9,959.87 cu ft/s (282.032 m3/s) at mouth with Atlantic Ocean[4]
Basin features
Progression
generally southeast
River system
Cape Fear River
Tributaries
• left
Gulf Creek, Buckhorn Creek, Parkers Creek, Avents Creek, Hector Creek, Neills Creek, Dry Creek, Buies Creek, Thorntons Creek, Juniper Creek, Cedar Creek, Phillips Creek, Harrison Creek, Ellis Creek, Turnbull Creek, Mulford Creek, Bandeau Creek, Frenchs Creek, Black River, Northeast Cape Fear River, Barnards Creek, Mott Creek, Telfairs Creek
• right
Wombles Creek, Little Shaddox Creek, Lick Creek, Bush Creek, Fall Creek, Daniels Creek, Cedar Creek, Camels Creek, Little Creek, Fish Creek, Poorhouse Creek, Upper Little River, Little River, Carvers Creek, Cross Creek, Rockfish Creek, Grays Creek, Willis Creek, Georgia Branch, Hucklebrry Swamp, Black Swamp, Bakers Creek, Browns Creek, Pemberton Creek, Hammonds Creek, Drunken Run, Donoho Creek, Carvers Creek, Plummers Run, Steep Run, Weyman Creek, Double Branch, Livingston Creek, Bryant Mill Creek, Grist Mill Branch, Bay Branch, Indian Creek, Cartwheel Branch, Alligator Creek, Brunswick River, Mallory Creek, Little Mallory Creek, Town Creek, Sand Hill Creek, Liliput Creek, Orton Creek, Walden Creek, Price Creek
Bridges
Avents Ferry Road, US 401-NC 210, NC 217, I-295, I-95, NC 24-210, I-95, Tarheel Ferry Road, US 701, General Howe Highway (NC 11), US 17-74, US 17
The Cape Fear River is a 191.08-mile-long (307.51 km)[5] blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carolina) in the town of Moncure, North Carolina. Its river basin is the largest in the state: 9,149 sq mi.[6]
The river is the most industrialized river in North Carolina, lined with power plants, manufacturing plants, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, paper mills, and industrial agriculture.[7] Relatedly, the river is polluted by various substances, including suspended solids and manmade chemicals. These chemicals include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), GenX, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, perfluorooctanoic acid, byproducts of production of the fluoropolymer Nafion; and intermediates used to make other fluoropolymers (e.g. PPVE, PEVE and PMVE perfluoroether). Industrial chemicals such as 1,4-Dioxane and other pollutants have been found in its tributary, the Haw River.
In 2020, a national study of tap water found the highest concentration of PFAS in Brunswick County, which gets its drinking water from the Cape Fear River.[8]
^ abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cape Fear River
^ ab"Cape Fear River Topo Map, Brunswick County NC (Southport Area)". TopoZone. Locality, LLC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^"ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^ ab"Cape Fear River Watershed Report". Waters Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^Cape Fear River Archived April 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America: Note that despite the gazetteer's claim of the river being the longest entirely within North Carolina, the Neuse River Archived 2009-06-09 at the Wayback Machine is longer
^"Basin wide Assessment Report Cape Fear River Basin" (PDF). August 2004 – via NCDENR. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Online, Coastal Review (2022-06-08). "Climate change, pollution imperil Cape Fear, advocates say". North Carolina Health News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
^Barnes, Greg (2020-02-03). "New DEQ data show 'staggering' levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin". North Carolina Health News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
The CapeFearRiver is a 191.08-mile-long (307.51 km) blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near CapeFear, from...
Northeast CapeFearRiver is a 131.2 mi (211.1 km) long 5th order tributary to the CapeFearRiver in southeastern North Carolina. According to the Geographic...
July. In August, Bonnet anchored Royal James on an estuary of the CapeFearRiver to careen and repair the ship. In late August and September, Colonel...
The CapeFear Indians were a small, coastal tribe of Native Americans who lived on the CapeFearRiver in North Carolina (now Carolina Beach State Park)...
its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of CapeFearRiver's two outlets to the Atlantic Ocean on what was then known as Federal...
southeastern United States, and is only found in the shallow streams of the CapeFearRiver basin. The fish is small and yellow with black lips and a black stripe...
The CapeFear Memorial Bridge is a steel vertical-lift bridge in North Carolina. It carries US 17/US 76/US 421 across the CapeFearRiver between Brunswick...
the mouth of the CapeFearriver. A 10-acre (4.0 ha) site on the west side of Bald Head Island, along the banks of the CapeFearRiver, was selected for...
The CapeFear Skyway (also called the CapeFear Crossing) was a proposed limited access toll road and bridge in North Carolina, United States, that would...
conserves and displays plant species and the plant communities of the CapeFearRiver basin. The garden contains nature trails, a natural amphitheater, steep...
of Vinyl Ethers since 1980, exposing the CapeFear Basin for decades. A small nonprofit called CapeFearRiver Watch sued the NC Dept. of Environmental...
CapeFearRiver Watch sued Chemours for Clean Water Act violations and sued the NC Dpt of Environmental Quality for inaction. After CapeFearRiver Watch's...
are a shifting area of shoals off CapeFear in North Carolina, United States. Formed by silt from the CapeFearRiver, the shoals are over 28 miles long...
major rivers of Eastern North Carolina, from north to south, are: the Chowan, the Roanoke, the Tar, the Neuse and the CapeFear. Many of those rivers are...
While waiting out the Atlantic hurricane season in the estuary of CapeFearRiver, Ignatius took part in a battle between Bonnet's pirate vessel Royal...
Elwell Ferry Road between NC Highway 53 and NC Highway 87, crossing the CapeFearRiver and connecting the communities of Carvers Creek and Kelly in Bladen...
Carolina, it covers 4,810 acres (19.5 km2) along the banks of the CapeFearRiver. Raven Rock State Park is located on the eastern edge of the Piedmont...
to Union troops after they overcame Confederate defenses along the CapeFearRiver south of the city. The Confederate General Braxton Bragg burned stores...
Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. Located beside the CapeFearRiver between Wilmington and Southport, Orton Plantation is considered to...