Great Falls Park
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| Location: | Virginia , United States | ||
| Next city: | Sterling, VA | ||
| Surface: | 800 acres (3.24 km² ) | ||
| Founding: | 1966 | ||
| Visitors: | 645,000 (2002) | ||
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The Great Falls Park is located in Virginia , USA and the National Park Service manages. It extends along the banks of the Potomac River for 3.65 km² (900 acres) and is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway . The Great Falls of the Potomac River are on the northern border of the park, as is the Patowmack Canal, the oldest canal in the United States that had locks for lifting and launching boats. The drop in altitude, which extends a total of 20 meters over several waterfalls, cannot be negotiated by boats. Some kayakers drove when the water levels were low over the waterfalls up to 10 meters high. The falls are still classified as class 5 whitewater, which means high risk. Entering the water above the falls is illegal from Virginia. Statistics show that seven people drown annually in the Potomac River in the park area, with most accidents being alcohol-related, although alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the park area.
description
The George Washington Memorial Parkway was designed to ensure that the places George Washington visited most often are linked. Great Falls Park was part of the Northern Virginia Parks System and was transferred to the National Park Service in 1966. A proposed bridge to span the falls was also considered, but the project was never implemented due to a strong lobby to prevent additional bridges over the Potomac River and concerns about environmental impacts.
The park consists of several viewing platforms that offer visitors a view of the falls. 24 km long hiking trails surround the park and run along a stream, the Difficult Run. Native American petroglyphs have been discovered on cliffs along the Difficult Run. Rock climbers frequently visit the cliffs above the Potomac; the park is considered to be the best place for the sport in the greater Washington DC area. While camping is not allowed in the park, there is parking for up to 600 vehicles and a large picnic area. On busy weekends, parking spaces are often occupied early in the morning, causing delays and temporary closings that can last several hours.
The Patowmack Canal , funded in part by George Washington, was a mile-long tributary built in 1785 to provide a way for houseboats to bypass the falls and distribute manufactured goods upstream and raw materials downstream. The park visitor center excavated the lower parts of two wooden lock gates from the Patowmack Canal in the 1980s. The gates are from at least the 1830s and were discovered during maintenance work on the masonry that had been built for the locks. The stonemasons' imprints found on the stones are unique to each artisan and identical to those found on the foundations of the White House and Capitol . During the construction of the canal, explosives, at the time gunpowder, were used to detonate solid rock. This is one of the first known examples in the world where explosives were used for technical purposes. The canal was never a profitable enterprise; with the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on the opposite side of the river and the approaching age of the railways, the project was completed in the 1830s. The Patowmack Canal is a civil engineering landmark and also a Virginia historic landmark. Ruins of the small town of Matildaville can also be found along the trails.
Between 1906 and 1932, the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad, and later the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, operated an amusement park at the falls.
Access to the park is from Interstate 495, the Capital Beltway, at the Georgetown Pike exit and continuing 3 miles (4.5 km) west towards Old Dominion Drive. From there, street signs point a mile north to the park entrance. The park is only open during the daytime.
Web links
- National Park Service: Great Falls Park (official site; English)