Roanoke Rapids Lake

Roanoke River
Staunton River
Roanoke River in Wasena, Virginia
Country	United States
States	Virginia, North Carolina
Tributaries
- left	Big Otter River, Falling River
- right	Dan River
Source	Confluence of North and South Forks
- location	Lafayette, Virginia
- elevation	1,194 ft (364 m)
- coordinates	37°14′15″N 80°12′49″W / 37.23750°N 80.21361°W / 37.23750; -80.21361
Mouth	Albemarle Sound
- location	Plymouth, North Carolina
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
- coordinates	35°56′33″N 76°41′42″W / 35.94250°N 76.69500°W / 35.94250; -76.69500Coordinates: 35°56′33″N 76°41′42″W / 35.94250°N 76.69500°W / 35.94250; -76.69500
Length	410 mi (660 km)
Basin	9,680 sq mi (25,071 km2)
Discharge	for Roanoke Rapids, 133.6 mi (215.0 km) from the mouth
- average	7,802 cu ft/s (221 m3/s)
- max	261,000 cu ft/s (7,391 m3/s)
- min	818 cu ft/s (23 m3/s)
Map of the Roanoke River watershed

The Roanoke River (/ˈroʊəˌnoʊk/) is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 miles (660 km) long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont to Albemarle Sound. An important river throughout the history of the United States, it was the site of early settlement in the Virginia Colony and the Carolina Colony. An 81-mile (130 km) section of its lower course in Virginia between the Leesville Lake and Kerr Lake is known as the Staunton River, pronounced /ˈstæntən/, as is the Shenandoah Valley city of that name. It is impounded along much of its middle course to form a chain of reservoirs.

The river has its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia at Lafayette in Montgomery County where the North Fork and South Fork of the river merge. The North Fork, approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, rises between two mountain ridges and flows initially southwest, then loops back to the northeast. The South Fork, approximately 20 miles (32 km) long, rises in several streams in the mountains on the border of Floyd, Roanoke, and Montgomery counties and flows generally north, joining the North Fork from the south.