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Great Falls Park, USA
Which way to DC?
The scraggly schists and gneisses that rise from this river rapid may deceive you into placing this photo somewhere in the United States' mountainous west. But Great Falls Park is actually close to the East Coast, just a short drive (albeit a long paddle) from one of the nation's busiest cities. Keep on the Potomac another 22-ish kilometres southeast and you'll see familiar buildings like the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial break the horizon along its banks. As it flows past Washington, DC, the river opens into a gradually widening tidal passage, eventually emptying into the massive, multi-armed Chesapeake Bay.
Which way to DC?
The scraggly schists and gneisses that rise from this river rapid may deceive you into placing this photo somewhere in the United States' mountainous west. But Great Falls Park is actually close to the East Coast, just a short drive (albeit a long paddle) from one of the nation's busiest cities. Keep on the Potomac another 22-ish kilometres southeast and you'll see familiar buildings like the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial break the horizon along its banks. As it flows past Washington, DC, the river opens into a gradually widening tidal passage, eventually emptying into the massive, multi-armed Chesapeake Bay.
You may not guess that these raging rapids are just upriver from one of the world's major capitals.
© Douglas Rissing / iStock / Getty Images Plus 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :