Great Falls

Roughly 35,000 years ago, the Potomac River began carving out the Great Falls of the Potomac. The river cascades over a series of 20-foot falls,... more

by Tom Gari Gallery-Three-Photography

Title

Great Falls

Artist

Tom Gari Gallery-Three-Photography

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Roughly 35,000 years ago, the Potomac River began carving out the Great Falls of the Potomac. The river cascades over a series of 20-foot falls, falling a total of 76 feet in elevation over a distance of less than 1 mile. The Great Falls are the steepest fall line rapids of any river in the eastern United States.
The Potomac narrows significantly as it passes over the falls and through Mather Gorge. Heavy rain or snow in the watershed upstream causes white-water floods which entirely submerge the rocks and even threaten the adjacent park visitor center. A pillar at the Virginia overlook, well above the river, marks the level of the 1936 Potomac Flood.
The rocks which form the falls and river gorge are a strongly metamorphized schist.
The falls total 76 feet (20 m) over a series of major cascades. The Great Falls are rated Class 5-6 Whitewater according to the International Scale of River Difficulty. The first kayaker to run them was Tom McEwan in 1975,[3] but only since the early 1990s have the Falls been a popular destination for expert whitewater boaters in the DC area. Below the falls, through Mather Gorge, the river is rated class 2-3 and has been a very popular kayaking run since the 1960s.

Uploaded

June 1st, 2016