| Little Falls | |
|---|---|
 View of the river near Little Falls from theChain Bridge | |
| Location | Border ofArlington County andFairfax County, Virginia;Montgomery County, Maryland; andWashington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°56′00″N77°07′05″W / 38.93333°N 77.11806°W /38.93333; -77.11806[1] |
| Type | Cascade |
| Elevation | 13 feet (4.0 m) |
| Watercourse | Potomac River |
Little Falls is an area of rapids located where thePotomac River crosses theAtlantic Seaboard fall line whereWashington, DC;Maryland; andVirginia meet. Descending from the harder and older rocks of thePiedmont Plateau to the softer sediments of theAtlantic coastal plain, it is the first upstream "cataract", or barrier, to navigation encountered on the Potomac River.[2] It may be viewed from the heavily traffickedChain Bridge, about a half mile upstream. It is named in contradistinction toGreat Falls, about 5 miles further upstream.
Captain John Smith (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."[3] By 1757, the name of a nearby Anglican Church building — "The Falls Church" — referenced this location near the main tobacco rolling road circumventing Little Falls. The local settlement ofFalls Church, Virginia, which grew up there, soon followed suit.