Popes Creek (Virginia)
38°11′29″N 76°54′16″W / 38.19139°N 76.90444°W
Pope's Creek | |
---|---|
![]() The waters of Pope's Creek from across the cove showing the 20th century Memorial House | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Virginia |
County | Westmoreland County |
Physical characteristics | |
Mouth | |
• location | Potomac River |
• elevation | 0 feet (0 m) |
Length | 5.3 miles (8.5 km) |
Pope's Creek[1] is a 5.3-mile-long (8.5 km)[2] tidal tributary of the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The George Washington Birthplace National Monument lies along the north side of Popes Creek. Popes Creek landing is located at 38°11′29″N 76°54′16″W / 38.19139°N 76.90444°W.
Variant names
The following variant names have been listed on the Geographic Names Information System by the United States Geological Survey.
- Cedar Creek
- Cedar Island Creek
- Fishing Creek
- Mister Pope's Creek
- Pope Creek
- Pope's Creek
History
Hercules Bridges, Henry Brooks, John Quigley and Nathaniel Pope were the early patentees of the Mattox Neck area [3] (of three creeks, Mattox, Bridges, Popes) destined to become part of Westmoreland County, known as Virginia's Northern Neck, or in colonial days the "Athens of the New World".[4]
Watershed
The mouth of Popes Creek is plugged by a flood-tide delta making it an efficient trap for sediment and enriched run-off from three primary sources: farmed watersheds consisting of broad terraces and open upland slopes, erosion of the bluffs and beaches of the Potomac, and the creek bluff erosion itself. Agriculturally derived fill deposited in adjacent ravines to a depth of 2 meters is found covering stumps from the 17th century. Beaver dams and ponds dot the flood plains as well as several old mill ponds which interrupt the flow. Historically, the navigation of the creek has been limited to shallow-draft vessels with present depth up to one meter augmented by 0.3 to 0.4 meter tide. The tributary continues to shoal as the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/ModernDayPopesCreek.jpg/250px-ModernDayPopesCreek.jpg)
In June, July, and August 2007, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reported a large
See also
- List of Virginia rivers
Notes
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Popes Creek
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
- ^ Hatch, 17
- ^ Augustine Washington Jr., NPS archive
- ^ Geologic History of Popes Creek, Virginia
- ^ Hatch, 148
- ^ Smith, 58
- ^ Hatch, 44
- ^ Algal Bloom in the Potomac River, Aug. 21, 2007
References
- Hatch, Charles (1979). Popes Creek Plantation, Birthplace of George Washington. Washington's Birthplace, VA 22575: National Park Service. p. 173. ISBN 0-934146-00-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - Smith, John (1624). The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles. (Electronic version) Chapel Hill, NC: University Library UNC. pp. 248 (2006).