INTRODUCTION. 
31 
the State, in Warren county, some 20 miles above Weldon, after a wide 
detour into Virginia, having changed its name to Roanoke , the valley 
preserves its character, as above described, until it widens out into the 
broader “bottoms” and cypress swamps of the eastern champaign ; but still 
presenting occasional bluffs, especially on the south side, while its flood 
plain often spreads out to a breadth of several miles. The Valleys of the 
lower Yadkin and Catawba, with those of their tributaries, chiefly the 
South Yadkin and South Fork of Catawba, (the former of which, about 
50 miles broad, resembles that of the Dan in extent as well as in depth 
of excavation, that of the Catawba being very narrow), traverse the 
middle region of the State in a direction nearly at right angles to that of 
the Dan. At some points of their course, as at Mountain Island of the 
Catawba and the narrows of the Yadkin and through a considerable part 
of Montgomery and Richmond counties, the hills close in upon the nar- 
row channel of the streams quite obliterating the valley, or reducing it to 
the smallest dimensions. But at many points, also, they open out into 
wide and fertile reaches of bottom land, often projecting in broad sinuses 
between the neighboring hills and presenting areas of sufficient extent 
for a succession of fine plantations. Similar bottoms, often of consid- 
erable extent, are found in the narrow valleys of the Deep and Haw , and 
ot the Reuse and the Tar rivers , which also lie in a direction but little E. 
of south, in their course through the hill country, the two former uniting 
to form the Cape Fear , which pursues the same course to the 6ea, and the 
two latter turning more to the east as they reach the seaboard plain, 
through which these, as that of the Cape Fear, resemble very closely the 
Roanoke valley spreading out, especially in their lower reaches, in some 
instances to a breadth of several miles of fertile “bottoms.” 
It would be tedious to mention all the valleys, even those of consid- 
erable extent and importance, as there is no county or corner of the 
State in which they do not constitute a very important part, and always 
the best part of the cultivated lands; and their bottoms contribute a very 
considerable proportion of the annual aggregate of the crops of the State. 
Rivers. — The river system of the State is very unique, being determined 
by the peculiar topography already described. The rainfall being very 
copious, numerous and abounding streams, make North Carolina one of 
the best watered (or rather , the best drained) countries in the world. 
And since the highest mountains and tablelands of the eastern half of 
the continent are found here, these rivers, in making the descent to the 
sea level, develop an immense amount of mechanical power. 
It also follows from the same topographical fact of the occurrence here 
ot the culminating masses and peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, that 
