The Perquimans River is a coastal waterway in Northeastern North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Located entirely within Perquimans county

Perquimans County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 13,453 people, 4,645 households, and 3,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile . There were 6,043 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

, the river drains directly to the Albemarle Sound

Albemarle Sound

Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...

 between Durant's Neck on the north and Harvey Neck on the south. It is a tidal estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 to just north of the towns of Hertford

Hertford, North Carolina

Hertford is a town in Perquimans County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,185 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Perquimans County. Hertford is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region and is part of the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area...

 and Winfall

Winfall, North Carolina

Winfall is a town in Perquimans County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 589 at the 2008 census. It is part of the Elizabeth City, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Winfall is located at ....

. Because of the extremely flat topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 of the region, the Perquimans flows quite slowly and had cypress

Taxodium distichum

Taxodium distichum is a species of conifer native to the southeastern United States.-Characteristics:...

 swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s on either bank for much of its upper length. It has its headwaters in the swampy region or northern Perquimans and southern Gates

Gates County, North Carolina

Gates County is a small rural county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 12,197. Its county seat is Gatesville. It is part of the Albemarle Sound area of the Inner Banks...

 counties. It flows past the communities of Nicanor, Whiteston, Belvidere, and the towns of Hertford and Winfall.