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Little Falls is an area of rapids located where the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
crosses the Atlantic Seaboard fall line where Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia meet. Descending from the harder and older rocks of the Piedmont Plateau to the softer sediments of the
Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, it is the first upstream "cataract", or barrier, to navigation encountered on the Potomac River. It may be viewed from the heavily trafficked
Chain Bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspen ...
, about a half mile downstream. It is named in contradistinction to Great Falls, about 5 miles further upstream.
Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
(1580–1631) of England was the first European to explore the Potomac as far as Little Falls. When he arrived there in 1608 he noted that "as for deer, buffaloes, bears and turkeys, the woods do swarm with them and the soil is extremely fertile."Gernand and Netherton, ''Falls Church'', p. 13, citing Fairfax Harrison, ''The Landmarks of Old Prince William'', pp. 143, 148. By 1757, the name of a nearby Anglican Church building — " The Falls Church" — referenced this location near the main tobacco rolling road circumventing Little Falls. The local settlement of
Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Chur ...
, which grew up there, soon followed suit.


Namesakes

* Little Falls Dam (Potomac River) *Little Falls Reservoir, Montgomery County, Maryland * Little Falls Branch, Montgomery County, Maryland *Little Falls Park, Montgomery County, Maryland *Little Falls Parkway, Montgomery County, Maryland * The Falls Church,
Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Chur ...
(est. 1732)


References

{{authority control Landforms of Fairfax County, Virginia Potomac River Waterfalls of Virginia Waterfalls of Maryland Waterfalls of Washington, D.C. Landforms of Montgomery County, Maryland George Washington Memorial Parkway Cascade waterfalls Rapids of the United States