The Potomac River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic United States and the southern tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. The 652 kilometer-long river originates on the Allegheny Mountain in West Virginia and drains approximately 38,000 square kilometers.
President Bill Clinton designated the Potomac as an American Heritage River in 1998, which, for five years, allowed communities along the rivers to access federal resources to help revitalize their rivers, riverfronts, and local economies.