The Hazel River is a 47.8 miles (76.9 km) tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Rappahannock River

Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately 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.An important river in American...

 in northern Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Via the Rappahannock, it is part of the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

. It rises in Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the U.S. state of Virginia. This national park is long and narrow, with the broad Shenandoah River and valley on the west side, and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont on the east...

 and flows generally eastwardly through Rappahannock

Rappahannock County, Virginia

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,373 people, 2,788 households, and 2,004 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

 and Culpeper

Culpeper County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...

 counties. It joins the Rappahannock River from the west about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Remington

Remington, Virginia

Remington is a small incorporated town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 624 at the 2000 census, and at the 2008 census, the population is 673. It is near the highways, U.S. Route 15, U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 29, and Virginia State Route 28...

. The Hazel's largest tributaries are the Hughes River

Hughes River (Virginia)

The Hughes River is a river in Madison, Rappahannock, and Culpeper counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The river rises on the east slope of Stony Man mountain in Shenandoah National Park and flows southeast past the village of Nethers to join the Hazel River west of Boston, Virginia...

, which joins it at the border of Rappahannock and Culpeper counties, and the Thornton River

Thornton River

The Thornton River is a river in the US state of Virginia. It rises at Thornton Gap in Shenandoah National Park and flows east through Rappahannock County, running parallel to U.S. Route 211 until it reaches the town of Sperryville...

, which joins it in Culpeper County.