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Visit a section of river between Great Falls and Georgetown...
Great Falls
Claude Moore Colonial Farm
Glen Echo, Md.
Potomac Overlook Regional Park
Little Falls
Chain Bridge
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
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The Great Falls area is perhaps the most spectacular part of the Potomac River. The river plunges about 60 feet in less than a mile, then drives through a deep gorge. The geology of the area reveals the river's long and interesting history. The Potomac has been flowing through this area, cutting softer rocks for millions of years.
On the Maryland side of Great Falls, a trail and foot bridge lead to Olmstead Island, which has a self-guiding trail and spectacular panorama of the Falls. The bridge to Olmstead Island was destroyed in a flood in 1972, but it was rebuilt and restored with volunteer funds in the early 1990s.
Both Maryland and Virginia shores were the sites of canal projects. The Maryland side, of course, is where the C&O Canal follows the Potomac. But on the Virginia side are the remains of the Patowmack Canal, one of a series of "canalizations" that were meant to carry ships around the falls.
Great Falls is also the site of the original intake for the Washington Aqueduct, which supplies nearly 200 million gallons of drinking water a day for the District of Columbia and surrounding areas.
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