Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States,approximately 195 miles (314 km) in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west where it rises, across the Piedmont to the Fall Line, and onward through the coastal plain to flow into the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.

An important river in American history, the Rappahannock was long an area of occupation by indigenous peoples. During the colonial era, early settlements in the Virginia Colony were formed along the river. It was at the center of a major theater of battle in the American Civil War, where tens of thousands of troops fought against each other.