The Uwharrie River (/uˈwɑːriː/) is a 61.84 mi (99.52 km) long river, in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina in the United States. It is a tributary of the Pee Dee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Uwharrie River rises in northwestern Randolph County, just south of the city of High Point, and flows generally southwardly into northwestern Montgomery County, through the low Uwharrie Mountains and the Uwharrie National Forest. It flows into the Pee Dee River 8 mi (13 km) east of the city of Albemarle as part of the Lake Tillery reservoir, across the Pee Dee from Morrow Mountain State Park. Above the mouth of the Uwharrie, the Pee Dee is known as the Yadkin River.
In its upper course, the Uwharrie collects a minor tributary named the Little Uwharrie River,[5] which flows for a short distance through northwestern Randolph County.
The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on Uharie River as the river's name in 1895, and changed it to "Uwharrie River" in 1940. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Uwharrie River has also been known as:[6]