New River Facts

The New River is a 50 mile (80 km) long river in southeastern North Carolina in the United States. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

It rises in northwestern Onslow County and flows east-southeast past Jacksonville, where it widens into a tidal estuary approximately two miles (3.2 km) wide. As an estuary it meanders through Camp Lejeune Marine Base and enters the Atlantic in Onslow Bay, via the New River Inlet between two barrier islands. It is the only river in the United States where the headwaters and mouth of the river exist in the same county.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway crosses the entrance of the river between the coast and the barrier island.