The James River in the state of Virginia is 547 km (340 miles) long and drains a watershed encompassing 26 000 km² (10 000 square miles), home to 2.6 million people (2000). The James is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. The James forms in the Allegheny Mountains near Iron Gate, Virginia from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers .

The earliest permanent English settlement of the Americas was in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia, along the banks of the James. Richmond, the capital of Virginia is at the fall line of the James. Navigation of the James played an important role in early Virginia commerce and the settlement of the interior. Produce from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond through such port towns as Lynchburg, Scottsville, Columbia and Buchanan. The James was considered as a route for transport of produce from the Ohio Valley, and the James River and Kanawha Canal Company was formed for this purpose.

The James River was formerly known as the Powhatan River by the Indians.

See also

• List of Virginia rivers

External links

• Heritage of the James River