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The Fall Line

In geography the term "fall line" applies generally to any boundary between an upland region and a coastal plain. The term is also sometimes used to mean the point where a river ceases to be tidal, although this usage appears to be less technically correct.

In the USA the term is usually taken to mean the boundary between the Piedmont Plateau and the Atlantic coastal plain and that meaning is used here. The Fall Line therefore extends in an arc from Alabama through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

Because the coastal plain has softer and less rocky soil than the Piedmont Plateau, many streams and rivers descend over waterfalls or rapids at the fall line.

Many towns and cities can be found along the fall line because it often marks the limit for navigation on rivers and also because the waterfalls often provide the opportunity to create hydroelectric systems. Such cities include Baltimore (Maryland), Columbia (South Carolina), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Raleigh (North Carolina), Richmond (Virginia), Trenton (New Jersey) and Washington (DC).

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Most recently modified 3-Sep-02