The Broad River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 150 miles (240 km) long,Houghton Mifflin Company (1997). The Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Geography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. in western North Carolina and northern South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.DeLorme (1998). South Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. It is called the Rocky Broad River in the Hickorynut Gorge in North Carolina near the communities of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock.

Course The Broad River originates in the Blue Ridge Mountains of eastern Buncombe County, North CarolinaColumbia Gazetteer of North America entry for Broad River and flows generally south-southeastwardly, through or along the boundaries of Rutherford, Polk and Cleveland Counties in North Carolina;DeLorme (2001). North Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. and Cherokee, York, Union, Chester, Fairfield, Newberry and Richland Counties in South Carolina. In North Carolina, the river is dammed to form Lake Lure; in South Carolina it passes through the Sumter National Forest and the communities of Cherokee Falls and Lockhart before joining the Saluda River to form the Congaree River in the city of Columbia.

Principal tributaries of the Broad River include the Green, Second Broad and First Broad Rivers in North Carolina; and the Bowens, Pacolet, Sandy, Tyger, Enoree and Little Rivers in South Carolina.

Dams This is an incomplete list of dams starting at Lake Lure and moving downstream

North Carolina Lake Lure Cliffside Steam Station (Duke Energy) on the Border of Rutherford and Cleveland Counties. South Carolina Gaston Shoals Dam (Gaffney) Cherokee Falls Ninety Nine Islands Dam adjacent to the abandoned Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant Dam and canal at Lockhart Neal Shoals Dam Parr Shoals Dam forming Parr Reservoir Columbia Canal and Dam in Columbia

Crossings The Broad River is crossed several times by many highways (Note: this list at times may be incomplete)

North Carolina Rutherford County (Local traffic only as of )

Grays Road Union Road

Poors Ford Road Big Island Road Jack McKinney Road

Cleveland County

South Carolina Gaffney/Cherokee County

Chester and Union Counties in Lockhart in Carlisle Fairfield and Newberry Counties

in Peak Columbia

Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Broad River has also been known as Eswa Huppeday Eswawpuddenah Line River Main Broad River Eswan Happedaw

It was also known in colonial times as the English Broad River to distinguish it from the French Broad River which also originates in western North Carolina, but flows northwest.

The present name is descriptive of the river's width.

The portion of the river upstream of Lake Lure, near Chimney Rock, is commonly known as the Rocky Broad River by locals. In 2024, the river experienced severe flooding during Hurricane Helene, which caused major damage to surrounding communities.

See also French Broad River List of North Carolina rivers List of South Carolina rivers

References