Occoquan River

Occoquan River
Occoquan River
	Occoquan River near Fountainhead Regional Park
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Physical characteristics
Mouth
• location	Potomac River
• elevation	0 feet (0 m)
Length	24.7 miles (39.8 km)
Basin size	590 square miles (1,500 km2)

The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the river for the sport of rowing.^[1]

Watershed

The river is 24.7 miles (39.8 km) long,

Doeg Algonquian word translated as "at the end of the water".^[3]

History

Geographers, foremost

American South. Wolf Run Shoals was an important crossing point on the Occoquan between Alexandria and Richmond during the 18th and 19th centuries. It consisted of three islands and a mill, now submerged under the Occoquan due to higher water levels following damming for flood control, water supply, and power generation.^[4]

Between c. 1900 and 1976, the Occoquan was frequently called "Occoquan Creek," but a campaign to restore its status as a river was successfully conducted by Rosemary Selecman.[5]

Dams

The Occoquan has three dams along its length. The first is at the town of Occoquan, a reservoir belonging to the Fairfax County Water Authority, which serves as a source of drinking water for parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties. The Occoquan Reservoir stretches from Occoquan to Bull Run. Further upriver is Lake Jackson. The dam that creates Lake Jackson is at Virginia State Route 234, Dumfries Road, and is a former hydroelectric facility. Today the dam contains the lake, but has not produced electricity in several decades. There is a third dam up Broad Run from its confluence with Cedar Run; this dam forms Lake Manassas, which is the primary water supply for the city of Manassas.

Parks

Sandy Run Regional Park is at

South County Secondary School

.

Westfield High School

and (Virginia)], also VASRA members, use the park for rowing.

The Occoquan River is bordered by three parks administered by the

Woodbridge High School

and Colgan High school.

References

^ "Sandy Run Regional Park". NOVA Parks. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
^ "History of the Occoquan". Friends of the Occoquan. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
^ "Wolf Run Shoals". 9 August 2009. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
^ "Lorton History - One Woman's Campaign". 19 January 2011.

ADC Street Map Book of Prince William County, Virginia, 28th Edition, 2003
Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory
Northern Virginia Regional Commission

External links

38°39′15″N 77°13′34″W / 38.654284°N 77.226093°W / 38.654284; -77.226093

[1] "Sandy Run Regional Park". NOVA Parks. Retrieved 2023-06-13.

[NHD-2] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011

[history-occoquan-3] "History of the Occoquan". Friends of the Occoquan. Retrieved 2008-11-08.

[4] "Wolf Run Shoals". 9 August 2009. Retrieved 2019-07-14.

[5] "Lorton History - One Woman's Campaign". 19 January 2011.

[1]

[3]

[4]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Israel United States