It has been called the Nation's River. It is also, up to the low water mark on the Virginia side, Maryland's river--and Montgomery County's. For 37 meandering miles, from the mouth of the Monocacy to the Dalecarlia Reservoir at the District line, the Potomac River defines Montgomery's western boundary.

Within the county are 39 islands--ranging from a few rocks submerged at high tide to 400 acres. There are also 23 locks of the Chesapeke & Ohio Canal, inextricably linked to the river. The Potomac in Montgometry is something of an anomaly, at times pastroal and then rugged with dangerous rapids and spectacular cliffs, all within the metropolitan area. Along the river, nature rules, often beningnly but sometimes with unexpected ferocity. As recently as a decade ago, two major floods caused widrespeard destruction to the canal and its environs...

To reach the pont where the Potomac enters Montgomery County, I head up I-270 to the Hyattstown-Comus exit and drive southwest to Mouth of Monocacy Road, crossing Route 28 at Dickerson, a railraod trestle and grade-level train tracks...  (This article is not on-line. To obtain a copy of the magazine, or to subscribe, go to www.bethesdamagazine.com, or e-mail customerservice.bethesdamagazine.com.