Neuse

River in North Carolina, USA; length 443 km/275 mi. It flows from Falls Lake, formed by a dam north of Raleigh, to its estuary at Pamlico Sound and out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Course The former confluence of the Flat and Eno rivers, which formed the Neuse to the north of Durham, now lies within Falls Lake. From the dam the Neuse flows south to the east of Raleigh, then generally southeast, through Goldsboro and Kinston to New Bern, at the head of Pamlico Sound. It is navigable to Kinston.

Croatan National Forest, on the south side of the river's estuary, comprises 64,000 ha/158,000 acres of swamps and cypress and red gum forest.