North Branch Potomac River
North Branch Potomac River Tributary to Potomac River | |
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Location | |
Country | United States |
State | West Virginia, Maryland |
County | Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Hampshire (WV), Mineral (WV), Grant (WV), Preston (WV) |
Cities (WV) | Bayard, Gormania, Piedmont, Keyser, Cumberland |
Cities (MD) | Kitzmiller, Luke, Westernport |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Blackwater River divide |
• location | about 1 mile northwest of Fairfax, West Virginia |
• coordinates | 39°11′42.39″N 079°29′21.19″W / 39.1951083°N 79.4892194°W[1] |
• elevation | 2,960 ft (900 m)[1] |
Mouth | Potomac River |
• location | about 1 mile east of Green Spring, West Virginia |
• coordinates | 39°31′42.33″N 078°35′15.05″W / 39.5284250°N 78.5875139°W[1] |
• elevation | 525 ft (160 m)[1] |
Length | 101.27 mi (162.98 km)[2] |
Basin size | 1,343.04 square miles (3,478.5 km2)[3] |
Discharge | |
• location | Potomac River |
• average | 5.13 cu ft/s (0.145 m3/s) at mouth with Potomac River[3] |
Basin features | |
Progression | WV 28 Alt, Canal Parkway , Green Spring Road |
The North Branch Potomac River flows from
Course
From the Fairfax Stone, the North Branch Potomac River flows 27 miles (43 km) to the man-made Jennings Randolph Lake, an impoundment designed for flood control and emergency water supply. Below the dam, the North Branch cuts a serpentine path through the eastern Allegheny Mountains. First, it flows northeast by the communities of Bloomington, Luke, and Westernport in Maryland and then on by Keyser, West Virginia to Cumberland, Maryland. At Cumberland, the river turns southeast. 103 miles (166 km) downstream from its source, the North Branch is joined by the South Branch between Green Spring and South Branch Depot, West Virginia from whence it flows past Hancock, Maryland and turns southeast once more on its way toward Washington, D.C., and the Chesapeake Bay.
Water quality
Historically, the North Branch had highly acidic water due to waste from coal mining and paper production in the region.
Tributaries
- Stony River(West Virginia)
- Abram Creek (West Virginia)
- Savage River (Maryland)
- Georges Creek(Maryland)
- Laurel Run(Maryland)
- New Creek (West Virginia)
- Limestone Run(West Virginia)
- Warrior Run (Maryland)
- Wills Creek(Pennsylvania/Maryland)
- Brush Creek(Pennsylvania)
- Little Wills Creek (Pennsylvania)
- Evitts Creek(Maryland and Pennsylvania)
- Patterson Creek (West Virginia)
- Mill Creek(West Virginia)
- Dans Run (West Virginia)
- Green Spring Run (West Virginia)
References
- ^ a b c d "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ a b "North Branch Potomac River Watershed Report". watersgeo.epa.gov. US EPA. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 25041735.
- ^ a b Hansen, Evan; Collins, Alan; Zegre, Sera; Hereford, Anne (December 1, 2010). The Benefits of Acid Mine Drainage Remediation on the North Branch Potomac River (PDF) (Report). Downstream Strategies.
- ISSN 1432-1009.
- ^ Tasker, Greg (November 14, 1993). "Dose of lime may revive dead river; State to neutralize acid mine leaks". The Baltimore Sun.