Rivanna River
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The Rivanna River is about 50 miles long and a tributary of the James River at Columbia.
Long designated as the North Branch of the James, the North Branch takes its name from "River Anne", to honor Queen Anne (1665-1714), then monarch of England, and so of the Virginia Colony as well. [1]
A ten-mile stretch of the river from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to the Woolen Mills area was designated by the General Assembly as part of Virginia's Scenic Rivers System[2].
History
The Rivanna River was originally known as the River Anna.[3] Thomas Jefferson ordered a study of the Rivanna River in 1763.[3] Jefferson ordered that the river be cleared of rocks and debris. This made the river navigable for canoes and bateaux as far up as Milton[3]. This caused the Rivanna River to become an important transportation route during the Revolutionary War.[3] In the 1820s, the City of Charlottesville renamed the ports along the river "Pireus" after the port city of Athens.[3]
Crossings
The river is an impediment to east-west travel, crossed in limited places. From north to south, these are:
- U.S. Route 250 and Virginia State Route 20 at the Free Bridge
- Interstate 64
- County 729
- Three Notch'd Road, now known as Main Street, was a historical crossing for the Rivanna River[3]
The river as economic engine
Former Planning Commissioner Bill Emory has called for the Rivanna to play a significant role in the future of the city. Others such as Mayor Satyendra Huja have agreed. [4]
References
- ↑ Web. pdf. Rivanna River History, Lindsay Nolting and J. Stephen Pence, Rivanna Conservation Society, retrieved 12 Jun 2009.
- ↑ Web. Rivanna Scenic River; expands to include length of waterway from South Fork Rivanna River reservoir. (SB957), Richmond Sunlight, retrieved 08 Sept. 2009..
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Web. Rivanna Greenbelt Trail, City of Charlottesville, retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ Web. Can Charlottesville become a city by the river?, Chiara Canzi, C-VILLE Weekly, Portico Publications, January 10, 2012, retrieved January 12, 2011. Print. January 10, 2012 , 24.02, .
External links
- A Brief History of the Rivanna River Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia
- Rivanna River on wikipedia