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Potomac River

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The Potomac River at Great Falls, MD from Olmsted Island, water relatively low

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States (USA). The river is approximately 413 statute miles (665 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km²). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the USA and the 21st largest in the USA. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed, where precipitation provides the equivalent of over 8 m³ (more than 2100 US gallons) of water per person per year.

Geography

The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia) on the left bank and West Virginia and Virginia on the river's right bank.

The entire lower Potomac River is considered part of Maryland, with the exception of a small tidal portion within the District of Columbia. The North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters which lie in Virginia.

Great Falls of the Potomac

The Potomac River runs 383 miles (616 km) from the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland and drains 14,679 sq. miles (38,018 sq. km.). The average flow is 4.86 million US gallons per minute (306.6 thousand liters per second). The largest flow ever recorded on the Potomac at Washington, D.C. was in March 1936 when it reached 275 billion US gallons per day (12 million L/s). The lowest flow ever recorded at the same location was 388 million gallons per day (17 thousand L/s) in September 1966.

The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Garrett County, Maryland and Tucker and Preston Counties in West Virginia. The source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County, Virginia. The river's two branches converge just east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia to form the Potomac.

Once the Potomac drops from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain, tides further influence the river as it passes through Washington, D.C. and beyond. Salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles (17 km) wide at its mouth, between Point Lookout, Maryland and Smith Point, Virginia before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

History

A view of the Potomac River from the Billy Goat Trail below Great Falls

The name Potomac is a European spelling of an Algonquin name which supposedly means "river of swans." Other accounts say the name means "place where people trade" or "the place to which tribute is brought" and that the name translated as "river of swans" was another word, Cohongorooton. The spelling of the name has been simplified over the years from Patawomeke to Patowmack in the 18th century and now Potomac. The river's name was officially decided upon as Potomac by the Board on Geographic Names in 1931.

Being situated in an area rich in American history and American heritage has led to the Potomac being nicknamed "the Nation's River." George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born in, surveyed, and spent most of his life within the Potomac basin. All of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital city, also lies within the watershed. The 1859 siege of Harper's Ferry at the river's confluence with the Shenandoah was a precursor to numerous epic battles of the American Civil War in and around the Potomac and its tributaries. General Robert E. Lee crossed the river, thereby invading the North and threatening Washington, D.C. twice in campaigns climaxing in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg.

The Patowmack Canal was intended by George Washington to connect the Tidewater near Georgetown with Cumberland, Maryland. Started in 1785, it was not completed until 1802. Financial troubles closed the canal in 1830. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland from 1850 to 1924 and also connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. This allowed freight to be transported around the rapids known as the Great Falls of the Potomac River, as well as many other, smaller rapids.

With increasing mining and agriculture upstream and urban sewage and runoff downstream, the water quality of the Potomac River deteriorated. This created conditions of severe eutrophication. It is said that President Abraham Lincoln used to escape to the highlands on summer nights to escape the river's stench. In the 1960s, with dense green algal blooms covering the river's surface, President Lyndon Johnson declared the river "a national disgrace" and set in motion a long-term effort to reduce sewage pollution and restore the beauty and ecology of this historic river. By the end of the 20th century, there was notable success, as massive algal blooms vanished and recreational fishing and boating rebounded. Still, the aquatic habitat of the Potomac River and its tributaries remain vulnerable to eutrophication, heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, over-fishing, alien species, and pathogens associated with Fecal coliform bacteria and shellfish diseases.

North Branch Potomac River

The source of the North Branch Potomac River is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Garrett County in Maryland and Tucker and Preston Counties in West Virginia.

North Branch tributaries

Tributaries are listed in order from the source of the North Branch Potomac River to its mouth.

South Branch Potomac River

File:SouthBranchPotomacFrenchesStationRoadWV.jpg
South Branch near South Branch Depot, WV.

The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. The mouth of the South Branch lies east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac. A topographic map of the confluence of the North and South Branches can be viewed here.

South Branch nomenclature

Early pioneer sources claim that the indigenous Native Americans of the region referred to the South Branch Potomac River as the Wappatomaka. Other variants of this name throughout the river's history were South Branch of Potowmac River, South Branch of the Potowmac River, South Fork Potomac River, Wapacomo River, Wapocomo River, Wappacoma River, Wappatomaka River, and Wappatomica River.

Places settled in the South Branch valley bearing variants of "Wappatomaka" include Wappacoma plantation built in 1773 and the unincorporated hamlet of Wappocomo (sometimes spelled Wapocomo) at Hanging Rocks, both north of Romney on WV 28.

South Branch headwaters and course

The exact location of the South Branch's source is northwest of Hightown along Parkersburg Pike (US 250) on the eastern side of Lantz Mountain (3,934 feet) in Highland County. From Hightown, the South Branch is a small meandering stream that flows northeast along Crab Bottom Road through the communities of New Hampden and Crab Bottom. At Forks of Waters, the South Branch joins with Strait Creek and flows north across the Virginia/West Virginia border into Pendleton County. The river then travels on a northeastern course along the western side of Jack Mountain (4,045 feet), followed by Sandy Ridge (2,297 feet) along US 220. North of the confluence of the South Branch with Smith Creek, the river flows along Town Mountain (2,848 feet) around Franklin at the junction of US 220 and US 33. After Franklin, the South Branch continues north through the Monongahela National Forest to Upper Tract where it joins with three sizeable streams: Reeds Creek, Mill Run, and Deer Run. Between Big Mountain (2,582 feet) and Cave Mountain (2,821 feet), the South Branch bends around the Eagle Rock (1,483 feet) outcrop and continues its flow northward into Grant County. Into Grant, the South Branch follows the western side of Cave Mountain until its confluence with the North Fork at Corners, where it flows east to Petersburg. At Petersburg, the South Branch is joined with the South Branch Valley Railroad, which it parallels until its mouth at Green Spring.

In its eastern course from Petersburg into Hardy County, the South Branch becomes more navigable allowing for canoes and smaller river vessels. The river splits and forms a series of large islands while it heads northeast to Moorefield. At Moorefield, the South Branch is joined by the South Fork South Branch Potomac River and runs north to Old Fields where it is fed by Anderson Run and Stony Run. At McNeill, the South Branch flows into the Trough where it is bound to its west by Mill Creek Mountain (2,119 feet) and to its east by Sawmill Ridge (1,644 feet). This area is the habitat to endangered bald eagles. The Trough passes into Hampshire County and ends at its confluence with Sawmill Run south of Glebe and Sector. The South Branch continues north parallel to South Branch River Road (County Route 8) toward Romney with a number of historic plantation farms adjoining it. En route to Romney, the river is fed by Buffalo Run, Mill Run, McDowell Run, and Mill Creek at Vanderlip. The South Branch is traversed by the Northwestern Turnpike (US 50) and joined by Sulphur Spring Run where it forms another island to the west of town. Flowing north of Romney, the river still follows the eastern side of Mill Creek Mountain until it creates a horseshoe bend at Wappocomo's Hanging Rocks around the George W. Washington plantation, Ridgedale. To the west of Three Churches on the western side of South Branch Mountain (3,028 feet), the South Branch creates a series of bends and flows to the northeast by Springfield through Blue's Ford. After another horseshoe bend, the South Branch flows under the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline between Green Spring and South Branch Depot, and joins the North Branch to form the Potomac.

South Branch tributaries

South Branch floattrips

All locations listed below are designated public access sites by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources at their website. Access sites are listed from south to north.

Put In Take Out Distance (mile)
Petersburg Welton Park 2.5
Welton Park Fisher Bridge South 5.5
Fisher Bridge South Fisher Bridge 2.5
Fisher Bridge Old Fields Bridge 4.5
Old Fields Bridge South Branch WMA 5
South Branch WMA Harmison's 7
Harmison's Stony Run 1.5
Stony Run Romney Bridge 8.8
Romney Bridge Hanging Rock 5
Hanging Rock Blue Beach Bridge 4.5
Blue Beach Bridge Milleson Mill 7.5
Milleson Mill Milleson Mill Bridge 2
Milleson Mill Bridge Blue Ford South 4.8
Blue Ford South Blue Ford North 4.2
Blue Ford North Indian Rock 4
Indian Rock Mouth of the South Branch 4.5

North Fork South Branch Potomac River

The North Fork South Branch Potomac River forms just north of the Virginia/West Virginia border in Pendleton County at the confluence of the Laurel Fork and Straight Fork along Big Mountain (3,881 feet). From Circleville, the North Fork flows northeast through Pendleton County between the Fore Knobs (2,949 feet) to its west and the River Knobs (2,490 feet) to its east. At Mouth of Seneca, the North Fork is met by Seneca Creek. From Mouth of Seneca, the North Fork continues to flow northeast along the western edge of North Fork Mountain (3,389 feet) into Grant County. Flowing east through North Fork Gap, the North Fork joins the South Branch Potomac at the town of Corners, west of Petersburg.

South Fork South Branch Potomac River

The South Fork South Branch Potomac River forms just south of US 250 in Highland County, Virginia near Liberty and empties into the South Branch Potomac River at Moorefield in Hardy County, West Virginia.

Upper Potomac River

This stretch encompasses the stretch of the Potomac River from the confluence of the North and South Branches to the Great Falls of the Potomac River at Great Falls, Virginia.

Upper Potomac tributaries

Map of the Potomac Watershed
Map of the Potomac Watershed

Tidal Potomac River

The Tidal or Lower Potomac River lies below the Fall Line. This stretch encompasses the Potomac from the Great Falls of the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay

Tidal Potomac tributaries

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Potomac River.
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