The Roanoke Super Highway
(Coastal Plain and Piedmont)

The Roanoke River was a “highway” for Native Americans and early settlers, and is today a “living laboratory.”

Take a 120-mile river trip from the salt water of the Albemarle Sound through a largely intact “primeval forest” to the “fall line” where the Coastal Plain ends and the Piedmont begins. The Roanoke River was a major corridor for Native Americans and European settlers. This adventure, by powerboat and canoe, will take you through the “navigable” length of North Carolina’s Roanoke, one of the state’s greatest conservation success stories. On this trip you will get to know the critters of the forest, air, and water in and along this remarkable river. You will learn that Native Americans called it the “River of Death” because of frequent flooding; however, you will also learn why flooding is the engine that brings new life to the river.

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Resources:

The Roanoke River
Roanoke River Basin Association
NC DENR River Basin Education
Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge
Clean Water Management Trust Fund
Environmental Education Activities—DENR