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Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line

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inclusively arrests the ascent of the tide; the falls of every river within that space being precisely at the head of the tide; pursuing thence southwardly a direction nearly parallel to the mountains, it recedes from the sea, leaving in each southern river an extent of good navigation between the tide and the falls. Other falls of less magnitude are found at the gaps of the
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The most prominent, though not perhaps the most insuperable obstacle in the navigation of the Atlantic rivers, consists in their lower falls, which are ascribed to a presumed continuous granite ridge, rising about one hundred and thirty feet above tide water. That ridge from New York to James River
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George Ellicott House: A block away is the 1789 George Ellicott House at 24 Frederick Road., which has been saved, moved out of the flood plain, and restored. The Ellicott family settled here along the fall line of the Patapsco River in 1772 and built an innovative, water-powered flour
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around them. Numerous cities initially formed along the fall line because of the easy river transportation to seaports, as well the availability of water power to operate mills and factories, thus bringing together river traffic and industrial labor.
1496:"Watershed Report for Biological Impairment of the Patapsco Lower North Branch Watershed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, and Howard Counties and Baltimore City, Maryland. Biological Stressor Identification Analysis. Results and Interpretation" 39: 874: 1495: 234:
noted the significance of the fall line as an obstacle to improved national communication and commerce between the Atlantic seaboard and the western river systems:
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Map showing part of the Eastern Seaboard Fall Line where the pale-colored coastal plain meets the brightly-colored Piedmont.
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An alternate source claims the southern endpoint is farther west because there are "waterfalls & rapids":
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Some cities that lie along the Piedmont–Coastal Plain fall line include the following (from north to south):
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marks the geologic boundary of hard metamorphosed terrain—the product of the
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Before navigation improvements, such as locks, the fall line was generally the
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A Tapestry of Time and Terrain: The Union of Two Maps - Geology and Topography
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Roberts, David C.; W. Grant Hodsdon (2001). Roger Tory Peterson (ed.).
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Freitag, Bob; Susan Bolton; Frank Westerlund; Julie Clark (2009).
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on rivers due to their rapids or waterfalls, and the necessary
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falls across a series of rapids down to its own tidal estuary.
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Roads and Canals, Communicated to the Senate April 4, 1808,
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of the upper continental shelf, formed of unconsolidated
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Floodplain Management: A New Approach for a New Era
1563: 991:Crystalline rock—unconsolidate marine sediments 1328:A Field Guide to Geology: Eastern North America 1469:. PatapscoHeritageGreenway.org. Archived from 1439: 1437: 1435: 1412: 1410: 1408: 192:. Examples of Fall Zone features include the 610:Atlantic Seaboard fall line, north-to-south 1432: 1405: 1331:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 242. 1385: 1383: 1381: 1379: 1377: 1320: 1318: 1178: 1176: 1174: 1172: 1170: 569: 1352: 1283: 1281: 16:Escarpment in the Eastern United States 1564: 1503:Maryland Department of the Environment 1374: 1315: 1235:. Anmol Publications. pp. 92–93. 1228: 1167: 177:—and the sandy, relatively flat 1287: 1222: 1154:from the original on 4 September 2010 1278: 1232:Encyclopaedia of Political Geography 573: 1115: 224:link many of the fall-line cities. 13: 14: 1588: 247: 1577:Escarpments of the United States 1291:Highroad Guide to Chesapeake Bay 577: 146:, is a 900-mile (1,400 km) 38: 1572:East Coast of the United States 1537: 1516: 1488: 1459: 1545:"River and "Fall Line" Cities" 1420:. The New Georgia Encyclopedia 1256: 1210: 415:Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina 1: 1266:. Maryland Geological Society 1108: 1505:. April 2009. Archived from 1294:. John F. Blair. p. 5. 1189:. Island Press. p. 77. 997:Little Falls (Potomac River) 452:Fayetteville, North Carolina 194:Potomac River's Little Falls 7: 1046: 952: 879: 824: 769: 709: 626:Elevation & coordinates 424:Rocky Mount, North Carolina 140:Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line 128:GPX (secondary coordinates) 89:900 mi (1,400 km) 23:Atlantic Seaboard fall line 10: 1593: 1360:"Geology of the Fall Line" 1129:. USGS.gov. Archived from 285:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1447:. Encyclopedia of Alabama 1031: 1015:Theodore Roosevelt Island 1008: 919: 864: 809: 750: 661:460 ft (140 m) 645: 462:Lumberton, North Carolina 442:Goldsboro, North Carolina 257:New Brunswick, New Jersey 123:GPX (primary coordinates) 98:Map all coordinates using 85: 80: 57: 49: 37: 28: 21: 492:Columbia, South Carolina 381:Fredericksburg, Virginia 309:Havre de Grace, Maryland 106:Download coordinates as: 1288:Deane, Winegar (2002). 1229:Shamsi, Nayyar (2006). 972:39.267400°N 76.792883°W 640:Piedmont—Coastal plain 570:Geographic coordinates 512:Milledgeville, Georgia 482:Camden, South Carolina 472:Cheraw, South Carolina 411:Weldon, North Carolina 245: 156:Atlantic coastal plain 1066:38.30183°N 77.47083°W 977:39.267400; -76.792883 899:39.67750°N 75.75722°W 844:39.74500°N 75.54833°W 789:39.95361°N 75.17139°W 729:40.22167°N 74.75611°W 681:40.48833°N 74.44778°W 266:Princeton, New Jersey 236: 160:eastern United States 118:GPX (all coordinates) 1547:. VirginiaPlaces.org 1526:. VirginiaPlaces.org 591:adding missing items 401:Petersburg, Virginia 305:Perryville, Maryland 295:Wilmington, Delaware 1071:38.30183; -77.47083 1062: /  968: /  904:39.67750; -75.75722 895: /  849:39.74500; -75.54833 840: /  794:39.95361; -75.17139 785: /  734:40.22167; -74.75611 725: /  686:40.48833; -74.44778 677: /  611: 564:Black Warrior River 560:Tuscaloosa, Alabama 536:Chattahoochee River 323:Baltimore, Maryland 275:Trenton, New Jersey 86: • Length 1264:"Maryland Geology" 633:drop/width (slope) 609: 589:; you can help by 542:Tallassee, Alabama 391:Richmond, Virginia 385:Rappahannock River 371:Occoquan, Virginia 341:Elkridge, Maryland 229:Treasury Secretary 209:head of navigation 198:Richmond, Virginia 196:and the rapids in 1467:"History/Culture" 1362:. Virginia Places 1338:978-0-618-16438-7 1301:978-0-89587-279-1 1242:978-81-261-2406-0 1196:978-1-59726-635-2 1148:"Georgia Geology" 1106: 1105: 1080: 986: 911: 856: 801: 741: 693: 641: 634: 627: 622: 617: 607: 606: 551:Wetumpka, Alabama 532:Columbus, Georgia 313:Susquehanna River 93: 92: 1584: 1556: 1555: 1553: 1552: 1541: 1535: 1534: 1532: 1531: 1520: 1514: 1513: 1511: 1500: 1492: 1486: 1485: 1479: 1478: 1463: 1457: 1456: 1454: 1452: 1441: 1430: 1429: 1427: 1425: 1414: 1403: 1402: 1400: 1398: 1387: 1372: 1371: 1369: 1367: 1356: 1350: 1349: 1347: 1345: 1322: 1313: 1312: 1310: 1308: 1285: 1276: 1275: 1273: 1271: 1260: 1254: 1253: 1251: 1249: 1226: 1220: 1214: 1208: 1207: 1205: 1203: 1180: 1165: 1162: 1160: 1159: 1141: 1139: 1138: 1119: 1077: 1076: 1074: 1073: 1072: 1067: 1063: 1060: 1059: 1058: 1055: 1047: 983: 982: 980: 979: 978: 973: 969: 966: 965: 964: 961: 953: 910: 909: 907: 906: 905: 900: 896: 893: 892: 891: 888: 880: 875:White Clay Creek 855: 854: 852: 851: 850: 845: 841: 838: 837: 836: 833: 825: 820:Brandywine Creek 800: 799: 797: 796: 795: 790: 786: 783: 782: 781: 778: 770: 761:Schuylkill River 740: 739: 737: 736: 735: 730: 726: 723: 722: 721: 718: 710: 692: 691: 689: 688: 687: 682: 678: 675: 674: 673: 670: 662: 637: 630: 625: 621:Point (crossing) 620: 615: 612: 608: 602: 599: 581: 580: 574: 546:Tallapoosa River 502:Augusta, Georgia 405:Appomattox River 361:Washington, D.C. 351:Laurel, Maryland 299:Brandywine River 289:Schuylkill River 42: 19: 18: 1592: 1591: 1587: 1586: 1585: 1583: 1582: 1581: 1562: 1561: 1560: 1559: 1550: 1548: 1543: 1542: 1538: 1529: 1527: 1522: 1521: 1517: 1509: 1498: 1494: 1493: 1489: 1476: 1474: 1465: 1464: 1460: 1450: 1448: 1443: 1442: 1433: 1423: 1421: 1416: 1415: 1406: 1396: 1394: 1389: 1388: 1375: 1365: 1363: 1358: 1357: 1353: 1343: 1341: 1339: 1323: 1316: 1306: 1304: 1302: 1286: 1279: 1269: 1267: 1262: 1261: 1257: 1247: 1245: 1243: 1227: 1223: 1215: 1211: 1201: 1199: 1197: 1181: 1168: 1157: 1155: 1146: 1143: 1136: 1134: 1123:"The Fall Line" 1121: 1120: 1116: 1111: 1070: 1068: 1064: 1061: 1056: 1053: 1051: 1049: 1048: 976: 974: 970: 967: 962: 959: 957: 955: 954: 903: 901: 897: 894: 889: 886: 884: 882: 881: 848: 846: 842: 839: 834: 831: 829: 827: 826: 793: 791: 787: 784: 779: 776: 774: 772: 771: 733: 731: 727: 724: 719: 716: 714: 712: 711: 685: 683: 679: 676: 671: 668: 666: 664: 663: 639: 632: 603: 597: 594: 578: 572: 456:Cape Fear River 270:Millstone River 250: 232:Albert Gallatin 175:Taconic orogeny 136: 135: 134: 133: 132: 45: 33: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1590: 1580: 1579: 1574: 1558: 1557: 1536: 1515: 1512:on 2009-06-21. 1487: 1458: 1431: 1404: 1373: 1351: 1337: 1314: 1300: 1277: 1255: 1241: 1221: 1209: 1195: 1166: 1164: 1163: 1113: 1112: 1110: 1107: 1104: 1103: 1101: 1099: 1097: 1094:Meherrin River 1086: 1085: 1083: 1081: 1045: 1038:Fredericksburg 1035: 1029: 1028: 1026: 1024: 1022: 1012: 1010:Washington, DC 1006: 1005: 1003: 1001: 999: 993: 992: 989: 987: 951: 940: 939: 937: 935: 933: 923: 917: 916: 914: 912: 878: 868: 862: 861: 859: 857: 823: 813: 807: 806: 804: 802: 768: 754: 748: 747: 745: 742: 708: 705:Delaware River 697: 696: 694: 659: 649: 643: 642: 635: 628: 623: 618: 605: 604: 584: 582: 571: 568: 567: 566: 557: 548: 539: 529: 526:Ocmulgee River 522:Macon, Georgia 519: 509: 506:Savannah River 499: 496:Congaree River 489: 479: 469: 459: 449: 431: 421: 408: 398: 388: 378: 375:Occoquan River 368: 358: 355:Patuxent River 348: 345:Patapsco River 338: 320: 317:Chesapeake Bay 302: 292: 282: 279:Delaware River 272: 263: 249: 248:Notable cities 246: 179:alluvial plain 131: 130: 125: 120: 115: 109: 96: 95: 94: 91: 90: 87: 83: 82: 78: 77: 59: 55: 54: 51: 47: 46: 43: 35: 34: 29: 26: 25: 22: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1589: 1578: 1575: 1573: 1570: 1569: 1567: 1546: 1540: 1525: 1519: 1508: 1504: 1497: 1491: 1484: 1473:on 2010-03-10 1472: 1468: 1462: 1446: 1440: 1438: 1436: 1419: 1413: 1411: 1409: 1392: 1386: 1384: 1382: 1380: 1378: 1361: 1355: 1340: 1334: 1330: 1329: 1321: 1319: 1303: 1297: 1293: 1292: 1284: 1282: 1265: 1259: 1244: 1238: 1234: 1233: 1225: 1219: 1213: 1198: 1192: 1188: 1187: 1179: 1177: 1175: 1173: 1171: 1153: 1149: 1145: 1144: 1133:on 2011-05-14 1132: 1128: 1124: 1118: 1114: 1102: 1100: 1098: 1095: 1091: 1088: 1087: 1084: 1082: 1079: 1075: 1043: 1039: 1036: 1034: 1030: 1027: 1025: 1023: 1020: 1019:Potomac River 1016: 1013: 1011: 1007: 1004: 1002: 1000: 998: 995: 994: 990: 988: 985: 981: 949: 945: 944:Ellicott City 942: 941: 938: 936: 934: 931: 927: 926:Conowingo Dam 924: 922: 918: 915: 913: 908: 876: 872: 869: 867: 863: 860: 858: 853: 821: 817: 814: 812: 808: 805: 803: 798: 766: 762: 758: 755: 753: 749: 746: 743: 738: 706: 702: 699: 698: 695: 690: 660: 657: 656:Raritan River 653: 652:New Brunswick 650: 648: 644: 638:Geomorphology 636: 629: 624: 619: 614: 613: 601: 592: 588: 585:This list is 583: 576: 575: 565: 561: 558: 556: 552: 549: 547: 543: 540: 537: 533: 530: 527: 523: 520: 517: 513: 510: 507: 503: 500: 497: 493: 490: 487: 486:Wateree River 483: 480: 477: 476:Pee Dee River 473: 470: 467: 463: 460: 457: 453: 450: 447: 443: 439: 435: 432: 429: 425: 422: 420: 419:Roanoke River 416: 412: 409: 406: 402: 399: 396: 392: 389: 386: 382: 379: 376: 372: 369: 366: 365:Potomac River 362: 359: 356: 352: 349: 346: 342: 339: 336: 332: 328: 324: 321: 318: 314: 310: 306: 303: 300: 296: 293: 290: 286: 283: 280: 276: 273: 271: 267: 264: 262: 261:Raritan River 258: 255: 254: 253: 244: 242: 235: 233: 230: 225: 223: 219: 214: 210: 205: 203: 199: 195: 191: 188: 184: 180: 176: 172: 167: 165: 161: 157: 153: 149: 145: 141: 129: 126: 124: 121: 119: 116: 114: 111: 110: 108: 107: 102: 101:OpenStreetMap 99: 88: 84: 79: 75: 71: 67: 63: 60: 56: 53:United States 52: 48: 41: 36: 32: 27: 20: 1549:. Retrieved 1539: 1528:. Retrieved 1518: 1507:the original 1502: 1490: 1481: 1475:. Retrieved 1471:the original 1461: 1449:. Retrieved 1422:. Retrieved 1395:. Retrieved 1364:. Retrieved 1354: 1342:. Retrieved 1327: 1305:. Retrieved 1290: 1268:. Retrieved 1258: 1246:. Retrieved 1231: 1224: 1212: 1200:. Retrieved 1185: 1156:. Retrieved 1135:. Retrieved 1131:the original 1126: 1117: 1042:Rappahannock 757:Philadelphia 752:Pennsylvania 595: 516:Oconee River 466:Lumber River 335:Gwynns Falls 251: 237: 226: 218:U.S. Route 1 206: 200:, where the 168: 166:is present. 158:meet in the 143: 139: 137: 105: 104: 97: 1524:"Fall Line" 1445:"Fall Line" 1418:"Fall Line" 1391:"Fall Line" 1344:17 November 1307:17 November 1248:17 November 1202:17 November 1069: / 975: / 963:76°47.573′W 960:39°16.044′N 930:Susquehanna 902: / 847: / 792: / 732: / 684: / 555:Coosa River 446:Neuse River 395:James River 331:Jones Falls 327:Herring Run 202:James River 1566:Categories 1551:2010-08-13 1530:2010-08-13 1477:2010-09-07 1451:25 January 1424:17 October 1397:25 January 1366:25 January 1270:25 January 1158:2010-08-13 1137:2010-08-12 1109:References 1057:77°28.25′W 1054:38°18.11′N 890:75°45′26″W 887:39°40′39″N 835:75°32′54″W 832:39°44′42″N 816:Wilmington 780:75°10′17″W 777:39°57′13″N 744:8 ft 720:74°45′22″W 717:40°13′18″N 672:74°26′52″W 669:40°29′18″N 647:New Jersey 631:Fall zone: 587:incomplete 438:Smithfield 241:Blue Ridge 183:Cretaceous 150:where the 148:escarpment 81:Dimensions 62:New Jersey 31:Escarpment 1393:. NCpedia 598:June 2010 562:, on the 553:, on the 544:, on the 534:, on the 524:, on the 514:, on the 504:, on the 494:, on the 484:, on the 474:, on the 464:, on the 454:, on the 444:, on the 428:Tar River 426:, on the 417:, on the 403:, on the 393:, on the 373:, on the 363:, on the 353:, on the 343:, on the 315:/head of 311:, on the 297:, on the 287:, on the 277:, on the 268:, on the 227:In 1808, 190:sediments 171:fall line 144:Fall Zone 70:Carolinas 58:Formed by 1152:Archived 1033:Virginia 948:Patapsco 921:Maryland 866:Delaware 811:Delaware 187:Cenozoic 164:faulting 152:Piedmont 66:Virginia 50:Location 1090:Emporia 701:Trenton 434:Kinston 383:on the 259:on the 213:portage 74:Georgia 1335:  1298:  1239:  1193:  871:Newark 440:, and 413:, and 333:, and 307:, and 76:, U.S. 72:, and 68:, the 1510:(PDF) 1499:(PDF) 1218:p.729 616:State 325:, on 142:, or 1483:mill 1453:2017 1426:2011 1399:2017 1368:2017 1346:2010 1333:ISBN 1309:2010 1296:ISBN 1272:2017 1250:2010 1237:ISBN 1204:2010 1191:ISBN 765:I-76 222:I-95 220:and 185:and 169:The 154:and 138:The 763:by 593:. 113:KML 1568:: 1501:. 1480:. 1434:^ 1407:^ 1376:^ 1317:^ 1280:^ 1169:^ 1150:. 1125:. 1096:) 1044:) 1021:) 950:) 932:) 877:) 822:) 767:) 707:) 658:) 436:, 329:, 64:, 1554:. 1533:. 1455:. 1428:. 1401:. 1370:. 1348:. 1311:. 1274:. 1252:. 1206:. 1161:. 1140:. 1092:( 1040:( 1017:( 946:( 928:( 873:( 818:( 759:( 703:( 654:( 600:) 596:( 538:. 528:. 518:. 508:. 498:. 488:. 478:. 468:. 458:. 448:. 430:. 407:. 397:. 387:. 377:. 367:. 357:. 347:. 337:. 319:. 301:. 291:. 281:.

Index

Escarpment
Map showing part of the Eastern Seaboard Fall Line where the pale-colored coastal plain meets the brightly-colored Piedmont.
New Jersey
Virginia
Carolinas
Georgia
OpenStreetMap
KML
GPX (all coordinates)
GPX (primary coordinates)
GPX (secondary coordinates)
escarpment
Piedmont
Atlantic coastal plain
eastern United States
faulting
fall line
Taconic orogeny
alluvial plain
Cretaceous
Cenozoic
sediments
Potomac River's Little Falls
Richmond, Virginia
James River
head of navigation
portage
U.S. Route 1
I-95
Treasury Secretary

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