Monocacy River

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For other streams named Monocacy, see Monocacy.

The Monocacy River is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is approximately 58 statute miles (93.3 km) long, with a drainage area of about 744 mi² (1,927 km²). It is the largest Maryland tributary to the Potomac.

The name Monocacy comes from the Shawnee name for the river, Monnockkesey, which translates to "river with many bends." (However, another local tradition asserts that "Monocacy" means "well fenced garden" in an Indian language.)

The Monocacy Battlefield lies alongside part of the river, marking an 1864 engagement during the American Civil War, the Battle of Monocacy Junction. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal crosses over the river at the Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest of the 11 aqueducts on the canal.

[edit] Geography

The river rises in Carroll County, Maryland, west of the unincorporated town of Harney, near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The river is formed by the confluence of Marsh Creek and Rock Creek, which flow out of Adams County, Pennsylvania. Maryland tributaries include Furnace Branch, Stony Creek, and Linganore Creek in Frederick County and Double Pipe Creek in Carroll County; other Pennsylvania tributaries include Toms Creek in Adams and Franklin County.

About 60% of the Monocacy Watershed is dedicated to agricultural use; about 33% of the watershed is forested. The city of Frederick and its suburbs is the largest urban area within the watershed.

The Monocacy is categorized as a Maryland Wild and Scenic River, but it has one of the greatest nonpoint source pollution problems in the state due in large part to runoff from the 3,500 farms, livestock operations and dairies in the watershed. The river is part of a national water quality demonstration project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designed to help stem pollution due to erosion and runoff from agricultural operations.

[edit] External links

• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Monocacy River factsheet (PDF)
• EPA Monocacy Watershed profile
• Monocacy Basin Stream Monitoring Project
• Community Commons Monocacy Watershed advocacy group
• Monocacy Battlefied
• Monocacy Aqueduct
• Kayaking/Canoeing the Monocacy

[edit] See also

• List of Maryland rivers
• List of Pennsylvania rivers

	Potomac River system Cities and towns | Bridges | Islands | Variant names
	Regions
	Allegheny Front | Allegheny Mountains | Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area | Blue Ridge Mountains | Cumberland Valley | Eastern Panhandle | Northern Neck | Northern Virginia | Potomac Highlands | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians | Shenandoah Valley | Southern Maryland | Western Maryland
	Tributaries
	North Branch | Stony River | Abram Creek | Savage River | Georges Creek | Wills Creek | Evitts Creek | Patterson Creek | South Branch | North Fork South Branch | South Fork South Branch | Town Creek | Little Cacapon River | Fifteenmile Creek | Sideling Hill Creek | Cacapon River | Lost River | North River (West Virginia) | Tonoloway Creek | Sleepy Creek | Licking Creek | Back Creek | Little Conococheague Creek | Conococheague Creek | Opequon Creek | Antietam Creek | Shenandoah River | North Fork Shenandoah River | South Fork Shenandoah River | North River (Virginia) | South River | Catoctin Creek (Maryland) | Catoctin Creek (Virginia) | Monocacy River | Little Monocacy River | Goose Creek | Little River | Seneca Creek | Cabin John Creek | Rock Creek | Anacostia River | Sligo Creek | Four Mile Run | Oxon Creek | Hunting Creek | Piscataway Creek | Dogue Creek | Accotink Creek | Pohick Creek | Occoquan River | Bull Run | Neabsco Creek | Mattawoman Creek | Quantico Creek | Chopawamsic Creek | Aquia Creek | Potomac Creek | Nanjemoy Creek | Port Tobacco River | Wicomico River | Coan River | St. Marys River | Yeocomico River | Hull Creek
	Lakes and reservoirs
	Lake Accotink | Lake Anne | Lake Artemesia | Lake Bernard Frank | Lake Braddock | Breckenridge Reservoir | Brushy Fork Lake | Burke Lake | Dalecarlia Reservoir | Georgetown Reservoir | Jennings Randolph Lake | Kingman Lake | McMillan Reservoir | Mount Storm Lake | Lake Needwood | Sleepy Creek Lake | Stony River Reservoir | Trout Pond | Warden Lake
	Dependent states
	District of Columbia | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Virginia | West Virginia