Roanoke River in the context of Province of Carolina

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles (885 km) southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are known for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere. This contributes to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their perceived color.

A low-water crossing (also known as an Irish bridge or Irish Crossing, causeway in Australia, low-level crossing or low-water bridge) is a low-elevation roadway traversing over a waterbody that stays dry above the water when the flow is low, but is designed to be submerged under high-flow conditions such as floods. This type of crossing is much cheaper to build than a high bridge that keeps the road surface consistently above the highest water level, and is usually deployed in semi-arid areas where high-volume rainfall is rare and the existing channel is shallow (which requires extra ramping on the banks to build a more elevated bridge and thus costs more), particularly in developing countries.

Low-water crossings are essentially elevated floodways, functioning like causeways under normal conditions and serving as limited fords during high-discharge conditions. They are generally considered unsafe for traffic during floods due to the potentially fast and turbulent currents flowing over the road surface, and can be dangerous even after the flood has receded because silt, mud and debris left on the road by the water can reduce traction and cause skidding risks for both vehicles and pedestrians.

The Albemarle Settlements were the first permanent English settlements in what is now North Carolina, founded in the Albemarle Sound and Roanoke River regions, beginning about the middle of the 17th century. The settlers were mainly Virginians, migrating south.

The Roanoke Valley (/ˈroʊ.əˌnoʊk/ ROH-ə-nohk) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the two independent cities of Roanoke and Salem.