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 East Coast of the United States and the 21st largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed.
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Part of Northern Virginia, Fairfax County borders both the City of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. The county is thus predominantly suburban in character, with some urban and rural pockets.
Lake Barcroft is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,558 at the 2010 census. It is also the name of the privately owned lake—part of the Cameron Run Watershed—around which this population is located. The lake is named for Dr. John W. Barcroft, who owned and operated a mill on Holmes Run during the mid-19th century.
The Potomac Heritage Trail, also known as the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail or the PHT, is a designated National Scenic Trail corridor spanning parts of the mid-Atlantic and upper southeastern regions of the United States that will connect various trails and historic sites in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. The trail network includes 710 miles (1,140 km) of existing and planned sections, tracing the outstanding natural, historical, and cultural features of the Potomac River corridor, the upper Ohio River watershed in Pennsylvania and western Maryland, and a portion of the Rappahannock River watershed in Virginia. The trail is managed by the National Park Service.
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a 25-mile-long (40 km) parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). It is located almost entirely within Virginia, except for a short portion of the parkway northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge that passes over Columbia Island within the District of Columbia.
State Route 244 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Columbia Pike, the state highway runs 8.25 miles (13.28 km) from SR 236 in Annandale east to SR 27 and Interstate 395 (I-395) at The Pentagon in Arlington. SR 244 is a major southwest–northeast thoroughfare in northeastern Fairfax County and eastern Arlington County, connecting Annandale with SR 7 at Bailey's Crossroads and SR 120 in the multicultural Westmont neighborhood of Arlington.
State Route 236 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 15.63 miles (25.15 km) from U.S. Route 29 and US 50 in Fairfax east to SR 400 in Alexandria. SR 236 is a major suburban arterial highway that connects the independent cities of Fairfax and Alexandria via Annandale in Fairfax County. The state highway is known as Main Street in City of Fairfax, Little River Turnpike in Fairfax County, where the highway meets Interstate 495 (I-495), and Duke Street in Alexandria, where the road has junctions with I-395 and US 1.
NOVA Parks is an inter-jurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites in Northern Virginia in the United States. The Authority was organized in 1959. NOVA Parks presently operates 33 regional parks.
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.
Four Mile Run is a 9.4-mile-long (15.1 km) stream in Northern Virginia that starts near Interstate 66, at Gordon Avenue in Fairfax County and proceeds southeast through Falls Church to Arlington County in the U.S. state of Virginia. Most of the stretch is parkland and is paralleled by two paved non-motorized transport and recreational trails, the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail.
Pohick Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It takes its name from the Pohick Native American tribe once prevalent in the area.
Difficult Run is a 15.9-mile-long (25.6 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia in the United States. The area has had many historical uses dating back to the early 1800s. Today, the area is used recreationally by visitors interested in the watershed's variety of options including hiking, biking, fishing, boating, climbing, and bird watching. The wildlife at Difficult Run is vast as 163 different species can be seen depending on the season. There are 41 different soil types found on the trail and alongside the stream. The stream is part of the greater 57.7- square-mile Drainage basin, or watershed, located in the north-central portion of Fairfax County and drains directly to the Potomac River.
Broad Run is a tributary of the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Virginia. The creek, located between Goose Creek and Sugarland Run, principally drains portions of eastern Loudoun County, as well as a small portion of western Fairfax County.
Little Falls Branch, a 3.8-mile-long (6.1 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River, is located in Montgomery County, Maryland. In the 19th century, the stream was also called Powder Mill Branch. It drains portions of Bethesda, Somerset, Friendship Heights, and the District of Columbia, flows under the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O), and empties into the Potomac at Little Falls rapids, which marks the upper end of the tidal Potomac.
Cameron Run is a 3.0-mile-long (4.8 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. A third-order stream, it is formed by the confluence of Backlick Run and Holmes Run. It flows eastward from Alexandria and forms the border between Fairfax County and Alexandria before opening into Hunting Creek and then into the Potomac River. The lower course near Eisenhower Avenue is largely channelized and flows just north of the Capital Beltway until it crosses under it near Telegraph Road The lower 1 mile (1.6 km) or so is tidal and was navigable in colonial times. Cameron Run Regional Park, a water park, lies along a portion of the stream. Cameron Run is part of the Cameron Run Watershed, which encompasses a total of 44 square miles (110 km2) in Northern Virginia. The Watershed is made up of eight subwatersheds: Tripps Run, Upper Holmes Run, Lower Holmes Run, Turkeycock Run, Backlick Run, Indian Run, Pike Branch, and Cameron Run and its tributaries.
Occoquan Reservoir is a 2,100-acre (850 ha) reservoir in northeast Virginia, southwest of Washington, D.C., straddling part of the boundary between Fairfax County and Prince William County, west of Alexandria. It is formed by the Occoquan Dam on the Occoquan River.
The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the river for the sport of rowing.
The Holmes Run Trail is a partially paved trail that travels through parks northwest along Holmes Run from Cameron Run in Alexandria, Virginia to Annandale Road in Fairfax County, Virginia. The trail travels near the sides of the stream with multiple bridges, some of which are only about a foot higher than the water. The trail consists of two sections that are separated by Lake Barcroft near Columbia Pike in Fairfax County.
The Cameron Run Watershed (CRW) is a highly urbanized, 44 square-mile watershed located in Northern Virginia. "The region is completely urbanized with nearly 95 percent of the watershed developed with mixed residential and commercial use". Seventy-five percent of the watershed lies in Fairfax County, and the rest lies in Arlington County and the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria. In addition to several streams, there are two lakes—Lake Barcroft and Fairview Lake —and four ponds. There are eight sub-watersheds within the CRW. The western part of the CRW lies within the Piedmont; the southeastern part in the Coastal Plain.
