The Potomac River is found within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands into the Chesapeake Bay. The river is approximately 405 miles (652 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 United States and the 21st largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed.
Point of Rocks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,466. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catoctin Mountain, which was formed by the Potomac River cutting through the ridge in a water gap, a typical formation in the Appalachian Mountains. The formation is not visible from the town and can only be seen from boats on the river, or from the southern bank of the river in Virginia.
Assateague Island is a 37-mile (60 km) long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland section contains the majority of Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park. The Virginia section contains Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and a one-mile stretch of land containing the lifeguarded recreational beach and interpretive facilities managed by the National Park Service. It is best known for its herds of feral horses, pristine beaches and the Assateague Lighthouse. The island also contains numerous marshes, bays, and coves, including Toms Cove. Bridge access for cars is possible from both Maryland and Virginia, though no road runs the full north/south length of the island.
The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia centers on five West Virginian counties in the upper Potomac River watershed in the western portion of the state's Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Because of geographical proximity, similar topography and landscapes, and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region also includes Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are in the Monongahela River or New River watersheds and not that of the Potomac River.
Olmsted Island is a small island in the middle of the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Maryland, near Great Falls which is a part of C & O Canal National Historical Park, located across the river from Great Falls Park. It is a part of Potomac, Maryland.
Sinepuxent Bay is an inland waterway which connects Chincoteague Bay to Isle of Wight Bay, and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Ocean City Inlet. It separates Sinepuxent Neck, in Worcester County, Maryland from Assateague Island, and West Ocean City, Maryland from downtown Ocean City. Islands in the Sinepuxent Bay include Horn Island and Skimmer Island. It is crossed by the Harry W. Kelley Memorial Bridge on U.S. Route 50 and the Verrazano Bridge on Maryland Route 611. The bay is the location of the islands that compose the Sinepuxent Bay Wildlife Management Area. Historically the area was referred to by various names including Sinepuxent, Sene Puxon, Synepuxent, Cinnepuxon, et al.
Little Conococheague Creek is a 12.4-mile-long (20.0 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The stream rises on Two Top Mountain, west of the Whitetail Ski Resort in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and proceeds south into Washington County, Maryland. It empties into the Potomac about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Big Spring, Maryland. The watershed of the creek is 18 square miles (47 km2) and includes Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area. Tributaries include Toms Run.
The South Branch Wildlife Management Area is 1,092 acres (4.42 km2) of mixed oak-hickory woodlands and pastures in Hampshire and Hardy Counties, West Virginia, USA. The South Branch WMA consists of four separate tracts along the South Branch Potomac River around and south of the river gorge known as The Trough. It is known throughout the region for its dove, squirrel, deer, and wild turkey hunting. The WMA is owned by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
Cedar Island Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area in Somerset County, Maryland near Crisfield. The area is almost 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) in extent on Tangier Sound in Chesapeake Bay. The area was primarily established to protect black duck habitat and is notable for its concentration of the species.
Chicamuxen Wildlife Management Area is a state Wildlife Management Area along Chickamuxen Creek near the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland. The area includes a variety of landforms from marshland to rolling forest. The area provides duck and white-tailed deer habitat. The area was the location of an encampment for General Joseph Hooker's troops during the American Civil War.
Deal Island Wildlife Management Area protects 13,565 acres (54.90 km2) in western Somerset County, Maryland near the community of Deal Island. As a wildlife management area, the area is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service to conserve wildlife populations and their habitats, while providing public recreational use of wildlife resources.
Dierssen Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) near Seneca in Montgomery County, Maryland.
McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is a large contiguous forest of varied habitat, situated between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to the south, and Seneca Creek State Park to the east.
Taylors Island Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area near the community of Taylors Island on the Eastern Shore of the state of Maryland, USA.
Dan's Mountain Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area in Allegany County, Maryland. The area covers forested mountainous terrain between altitudes of 900 feet (270 m) to 2,800 feet (850 m) above the North Branch of the Potomac River. Bobcats and black bears are found in the area. Hunting activities are primarily oriented around white-tailed deer and turkeys.
Purse State Park is a former Maryland state park located on the Potomac River in Charles County that has been subsumed into the 1,365-acre (552 ha) Nanjemoy Wildlife Management Area. As the Purse Area, the former park is known for fossil hunting on the beaches of Wades Bay at the southern end of the Nanjemoy WMA. Fossil discoveries have included shark teeth and Cibicides.
Maryland Wildlands are a group of public properties that are protected from logging or other activities in the state of Maryland.
The Islands of the Potomac Wildlife Management Area is a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) consisting of 30 islands in the Potomac River in Maryland along its border with the state of Virginia. It is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Douglas Point Nuclear Power Plant was proposed in 1973 for a site on the Potomac River to the south of Washington, D.C. by the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO). The proposed generating facility was to be located in Charles County, Maryland, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Washington, D.C. Two boiling water reactors of about 1150 megawatts were proposed, with projected in-service dates of 1981 and 1982. Two 450-foot (140 m) cooling towers were proposed, and water consumption was projected at 108,000 US gallons per minute (410,000 l/min). The project was set aside in the late 1970s. Opposition centered on the plant's effects on striped bass spawning grounds in the Potomac and consequent damage to the striped bass fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.
