South Fork Catawba River Tributary to Catawba River | |
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Location | |
Country | United States |
State | North Carolina |
County | Catawba Gaston Lincoln |
City | Lincolnton McAdenville Cramerton Belmont |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | confluence of Henry Fork and Jacob Fork |
• location | about 2 miles west of Startown, North Carolina |
• coordinates | 35°38′09″N 081°18′29″W / 35.63583°N 81.30806°W[1] |
• elevation | 798 ft (243 m)[2] |
Mouth | Catawba River |
• location | Lake Wylie |
• coordinates | 35°08′59″N 081°01′58″W / 35.14972°N 81.03278°W[1] |
• elevation | 569 ft (173 m)[2] |
Length | 54.96 mi (88.45 km)[3] |
Basin size | 660.78 square miles (1,711.4 km2)[4] |
Discharge | |
• location | Catawba River (Lake Wylie) |
• average | 843.05 cu ft/s (23.873 m3/s) at mouth with Catawba River[4] |
Basin features | |
Progression | southeast |
River system | Catawba River |
Tributaries | |
• left | Henry Fork Clark Creek Muddy Creek Lithia Branch Hoyle Creek |
• right | Jacob Fork Pott Creek Howards Creek Indian Creek Beaverdam Creek Sulphur Branch Rattle Shoal Creek Coley Creek Long Creek DuHarts Creek |
Waterbodies | Lake Wylie |
Bridges | NC 10, Blackburn Bridge Road, Reepsville Road, S Grove Street, US 321, Laboratory Road, South Fork Road, Long Shoals Road, US 321, S Lincoln Street, Hardin Road, Philadelphia Church Road, Dallas Stanley Highway, Stanley-Spencer Mountain Road, I-85, Hickory Grove Road, US 74, North Main Street, Armstrong Ford Road, Armstrong Road |
The South Fork Catawba River (better known as the South Fork River)[5] begins south of Hickory, North Carolina just northwest of the intersection of US Highway 321 and North Carolina Highway 10, at the confluence of the Henry Fork and Jacob Fork located adjacent to the east side of the Jacob Fork Newton City Park. The South Fork Catawba River travels 48.5 miles, passing along the communities of Lincolnton, High Shoals, McAdenville, and Cramerton, to Lake Wylie where its now submerged confluence with the Catawba River lies near the North Carolina and South Carolina border.
Signage on roadways crossing the river acknowledge it as the "South Fork River".
The river is part of the Santee River Watershed.