Patuxent River
Patuxent River Patuxent tributary/Patuxent affluent | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Maryland |
Cities | Columbia, Laurel, Bowie, Upper Marlboro |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) southwest of Mount Airy, Maryland, U.S. |
• coordinates | 39°20′55″N 77°10′39″W / 39.34861°N 77.17750°W |
• elevation | 823 ft (251 m) |
Mouth | Chesapeake Bay |
• location | 2 mi (3.2 km) east of Solomons, Maryland |
• coordinates | 38°18′43″N 76°25′19″W / 38.31194°N 76.42194°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Length | 115 mi (185 km) |
Basin size | 908 sq mi (2,350 km2) |
Discharge | |
• location | Laurel, Maryland |
• average | 171 cu ft/s (4.8 m3/s) |
• minimum | 8 cu ft/s (0.23 m3/s) |
• maximum | 2,870 cu ft/s (81 m3/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Bowie, Maryland |
• average | 647 cu ft/s (18.3 m3/s) |
• minimum | 134 cu ft/s (3.8 m3/s) |
• maximum | 4,500 cu ft/s (130 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Little Patuxent River |
• right | Western Branch |
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between the two. The 908-square-mile (2,352 km2) [1] Patuxent watershed had a rapidly growing population of 590,769 in 2000. It is the largest and longest river entirely within Maryland, and its watershed is the largest completely within the state.
Geography
The river source, 115 miles (185 km) from the Chesapeake, is in the hills of the Maryland
It marks the boundary between
counties on the east. The Chesapeake estuary's deepest point, 130 feet (40 m) below sea level, is in the lower Patuxent.The two largest cities in the watershed are
Tributaries
The Little Patuxent River, the Middle Patuxent River, and the Western Branch are the three largest tributaries. The Middle Patuxent flows into the Little Patuxent just upstream from the historic Savage Mill in Savage. The Little Patuxent then joins the Patuxent just southwest of Crofton. The Middle Patuxent flows 24 miles (39 km) through the middle of Howard County, while the Little Patuxent flows 38 miles (61 km) through northeast and southeast Howard County and western Anne Arundel County.[4] Western Branch originates under the name Folly Branch in the Wingate Drive area of the northern part of Glenn Dale, assuming the name "Western Branch" in Woodmore, continuing southward through Prince George's County, joined by Collington Branch before it joins the Patuxent near Upper Marlboro.
History
Native Americans have lived along the Patuxent River since at least 1100 BC.
The word Patuxent is derived from the Algonquin language used by the indigenous people living in the area prior to the arrival of the European settlers. Its meaning is debated. According to some sources it means "water running over loose stones"[8] while others believe it means the "place where tobacco grows".[9]
The Patuxent River was first named ("Pawtuxunt") on the detailed map resulting from the 1608 voyage upriver by
In August 1814, Commodore
Economy and commerce
Tobacco farming dominated the Patuxent's economy for the two centuries following white settlement, with about sixty percent of Maryland's tobacco coming from the Patuxent valley by the late eighteenth century.
Destruction of the plantations by the British and of the soil by centuries of tobacco farming brought the mid and lower Patuxent valley into a period of decline that would last until the 1930s, when there were fewer residents in the Patuxent's Calvert County than there were in the 1840s, and only a few hundred more than in the first Calvert County census in 1790.
The Patuxent was plied by regular
The
With public recreational land on one or both shores of 74 of the river's 115 miles including the reservoir land, the impact that recreation in natural settings now has on the river's economy is obvious. The
The Patuxent River is the sole known source for Maryland's State Gemstone, a form of agate called Patuxent River stone.[31]
Environmental concerns
According to EcoHealth Report Cards, the Patuxent River has a below average health rating, scoring a 38%, compared to the Chesapeake's over all health rating of 54%, as of 2016. However, the river does have higher ratings in dissolved oxygen, and likely, will soon have higher ratings in phosphorus.[32]
The Middle and Little Patuxent watersheds include nearly all of
"The Patuxent River has known no greater friend, advocate, and defender than
In 2004, Fred Tutman became the first "Riverkeeper" for the Patuxent.[36] The mission of the Patuxent Riverkeeper organization, a member of the worldwide Waterkeeper Alliance, is to protect and improve the quality of the river's water and watershed and provide access and education at its facility in Nottingham.[37]
Over the past 50 years, nationally recognized land preservation efforts in this part of Maryland have saved tens of thousands of acres from the Baltimore-Washington
Chesapeake Bay Week video releases, 2022
On 20 April 2022, PBS released a 26 minute documentary: "Troubled Tributary: Maryland's Patuxent River" - The Patuxent River is a crucial tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Despite the central role the river has played in the history of the Bay's environmental movement and abundant conservation resources funneled to it over the years, it remains polluted. Its riverkeeper, Fred Tutman, believes that environmental injustice exists along its banks.
On 21 April 2022, PBS released a 56 minute special: "The Chesapeake Bay Summit 2022" - Experts, scientists and policy makers converge for a compelling discussion on the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, led by host Frank Sesno.
Bridges
Crossing | Carries | Location | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|
Montgomery County – Howard County | |||
MD 27 bridge | MD 27 (Ridge Road) | Southwest of Mt. Airy
| |
Windsor Forest Road bridge | Windsor Forest Road | Southwest of Mt. Airy
| |
Long Corner Road bridge | Long Corner Road | Damascus | |
MD 94 bridge | MD 94 (Annapolis Rock Road/Woodbine Road) | Damascus | |
Mullinix Mill Road bridge | Mullinix Mill Road | Damascus | |
Hipsley Mill Road bridge | Hipsley Mill Road | Etchison | |
Howard Chapel Road bridge | Howard Chapel Road | Unity | |
MD 97 bridge | MD 97 (Georgia Avenue/Roxbury Mills Road) | North of Brookeville | |
Triadelphia Reservoir | Brighton Dam Road | Brookeville Clarksville |
39°12′27″N 77°00′48″W / 39.207517°N 77.013302°W |
Haviland Mill Road bridge | Haviland Mill Road | Brinklow | |
Mink Hollow Road bridge | Mink Hollow Road | Brinklow | |
Snell's Bridge | MD 108 (Ashton Road/Clarksville Pike) | Ashton Highland | |
Brown's Bridge | Ednor Road/Browns Bridge Road | Ashton Highland | |
US 29 bridge over Rocky Gorge Reservoir | US 29 (Columbia Pike) | North of Burtonsville | |
Prince George's County – Howard County | |||
I-95 bridge near T. Howard Duckett Dam
|
I-95 | Laurel | |
MD 216 bridge | MD 216 (7th Street) | Laurel | |
US 1 bridges | US 1 (Washington Boulevard, southbound traffic; 2nd Street, northbound traffic) | Laurel | |
Howard County – Prince George's County – Anne Arundel County | |||
B&O bridge | CSX Capital Subdivision | Laurel | |
Prince George's County – Anne Arundel County | |||
MD 198 bridge | MD 198 (Laurel Fort Meade Road) | Laurel | |
Brock Bridge Road bridge | Brock Bridge Road | Laurel | |
Baltimore–Washington Parkway bridge | Baltimore-Washington Parkway
|
Laurel | |
Duval Bridge (not open to public vehicular traffic) |
Old Telegraph Road (Lago Road) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center | |
Northeast Corridor bridge | Amtrak Northeast Corridor | Bowie (near Bowie State University) | |
Priest Bridge | MD 3 / MD 450 (Robert Crain Highway) | Bowie Crofton | |
US 50 bridge | (John Hanson Highway) | Davidsonville | |
Governor's Bridge
|
Governor Bridge Road | Davidsonville | 39°00′24″N 76°46′46″W / 39.00667°N 76.77944°W |
MD 214 bridge | MD 214 (Central Avenue) | Queen Anne | |
Queen Anne Bridge (closed in 2007 to all use) |
Queen Anne Bridge Road | Queen Anne | 38°53′42.65″N 76°40′34.65″W / 38.8951806°N 76.6762917°W |
Hills Bridge | Pennsylvania Avenue )
|
Upper Marlboro | |
Calvert County – Charles County | |||
Benedict Bridge
|
MD 231 | Benedict | |
Calvert County – St. Mary's County | |||
Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge | MD 4 | Solomons | 38°19′34.7″N 76°28′17.23″W / 38.326306°N 76.4714528°W |
See also
- List of parks in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area – many parks listed are along the Patuxent River
References
- ^ Costanza, Robert; et al. (2002-05-01). "Integrated Ecological Economic Modeling of the Patuxent River Watershed, Maryland". Ecological Monographs. pp. 203–231. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
- ^ Meyer, Eugene L., The Legacy of Edgar Merkle: Canada Geese on the Patuxent, The Washington Post, August 18, 1984
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20100815073135/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/merkle.asp Merkle Wildlife Refuge web site
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
- ^ Dr. Zachary Singer. "Unearth Lost Towns with Archaeologists". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
- Bristol, via Google Maps
- ^ a b c "Amazing artifacts unearthed at Pig Point", E.B. Furgurson III, The Archaeology News Network, April 2011. Original source: The Capital [April 17, 2011]
- ^ Patuxent Riverkeeper - About the river: http://paxriverkeeper.org/about-the-river/
- ^ Stein Charles Francis. 19771976. A History of Calvert County Maryland. 3d ed. Baltimore Md: Published by the author in cooperation with the Calvert County Historical Society. page 2
- ^ Smith, John (2006). The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles... (Electronic ed.). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ^ John S. Salmon (2006-05-09). "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail – Statement of National Significance" (PDF). Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. p. 136. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Wayne E. Clark (2005). "Indians in Maryland, An Overview". Maryland Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "John Smith's Second Chesapeake Voyage". Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ISBN 1-928874-08-8.
- ^ "Author Biography for Closed Sea by Kent Mountford". 2005.
- ^ John S. Salmon (2006-05-09). "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail – Statement of National Significance" (PDF). Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ U.S. Army Engineer Water Resources Support Center (January 1983). "History of the Waterways of the Atlantic Coast of the United States (NWS 83-10) – Chronology" (PDF). U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory. "Mattapany (18ST390)". Data from the Colonial Encounters project. Colonial Encounters website www.colonialencounters.org Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ "Archives of Maryland Historical List Collectors, 1673-1776." Source: Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., Archives of Maryland, Historical List, new series, Vol. 1. Annapolis, MD: Maryland State Archives, 1990. Maryland State Archives website Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ Howard's Roads to the Past. Howard County Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee, 2001. 2001. p. 2.
- ^ Joshua Dorsey Warfield. The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. p. 337.
- ^ Hester Dorsey Richardson. Side-lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland, Volume 2. p. 290.
- ^ Frederick Adams Virkus, Albert Nelson Marquis. The Compendium of American Genealogy: First Families of America; the Standard Genealogical Encyclopedia of the United States, Volume 7. A. N. Marquis, 1942.
- ^ "America and West Indies: October 1702, 6-10." Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 20, 1702. Ed. Cecil Headlam. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1912. 650-653 British History Online website. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ Robert C. Chidester. "A Historic Context for the Archaeology of Industrial Labor in the State of Maryland". The Center for Heritage Resource Studies, University of Maryland. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- ^ Peter M. Kranz. Notes on the Sedimentary Iron Ores of Maryland and their Dinosaurian Fauna. Appendix B: University of Maryland. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- ISBN 0-87033-283-X.
- ^ Ross, Gen. (October 1814). "Dispatch from Gen. Ross". The Gentleman's Magazine, London Gazette Extraordinary. v.84 pt.2. Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized by Google: E. Cave: 372. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. Laurel, Maryland (2007). "The WSSC-- A Thumbnail History", Accessed 2010-02-15.
- ^ Maryland Department of the Environment. Baltimore, Maryland (2006). "Maryland Dams Endure Dramatic Rainfall", eMDE (online newsletter). V.2, No. 6, October 2006.
- ^ "Maryland State Gemstone: Patuxent River Stone (Agate)".
- ^ "Health | EcoHealth Report Cards". EcoReportCard. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
- ^ "Bernie Fowler Wade-in Draws Attention to Patuxent Water Quality". Chesapeake Bay Program. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
Quote attributed to Congressman Steny Hoyer. - ^ Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Office (2007-08-01). "Maryland Tributary Strategy: Patuxent River Basin Summary Report for 1985–2005 Data" (PDF). Maryland Department of Natural Resources. pp. 3, 6. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ^ Karl Blankenship (January 2007). "Bay Journal: Chesapeake Cleanup Update – River Basin Overviews(Patuxent)" (PDF). Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ^ Patuxent River Commission (2004). "Summary of June 2004 Meeting Minutes" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-12-05.
- ^ "Patuxent Riverkeeper – Clean water advocates serving people & communities since 2004". www.paxriverkeeper.org. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
External links
- Watershed Profile – Patuxent River at the Wayback Machine (archived April 3, 2011) – Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection
- Patuxent River State Park (upper river)
- Patuxent River Park in Prince George's County (mid-river, west shore)
- Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Anne Arundel County (mid-river, east shore)
- Jug Bay - Chesapeake National Estuarine Research Reserve - Maryland at the Wayback Machine (archived October 7, 2006) (mid-river, both shores)