Rappahannock River

Course of the Rappahannock River

Cold front weather conditions on the Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock is a river in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Virginia in the United States of America.

The source of the Rappahannock rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Chester Gap in Rappahannock County. The river empties into the Chesapeake Bay. It extends over a length of 296 kilometers. The Rappahannock has a catchment area of ​​4134 km ², representing 3.7 % of the area of Virginia. A right tributary of the Rapidan River, which flows about 16 km northwest of Fredericksburg.

History

The Rappahannock River is true in the U.S. as romantic historical waters. Not only it was the site of earlier settlements in Virginia, he was also the scene of battles during the American Civil War. Sometimes the river was regarded as the boundary between the warring parties and the control of the bank changed hands several times. The most famous confrontations along the river were the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Rappahannock Station, both in 1862.

Places on the river

The settlement began in 1710 at the instigation of Governor Alexander Spotswood, the settlers from the Rhineland-Palatinate and Switzerland led to reduce the iron ore deposits.

• Fredericksburg
• Remington
• Tappahannock

Name

The name comes from the Algonquin language and means there lappi hanne or toppehannock, which translates as " fast rising water " or " where the flow comes and goes " means.