I learned of this photo through Charlie Walbridge. Chain Bridge connects the northernmost points of Arlington with the westernmost points of the District of Columbia. It also happens to be the site (and at the time pictured below) of the highest water velocity recorded in nature.
Chain Bridge spans the outflow of the Little Falls rapid, one of the few large rapids among those in the Mid-Atlantic affected by tides.
Chain Bridge spans the outflow of the Little Falls rapid, one of the few large rapids among those in the Mid-Atlantic affected by tides.
At high tide and summer levels, you can attain up the Virginia side of the rapid and run the Maryland or Virginia channels, and then repeat the process without getting out of your boat. Of course, at the record level pictured here, you'd be lucky to make it upstream in a jet boat with a racing hull. Even if you overcame the current, the partially submerged tree trunks speeding by would likely get you.
