Here are pictures of natural and human-based beauty on the Potomac River. 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.
The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Grant, Tucker, 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. (Adapted from: Shepherdstown, West Virginia. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.)
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