Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a 200-mile long watercourse in Northeast Virginia, North America. It flows southeastwards across the northern portion of the State of Virginia, emptying its freshwater into the Chesapeake Bay, which is the largest inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern coast of the United States of America. The city of Fredericksburg lies along the southern shore of this long body of water. Here, the Battle of Fredericksburg took place in 1862, during the American Civil War.

The Rappahannock River rises at Chester Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which belong to the Appalachian Mountains range. Then it runs southeastwards, past the towns of Remington, Richardsville, Fredericksburg, Port Royal, Tappahannock, and White Stone Beach. After a 200-mile-(314-km)-long course, the Rappahannock River finally flows into the Chesapeake Bay, about 20 miles south of the Potomac River mouth.

The Rapidan River is its most important tributary, flowing in a south-northeast direction. The Hazel River is another tributary, which empties into the Rappahannock way upstream, near the Blue Ridge Mountains. From the point where it rises, the water of the Rappahannock River is clear for the first 30 miles; then it becomes darker as sediments are brought in by its tributaries.

Above, the map of the northeastern region of the USA, showing the Rappahannock River. The Potomac is not marked, but it runs in the same direction to the north, also flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.