RAPIDAN RIVER

The 'Rapidan River' is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River in North-central Virginia. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg. Sections of the lower Rapidan River will soon be preserved by a conservation easement. The Rapidan River has its headwaters near Big Meadows in the Blue Ridge Mountains' Shenandoah National Park.
It was the scene of severe fighting in the American Civil War, and historic sites such as Ely's Ford, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Kelly's Ford, and Wilderness are nearby.
The name apparently is a combination of the word ''rapids'' with the name of Queen Anne of England.