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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 2,100 US gallons) of water per person per year.
Geography
History The name Potomac is a European spelling of an Algonquian 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". The natives called the river above the falls Cohongorooton, translated as "river of geese", and that area was renowned in early years for an abundance of both geese and swans. 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. The Potomac River brings together a variety of cultures throughout the watershed from the coal miners of upstream West Virginia to the urban residents of the nation's capital and, along the lower Potomac, the watermen of Virginia's Northern Neck. 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. It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997. Political dividing point Some commentators have suggested that, as the Mason-Dixon line demarcated the Northern United States from the Southern United States during the 19th Century, so the Potomac River has come to separate the Blue states from the Red States in 21st Century America *****. Since 2000, the river has symbolized a political border between Democratic Maryland and (the North's southernmost state) and Republican Virginia (one of the South's northernmost states)*. As of 2006, no Red State lies above the Potomac River on the Eastern Seaboard, nor does any Blue one lie below it*. In the context of presidential elections since 2000, West Virginia has gone to the Republican candidate, a rarity for the historically Democratic state. Despite its status as a political buffer between the Blue and the Red, it has not gained the same kind of notoriety or fame as the Mason-Dixon line as a cultural feature, likely because it has only acted as a functional boundary for six years, since the 2000 election. Barring some unusual political event (such as former Virginia governor Mark Warner running for President in 2008), it seems likely that the trend will continue and that the Potomac will remain a sort of geopolitical trench between North and South for the forseeable future. * However, it must be noted that Northern Virginia, the region located right next to the Potomac on the "red" side, has been voting blue with increasing consistency, notably Fairfax County, Arlington, and Alexandria. Other areas, such as Loudoun County and Prince William County are more conservative, but are rapidly becoming more Democratic. In the 2005 Gubernatorial election, the entire region continued to move away from the Republicans. Fairfax County, Arlington County, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, and for the first time, Loudoun County and Prince William County, went to Tim Kaine, the Democratic candidate for Governor. In 2006, Democrat Mark Herring swept every precinct in the 33rd state Senate District Tuesday, Jan. 31, en route to beating Republican Loudoun County Supervisor Mick Staton by a wide margin of 62 to 38%, evidencing Loudoun's transformation into a liberal county. Legal issues
North Branch Potomac River The source of the North Branch Potomac River is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Grant, 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
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 West Virginia Route 28. South Branch headwaters and course
South Branch tributaries 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 Seneca Rocks, the North Fork is met by Seneca Creek. From Seneca Rocks, 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 Cabins, west of Petersburg. South Fork South Branch Potomac River The South Fork South Branch Potomac River forms just north of U.S. Route 250 in Highland County, Virginia near Head Waters and flows 55 miles north-northeastward to the South Branch Potomac River at Moorefield in Hardy County, West Virginia. From 1896 to 1929, it was briefly named the Moorefield River by the Board on Geographic Names to avoid confusion with the South Branch. 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 Tidal Potomac River The Tidal or Lower Potomac River lies below the fall line. This stretch encompasses the Potomac from about one mile below the Washington, DC - Maryland line, just below the Little Falls of the Potomac River where the tidal river begins, to the Chesapeake Bay. Tidal Potomac tributaries See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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