| Dismal Mountain | E Jackson County, extends NE from Tuckasegee River to Neddie Creek. |
| Dismal Swamp | marsh, lake, and cypress-filled area approx. 30 mi. long and 10 mi. wide, largely in SE Virginia but partially in Gates, Pasquotank, Camden, and Currituck Counties. Appears on the Dudley map, 1647, as "Terra Bassa" (low land) and on the Comberford map, 1657, as "a swampy wilderness." Present name might have been known as early as 1715, when the term "dismal swamp" was applied to the Pasquotank County area by John Talbot in a letter to John Urmston, a missionary to the colony for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Shown on the Moseley map, 1733, as Great Dismal Swamp (the name it is sometimes called today) and as Dismal Swamp on the Mitchell map, 1755. George Washington initiated surveys in 1763 for a canal. The Intracoastal Waterway now passes through the swamp. Also called The Desert in North Carolina. |
| Dismal Swamp Canal | connects the waters of Elizabeth River in Virginia with those of the Pasquotank River. It flows from the state line through NW Camden County. The Intracoastal Waterway is routed through the canal, and there are locks on the W borders of South Mills. |
| Dismal Township | NW Sampson County. |
| District of Washington | in the W territory of North Carolina that is now Tennessee; it developed from the Watauga Settlement, which see, and was recognized by North Carolina in 1776. Delegates attended the Provincial Congress at Halifax in November 1776. The district was the second place in America to be named for George Washington. In 1777 Washington County was formed from the district, and Jonesboro became the county seat. The district was a part of the area ceded by North Carolina in 1789 to the federal government. See also Franklin. |
| Ditch Branch | rises in S Wake County and flows S into W Johnston County, where it enters Middle Creek. |
| Ditch Creek | NE Pamlico County, connects Jones Bay with the Bay River estuary. |
| Ditch, The | waterway from Pamlico River to Goose Creek, E Beaufort County. It separates Reeds Hammock from the mainland. |
| Divide Mountain | W Madison County between Rector Branch and Rocky Branch. |
| Dividing Ridge | W Wilkes County between Lewis Fork Creek and Stony Fork Creek. |