The Neuse River is a major permanent stream rising in the piedmont of North Carolina, emptying into the Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately 275 miles (443 km),[1] and its drainage basin, measuring 5,630 square miles (14,600 km2) in area, lies entirely inside the state of North Carolina. It is formed by the confluence of the Flat and Eno Rivers prior to it`s entering the artificial Falls Lake reservoir in northern Wake County. Its fall line shoals lie submerged under the waters of Falls Lake.