The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately 195 miles (314 km) in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River. The river drains an area of 2,848 square miles (7,380 km2), approximately 6% of Virginia. Much of the watershed is rural and forested, but it has experienced increased development in recent decades because of the southward expansion of the Washington, D.C. suburbs. Rappahannock River watershed