Big Reed Island Creek is one of the largest tributaries of the New River (part of the Upper New Watershed) situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains Physiographic Province of the Appalachian Mountains. The main stem of the river flows for approximately 95.98 kilometers (~60 miles) from the headwater source at Hurricane Knob in Meadows of Dan, Virginia (elev. 944 m) and opens to the New River via Big Reed Junction near Hiwassee, Virginia (see Map 1). Several tributaries and a confluence of smaller streams flow through the region, adding over a hundred extra miles to the length of the watershed. The principal named tributaries to Big Reed are Bear Creek, Big Branch, Bobbitt Creek, Buckhorn Creek, Burks Fork, Grassy Creek, Greasy Creek, Little Snake Creek, Pine Creek, Snake Creek, Stone Mountain C