The Teays River was the main stream of a preglacial river system. Its headwaters was near the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge, at the edge of the Piedmont Plateau in North Carolina and Virginia.[1][12][13][14] The New River, the southernmost headwater of the Teays River, arises in Watauga County, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge. This area is northeast of Asheville.