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Washington Monument and Tidal Basin.
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The Potomac River is often referred
to as the "Nation's River," because it flows through the
nation's capital, where the magnificent monuments of the Washington,
Jefferson, and Lincoln memorials are reflected in its waters. It
is one of the most beautiful and bountiful rivers on the East Coast
and is known for its historic, scenic and recreational significance.
It begins as a small spring at the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia,
and winds its way through the mountains and valleys of Appalachia,
past battlefields and old manufacturing towns. The river flows more
than 380 miles and grows to more than 11 miles wide as it reaches
the Chesapeake Bay at Point Lookout, Maryland.
The Potomac River watershed's 14,670 square miles cradle farmland,
forests, parks, and cities. Its major tributaries include the Monocacy,
Savage, and St. Mary's Rivers in Maryland; the Shenandoah and Occoquan
Rivers in Virginia; the South Branch and Cacapon Rivers in West
Virginia; Conococheague and Antietam Creeks in Pennsylvania; and
the Anacostia River in the District of Columbia. Many of the tributary
watersheds are shared by basin states. The Potomac watershed can
be divided into fourteen
unique subwatersheds.
The Potomac River has nurtured trade, cultures, migration, and living
resources for more than 10,000 years. Captain John Smith visited
the Potomac in 1608. He found fish "lying so thicke with their
heads above water, (that) for want of nets, we attempted to catch
them with a frying pan." The earliest Tidewater settlers in
Maryland and Virginia existed primarily on huge supplies of Potomac
crabs, oysters, and fish. The estuary was the lifeblood of many
Native American and colonial cultures, and the Potomac was the major
route for trade and commerce. Today, the Potomac watershed is home
to more than 5 million people, and continues to support commercial
fisheries and a variety of fish and wildlife in its estuary. The
history of the Potomac River is linked
to the historical events and growth that has taken place in its
basin.
Download the ICPRB Basin Basics Fact Sheet 
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