Cape Fear River

Cape Fear River Tributary to Atlantic Ocean
Map of the Cape Fear River drainage basin
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Bladen Brunswick Chatham Columbus Cumberland Harnett Lee New Hanover Pender
City	Lillington Erwin Fayetteville Elizabethtown Wilmington Southport
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of Deep River and Haw River
• location	about 1 mile southeast of Moncure, North Carolina
• coordinates	35°35′48″N 079°03′07″W / 35.59667°N 79.05194°W / 35.59667; -79.05194[3]
• elevation	154 ft (47 m)[4]
Mouth	Atlantic Ocean
• location	between Oak Island and Bald Head Island
• coordinates	33°53′08″N 078°00′46″W / 33.88556°N 78.01278°W / 33.88556; -78.01278[3]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)[4]
Length	191.08 mi (307.51 km)[1]
Basin size	9,120.61 square miles (23,622.3 km2)[2]
Discharge
• location	Atlantic Ocean
• average	9,959.87 cu ft/s (282.032 m3/s) at mouth with Atlantic Ocean[2]
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]