York River (Virginia)

York River
York River at Yorktown, ca. 1903
Name origin: York
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Mouth
- location	Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
Length	34 mi (55 km)
Discharge	for Hanover, Virginia
- average	1,085 cu ft/s (31 m3/s)
York River watershed

The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately 34 miles (55 km) long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from 1 mile (1.6 km) at its head to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north and east of Richmond.

Its banks were inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. In 2003 evidence was found of the likely site of Werowocomoco, one of two capitals used by the paramount chief Powhatan before 1609. The site was inhabited since 1200 CE as a major village. Enormously important in later U.S. history, the river was also the scene of early settlements of the Virginia Colony. It was the site of significant events and battles in both the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War.

The York River is formed at West Point, approximately 35 miles (56 km) east of Richmond, by the confluence of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers. It drains into the Chesapeake Bay towards the southeast, entering the bay approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of Yorktown, which sits along its southern shore. U.S. Highway 17 crosses the estuary from Yorktown to Gloucester Point on the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge.

The York River was formerly known as the Pamunkey River by the Native Americans. Colonists of the Virginia Company in the 17th century first called it the Charles River. On the north bank, in what is now Gloucester County of the Middle Peninsula region, the Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy maintained Werowocomoco, one of two capitals of the paramount chiefdom at the time of European contact before 1609. In 2002-2003, archeological evidence was found of an extensive ancient settlement on the York River at Purtan Bay. With excavations since then, researchers have concluded this is likely the site of Werowocomoco. They have found evidence of a large residential village inhabited since 1200 CE, with major earthworks constructed in 1400 CE, more than 200 years prior to the English colonists. In 2006 the Werowocomoco Archeological Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Excavations continue by a team from the College of William and Mary, the Virginia Department of Natural History and representatives of Virginia descendant tribes of the Powhatan.