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 ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

meet. Descending from the harder and older rocks of the Piedmont Plateau to the softer sediments of the Atlantic coastal plain, 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 The Falls Church is an historic Episcopal church, from which the city of Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D. C., takes its name. The parish was established in 1732 and the brick church still in use today dates to 1769. History Coloni ...

" — referenced this location near the main tobacco rolling road circumventing Little Falls. The local settlement of Falls Church, Virginia, 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 *

, Falls Church, Virginia (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