The Dan River flows 214 miles (344 km)[5] in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia.
[6] A variant name is "South Branch Roanoke River".
[7] In 2014, a large amount of coal ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, spilled into the lower Dan River in Rockingham County, near Eden, North Carolina , prompting a cleanup process costing an estimated $300 million.
[8] Dan River is also the name of the southeastern political district of Pittsylvania County, where a small section of the river serves as the boundary between Pittsylvania County and the city of Danville.
On June 25, 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law adding the river's paddle trail in Stokes and Rockingham Counties as its eleventh State Trail.