Hyco River

Hyco River Tributary to Dan River
Location of Hyco River mouth Show map of Virginia Hyco River (the United States) Show map of the United States
Native name	Hiḳaatmani (Tutelo)
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina Virginia
County	Person (NC) Halifax (VA)
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of Hyco Creek and South Hyco Creek
• location	Hyco Lake
• coordinates	36°28′59″N 079°05′44″W[1]
• elevation	410 ft (120 m)[2]
Mouth	Dan River
• location	John H. Kerr Reservoir about 3 east-southeast of South Boston, Virginia
• coordinates	36°41′02″N 078°43′55″W[1]
• elevation	300 ft (91 m)[2]
Length	33.55 mi (53.99 km)[3]
Basin size	429.09 square miles (1,111.3 km^2)[4]
Discharge
• location	Dan River (John H. Kerr Reservoir)
• average	407.14 cu ft/s (11.529 m^3/s) at mouth with Dan River[4]
Basin features
Progression	Dan River → Roanoke River → Albemarle Sound
River system	Roanoke River
Tributaries
• left	Hyco Creek Cane Creek Powells Creek Coleman Creek Halfway Creek Hudson Branch Terrell Branch Hilly Creek
• right	South Hyco Creek Sargents Creek Ghent Creek Storys Creek Castle Creek Bowes Branch Mayo Creek Dry Creek Bluewing Creek Larkin Branch Pensions Branch Flat Branch Morris Branch
Waterbodies	Hyco Lake After Bay Reservoir John H. Kerr Reservoir
Bridges	Woodsdale Road, Bethel Hill Road, US 501, E Hyco Road, Kingwoods Road, Buckshoal Road, US 58

The Hyco River (from Tutelo Hyco-oto-moni[5] or Hiḳaatmani[6] 'Turkey buzzard river'[5]) is a tributary of the Dan River, which is a tributary of the Roanoke River. All three rivers flow through the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. In Person County, North Carolina the Hyco River is impounded by a dam, forming Hyco Lake. The main part of the river flows through Allensville, North Carolina (a township of Roxboro), on Gentry's Ridge and Mill Creek roads as it flows into Virginia townships such as Alton, Virginia, and Cluster Springs, Virginia, then combining with the Dan River.

According to the USGS the Hyco River has been known by the variant names Hicootomony Creek, Hy Coyee River, Hyco Creek, and Hyco-o-tee River.[7]

Etymology

In 1728, William Byrd II was the chief commissioner for Virginia when the boundary line between North Carolina and Virginia was run by surveyors and commissioners from each state. Byrd hired two Saponi natives from Fort Christanna for guides and hunters for the expedition. One of the Saponi became ill and returned, but the other, named Bearskin, provided "nearly all that we have of the language and folklore of the Saponi tribe." The language of the Saponi was likely identical to or a dialect of the Tutelo language. Bearskin gave the local name for what is now known as Hyco River as Hyco-oto-moni, meaning Turkey buzzard river.[5]

See also

• List of rivers of Virginia

References

1. "GNIS Detail - Hyco River". geonames.usgs.gov. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
2. "Hyco River Topo Map, Halifax County VA (Buffalo Springs Area)". TopoZone. Locality, LLC. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
3. "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
4. "Hyco River Watershed Report". Waters Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
5. Mooney, James (1894). The Siouan Tribes of the East (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 46.
6. Oliverio, Giulia (1996). A Grammar and Dictionary of Tutelo.
7. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hyco River