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The Great Falls of the Potomac River, located 14 miles (22.4 km) upstream from Washington, D.C., are located at the Potomac River's fall line. The Great Falls area is popular for kayaking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Great Falls Park, operated by the National Park Service, is located on the southern banks in Virginia, while Chesapeake and Ohio Canal parkland is located along the northern banks of the river, in Maryland. The Billy Goat Trail on Bear Island, accessible from Maryland, offers scenic views of the Great Falls, as do vantage points on Olmsted Island (also accessible from Maryland) and overlook points on the Virginia side.
It was roughly 35,000 years ago that the Potomac River first began carving out the Great Falls of the Potomac. The waters of the river gather speed as they are forced through the narrow Mather Gorge and cascade over a series of several 20-foot (6-meter) falls. In all, the water falls a total of 76 feet (23 meters) in elevation over a distance of less than a mile (1.6 km), making the Great Falls of the Potomac the steepest and most spectacular fall line rapids of any river in the eastern United States.
See also
External links
- Great Falls Visitor Center - C&O Canal
- Great Falls Park - National Park Service official website
- Satellite imagery of Great Falls on Google Maps.
References
Waterfalls of the United States | Fairfax County, Virginia | Montgomery County, Maryland | Potomac River Watershed
"Great Falls of the Potomac River"