The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is 660 km (410 miles) long including its Jackson River source and drains a watershed comprising 27,019 km² (10,432 square miles). The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million people (2000). It is the eleventh longest river in the United States that remains entirely in a single state.

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, Warwick River, Pagan River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River.

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 constructed 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/or early railheads were located at Warwick, Bermuda Hundred, City Point, Claremont, Scotland, and Smithfield, and, during the 17th century, the capital of the Colony at Jamestown.

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.

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 river's start in the Blue Ridge mountains to Richmond, Virginia, numerous rapids and pools offer fishing and whitewater rafting. The most intense whitewater stretch is a two mile segment that ends in downtown Richmond where the river goes over the fall line. This is the only place in the country where extensive class III (class IV with above average river levels) whitewater conditions exist within sight of skyscrapers. Below the Fall Line east of Richmond, the river is better suited for water skiing and other large boat recreation. Here the river is known for its blue catfish, reaching average sizes of 20 to 30 pounds, with frequent catches exceeding 50 pounds. In the Chesapeake watershed, the James River is the last confirmed holdout for the nearly extirpated Atlantic sturgeon. In May 2007 a survey identified 175 sturgeon remaining in the entire river, with 15 specimens exceeding five feet. ^[1]

Bridges

Main article: List of crossings of the James River (Virginia)

Highway 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.

Highway bridges at Richmond

The following is a list of extant highway bridges across the James River with one or both ends within the City of Richmond.

• Interstate 95 James River Bridge (I-95)
• Mayo Bridge (US-360)
• Manchester Bridge (US-60)
• Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge (US-1 and US-301)
• Boulevard Bridge (VA-161) (toll bridge, restricted weights)
• Powhite Parkway Bridge (Powhite Parkway and VA-76) (toll bridge)
• Huguenot Memorial Bridge (VA-147)
• Edward E. Willey Bridge (VA-150)

Highway bridges west of Richmond

The following is a partial, incomplete list of extant highway bridges across the James River west of Richmond.

• World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge (VA-288)
• U.S. Route 522 near Maidens, Virginia
• State Route 45 near Cartersville, Virginia
• Columbia Road (Route 690) near Columbia, Virginia
• U.S. Route 15 near Bremo Bluff, Virginia
• State Route 20 near Scottsville, Virginia
• State Route 56 near Wingina, Virgina
• Carter Glass Memorial Bridge (U.S. Route 29 near Lynchburg, Virginia)

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.

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.

Gallery

James River at Huntington Park Beach

The James River at Cartersville

See also

• List of Virginia rivers
• James River Bateau
• Army of the James

References

• Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Profile James River

Further reading

• Heritage of the James River Talk by Ann Woodlief at James River Symposium, 1995
• James River Association
• The River Where America Began - Bob Deans