Pee Dee River

Pee Dee River
River
Shad fishing in February, Pee Dee River, Yauhannah, South Carolina
Name origin: Pee Dee tribe
Country	United States
States	North Carolina, South Carolina
Source	Confluence of Uwharrie River and Yadkin River
- elevation	272.3 ft (83 m)
- coordinates	35°22′51″N 80°3′29″W / 35.38083°N 80.05806°W / 35.38083; -80.05806
Mouth	Winyah Bay
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
- coordinates	34°43′16″N 79°52′54″W / 34.72111°N 79.88167°W / 34.72111; -79.88167Coordinates: 34°43′16″N 79°52′54″W / 34.72111°N 79.88167°W / 34.72111; -79.88167
Length	232 mi (373 km)
Pee Dee River watershed.

The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River. It is extensively dammed for flood control and hydroelectric power. The lower part of the river is named Pee Dee (in colonial times written Pedee) after the Native American Pee Dee tribe. The Pee Dee region of South Carolina, composed of the northeastern counties of the state, was named after the tribe and/or river. The first Europeans believed to have navigated part of the river was a party sent by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1521. They named it "River of St. John the Baptist."

Navigable up to the fall line at Cheraw, the river was an important trade route through the Low Country from colonial times. The largest lumber company in the world existed at the turn of the 20th century near the river's mouth at Georgetown. The virgin pine forests of the Pee Dee region were cut over, and the logs floated in rafts downriver to be sawn into lumber and exported to the northern United States and Europe.

The lower part of the river flood plain was extensively developed for rice culture in colonial time; rice was the major export of the area from the port at Georgetown. Rice culture declined with the loss of slave labor after the Civil War, and increased overseas competition. Two hurricanes at the beginning of the 20th century destroyed much of the rice canal infrastructure and effectively ended the remnants of rice culture.