James River (Virginia)

The James River (from English: James River) is an important coastal river on the Atlantic slope of the United States that runs entirely through the state of Virginia. The James River rises in the Allegheny Mountains from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson rivers and flows generally east until it empties into Chesapeake Bay in Hampton Roads.

The river has a length of 560 km, which extends to 715 km if the Jackson River is considered, the longest of its two sources and drains a basin of 27,020 km², with approximately 4% open water and with a population of 2.5 million people (2000). It is the 12th longest river in the United States that runs entirely in a single state.

It is named after King James I, who was ruling England when it was discovered in 1607. The town of Jamestown was also named in his honor when it was founded that same year. Previously, locals called it the Powhatan River.

Course

The James River forms in the Appalachian Mountains near Iron Gate, on the border between Alleghany and Botetourt counties, from the confluence of the Cowpasture Rivers (135.8 km) and Jackson (155.1 km), and empties into the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton Roads. The tidal waters rise up the river to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, at the fall line of the river (the head of navigation). Long tributaries drain the tidal portion, such as the Appomattox (253 km), Chickahominy (140 km), Warwick (23.2 km), Pagan (20.1 km) and Nansemond (31.9 km).

At its mouth near Newport News Point, the Elizabeth (10 km) and Nansemond rivers join the James River to form the known harbor area Like Hampton Roads. Between the tip of the Virginia Peninsula near Old Point Comfort and the Willoughby Spit area of Norfolk in South Hampton Roads, a canal leads from Hampton Roads to the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay and exits to the Atlantic Ocean a few kilometers further east. Many ships pass through this river to import and export Virginia products.

History

The Native Americans who populated the area east of the fall line in the late 16th and early 17th centuries called the river Powhatan, after the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy that spanned the area. most of the Tidewater region of Virginia. The English settlers called it "James" in honor of King James I of England, and in 1607 they also built the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, Jamestown, on its banks, about 56 km upstream of Chesapeake Bay.

The navigable section of the river was the main communications artery of the Colony of Virginia during its first 15 years of life, making it easier for supply ships to deliver supplies and bring new settlers from England. However, for the first five years, and despite many hopes for gold and riches, these ships returned with little monetary value to their sponsors. In 1612, a settler, John Rolfe, successfully cultivated a non-native strain of tobacco that proved popular in England. Soon the river became the primary means of exporting the large barrels of that cash crop from an increasing number of plantations with docks along its banks. This development made the efforts of the owners of the Virginia Company of London ultimately a financial success, spurring further development, investment, and immigration. Downstream of the falls at Richmond, many James River plantations came to have their own wharfs, and more ports and early railroad terminals were built at Warwick, Bermuda Hundred, City Point, Claremont, Scotland, and Smithfield, and, during the 20th century, style="font-variant:small-caps;text-transform:lowercase">XVII, the capital of the colony of Jamestown.

Navigation on the James River played an important role in early Virginia trade and the establishment of new settlements in the interior, although the colony's growth was primarily in the Tidewater region for the first 75 years. The upper reaches of the river, above the head of navigation at the fall line, were explored by the fur parties sent by Abraham Wood at the turn of the century XVII.

Although ocean-going vessels were unable to navigate beyond present-day Richmond, the transportation of products and navigation with smaller vessels to transport products other than tobacco was feasible. Products from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond and Manchester and through port cities such as Lynchburg, Scottsville, Columbia, and Buchanan.

James and Kanawha River Canal

The James River was considered a route for transporting products from the Ohio Valley. The James River and Kanawha Canal was built for this purpose, to provide a navigable portion of the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. For the more mountainous section between the two points, the James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to provide a portage link by wagon and stagecoach. However, before the canal could be fully completed, in the middle of the 19th century, the railway emerged as a further technology. a practice that eclipsed canals as a means of economic transportation. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was completed in 1873 between Richmond and the new town of Huntington, West Virginia, in the Ohio River Valley, definitively dooming the economic prospects. of the Chanel. In the 1880s, the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was laid along the eastern part of the canal towpath, which became part of the C&O in 10 years. Currently, this rail line serves as a water-level route for CSX Transportation (a railroad company), primarily used to transport West Virginia coal for export from the Newport News coal docks.

Recreational uses

The James River has numerous parks and other recreational attractions. Boating, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming are some of the activities people enjoy along the river during the summer. From the river's head in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Richmond, there are numerous areas of rapids and backwaters that allow for fishing and rafting. The most intense stretch of whitewater is a 3.0 km segment, ending in downtown Richmond where the river passes the fall line. This is the only place in the country where there is extensive Class III whitewater conditions (Class IV with above average levels) within sight of skyscrapers. Urban river parks offer a great outdoor recreation/adventure opportunity for residents of Richmond and surrounding communities. Below the fall line east of Richmond, the river is best suited for water skiing and large pleasure boats. Here the river is known for its blue catfish, reaching average sizes of 9.1−13.6 kg, with frequent catches larger than 23 kg. In the Chesapeake Basin, the James River is the last confirmed holdout for the nearly extinct Atlantic sturgeon. In May 2007 a survey identified that only 175 sturgeon remained in the entire river, with 15 specimens larger than 1.5 m.

James River Reserve Fleet

The James River is the anchorage (37°07′13″N 76°38′47″W / 37.120393, -76.646469) of a large part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, called "James River Fleet" or 'Ghost Fleet', which consists of inactive ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated for 20 to 120 days to provide charters during national emergencies, whether military or non-military, such as crisis crises. commercial navigation.

The fleet is managed by the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the United States Department of Transportation. It is a separate entity from the United States Navy Reserve Fleets, which largely consist of warships.

Cultural references

Singer Lefty Frizzell recorded a song about the river, called 'James River', released on the album Saginaw, Michigan.

Americana/Bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show released 'James River Blues', a lament by a James River boatman at the arrival of the railroads, on their 2006 album Big Iron World .

Avail, a music group from Richmond, recorded Over the James, released a hardcore punk LP in 1998 on Lookout Records (and re-released in 2006 on Jade Tree Records) named for the river, which has the song "Scuffle Town" whose lyrics also refer to the river.

Bridges

Highway bridges downstream of Richmond

In the Hampton Roads area, the river reaches up to 8.0 km at some points. Because ocean-going ships come upriver to the Port of Richmond, road traffic requires a combination of ferries, high bridges, and tunnel bridges. The crossings, from east to west, are:

The SR 895 flyover is the last bridge east of the Richmond Deepwater Port and the head of ocean navigation at the James River fall line. West of this point, potential flooding is more of an engineering concern than an obstacle to personal watercraft.

Highway bridges in Richmond

The following is a list of existing highway bridges that cross the James River, with one or both ends within the City of Richmond.

Highway bridges west of Richmond

The following is an incomplete list of existing highway bridges across the James River west of Richmond.

Bicycles

The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel prohibits bicycles, but cyclists can take the Jamestown Ferry. After a fatal accident on the Boulevard bridge, the City of Richmond requires bicycles to ride on the sidewalk for the length of the bridge.