson County, and fed by the Piney and Buffalo rivers, by way of the James River it is part of the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay.

Buffalo River (Virginia)

The Buffalo River is a 31.5-mile-long (50.7 km) tributary of the Tye River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the James River watershed.

The Covington River is a 7.4-mile-long (11.9 km) river in the U.S. state of Virginia. The river rises at the eastern foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Rappahannock County and flows southeast to the Rush River just north of that river's confluence with the Thornton River. The river system flows via the Hazel River to the Rappahannock River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay.

Craig Creek is an 84-mile-long (135 km) tributary of the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It flows through the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in western Virginia, passing 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Roanoke.

The Piney River is a 16.5-mile-long (26.6 km) tributary of the Tye River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the James River watershed.

Sandy River is a 12.9-mile-long (20.8 km) tributary of the Bush River in the U.S. state of Virginia. Via the Bush River and the Appomattox River, it is part of the James River watershed. It rises in Prince Edward County northeast of the village of Green Bay and flow north through Prince Edward State Forest and farmland, joining the Bush River less than one mile south of that river's confluence with the Appomattox near the town of Farmville.

South Buffalo Creek is a 9.9-mile-long (15.9 km) tributary of Buffalo Creek in Botetourt and Rockbridge counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. Via Buffalo Creek and the Maury River, it is part of the James River watershed.

The South River is a 20.3-mile-long (32.7 km) tributary of the Maury River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the James River watershed.

James River Gorge

The James River Gorge is a water gap created by the James River in Central Virginia. The Gorge is 2,433 feet (742 m) deep as measured from Highcock Knob 3,073 feet (937 m) to the James River 640 feet (200 m) and is approximately 9.3 miles (15.0 km) long. The James River forms in western Virginia near the border of West Virginia and initially flows south through the ridge and valley province of the Allegheny Mountains, turning northeast when it comes to the western edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Buchanan, Virginia. From Buchanan the river flows along the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains until it joins the Maury River near the town of Glasgow and then it turns southeast and begins its descent over the Balcony Falls rapids and through the James River Gorge. The rocks of the gorge are metamorphic in nature with the oldest exposed outcrops being from the Proterozoic Era. To the south of the river the peaks of the James River Face Wilderness dominate and to the north the peaks of Big Rocky Row and Little Rocky Row Mountains form a dramatic backdrop to the river far below. Multiple trails, including the Appalachian Trail go through the gorge and provide spectacular vistas of the scenery both at river level and from the peaks to the north and the south.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
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Coordinates: 37°55′44″N79°10′29″W / 37.92875°N 79.17475°W / 37.92875; -79.17475

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.