The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is 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 its watershed.
Point of Rocks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,466.
The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of 139 miles (224 km), the mouth of the South Branch lies east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac.
Hanging Rock is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Hanging Rock is named for the "Hanging Rock" outcrop that hangs over the Northwestern Turnpike. It should not be confused with the plural "Hanging Rocks" over the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney at Wapocomo. Originally, the community of Hanging Rock sprang up in the Henderson Hollow gap of North River Mountain. While only a few buildings of the old hamlet remain, today's Hanging Rock is situated at the intersection of North River Road and Delray Road where the North River flows under U.S. Route 50 towards the Cacapon.
Hanging Rocks are perpendicular cliffs rising nearly 300 feet (91 m) above the South Branch Potomac River in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Hanging Rocks are located four miles (6 km) north of Romney at Wappocomo on West Virginia Route 28. Hanging Rocks has also been known throughout its history as Painted Rocks and Blue's Rocks. When distinguished from the "Lower Hanging Rocks" along the South Branch at Blues Beach to the north, Hanging Rocks is referred to as Upper Hanging Rocks.
West Virginia Route 28 is a north–south route through the Potomac Highlands of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 39 in Huntersville. The northern terminus is at the Maryland state line in Wiley Ford, where the route continues into Cumberland as Canal Parkway upon crossing the North Branch Potomac River.
The South Branch Valley Railroad is a 52.4-mile-long (84.3 km) railroad in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The branch line, which parallels the South Branch Potomac River, runs north from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it connects to the national rail network at a junction with the CSX Cumberland Subdivision.
The Trough is a 6-mile long wooded gorge carved by the South Branch Potomac River (SBPR) and situated in the Allegheny Mountains of Hampshire and Hardy Counties, West Virginia, USA. The area was the site of a 1756 skirmish of the French and Indian War, known as the "Battle of the Trough".
Blues Beach is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Blues Beach is a predominantly river camp community located south of Springfield and north of Wappocomo on West Virginia Route 28 along the South Branch Potomac River. Blues Beach is also the location of the John Blue Bridge, commonly referred to as "Blue Beach Bridge." Long Road intersects with WV 28 here.
Mill Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Mill Creek flows into the South Branch west of Romney Bridge near Vanderlip along the Northwestern Turnpike.
Cherry Grove is an unincorporated community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Cherry Grove lies within the Monongahela National Forest at the confluence of Big Run with the North Fork South Branch Potomac River.
Milam is an unincorporated community on the South Fork South Branch Potomac River in southern Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. Milam is located along County Route 7. Originally known as Wine Spring, the community's name was changed to Milam in 1898.
Macksville is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Macksville is located along U.S. Route 33/West Virginia Route 28 on the North Fork South Branch Potomac River.
Big Run is a 4.4-mile-long (7.1 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. Big Run flows through the city of Romney and the campus of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The stream is known by local residents as Town Run and Town Creek.
Ridgedale is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located within a horseshoe bend in the South Branch Potomac River between the communities of Blues Beach and Wappocomo. Ridgedale is named for the recently restored 1835 plantation built by George W. Washington, also known as Washington Bottom Farm. Washington's plantation obtained its name due to its location at the foot of Mill Creek Ridge at its northernmost extent. Ridgedale is located off the South Branch Valley Railroad and is accessible from West Virginia Route 28 by way of Washington Road. Ridgedale once had a post office and a school in operation there. Today, Ridgedale consists of the old Washington farm and a number of summer camps, cabins, and vacation homes on the South Branch.
Wappocomo is a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. It is located along Cumberland Road and the South Branch Valley Railroad.
Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike was a turnpike in the U.S. state of Virginia built to facilitate travel and commerce between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Green Spring on the North Branch Potomac River and Moorefield. Today, Green Spring Road, Harriott-Wappocomo Road, and West Virginia Route 28 encompass most of the Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike's original route.
Cherry Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,000 according to the 2010 Census. As of the 2020 census, it was estimated to be 23,683. The CDP is made up of the Cherry Hill peninsula, to the northeast of the town of Dumfries.
Judy Gap is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Judy Gap is located at the junction of U.S. Route 33 and West Virginia Route 28, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) west-northwest of Franklin, just west of the mountain gap also called Judy Gap. The Judy Rocks geological formation is just to the south. North Fork Mountain is to the east, and the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River is to the west, with Spruce Mountain and Spruce Knob beyond the river. Most of the surrounding land is within the Monongahela National Forest.
