The Monocacy River () is a free-flowing left

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

, which empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

via the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. The

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011 with a drainage area of about . It is the largest

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

tributary to the Potomac. The name "Monocacy" comes from the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

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 first town ever settled in Western Maryland,

Monocacy Monocacy (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Monnockkeseymay'') may refer to the Monocacy River in Maryland, USA. Monocacy may also refer to: Other streams *Little Monocacy River, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland *Monocacy Creek (Lehigh Riv ...

, also gets its name from this river. The

Monocacy National Battlefield Monocacy National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park Service, the site of the Battle of Monocacy in the American Civil War fought on July 9, 1864. The battlefield straddles the Monocacy River southeast of the city of Frederick, Maryland. ...

lies alongside part of the river, marking an 1864 engagement during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the

Battle of Monocacy Junction The Battle of Monocacy (also known as Monocacy Junction) was fought on July 9, 1864, about from Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early def ...

. The

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...

crosses over the river at the

Monocacy Aqueduct The Monocacy Aqueduct — or C&O Canal Aqueduct No. 2 — is the largest aqueduct on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, crossing the Monocacy River just before it empties into the Potomac River in Frederick County, Maryland, USA. The 438 foot (133 ...

, the largest of the 11 aqueducts on the canal.

Geography

Monocacy river at potomac river confluence 20200626 064235 1

The river rises in

Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. Carroll County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

, west of the unincorporated town of Harney at the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

border. The river is formed by the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of Marsh Creek and Rock Creek, which flow out of

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the secon ...

. Maryland tributaries include Furnace Branch, Tuscarora Creek, Carroll Creek,

Linganore Creek Linganore Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland. The stream is formed from the confl ...

and

Ballenger Creek Ballenger Creek is a tributary of the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 The headwaters of the creek are locat ...

in Frederick County and Double Pipe Creek in Carroll County; other Pennsylvania tributaries include

Alloway Creek Alloway Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in Salem County, New Jersey in the United States. The name is a derivati ...

and Toms Creek in Adams County. About 60% of the Monocacy watershed is dedicated to agricultural use; about 33% of the watershed is

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed. The city of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

and its suburbs form the largest

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

within the watershed. The 970 square mile water shed averages a flow of 600 Mgd at the mouth where it enters the Potomac River. Dendrology of the Watershed: The vegetation of the watershed is very similar to what one would expect to find through the Piedmont and valley and ridge regions. Some invasive species that threaten the balance of the ecosystem. A very good source for plant and tree information is the USDA-NRCS Plant Fact Sheets.

Pollution

The State of Maryland designated the Monocacy as a Maryland Scenic River in 1974. However, it has one of the greatest

nonpoint source pollution Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination (or pollution) of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered ...

problems in the state due in large part to

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the 3,500 farms,

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

operations and

dairies A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...

in the watershed. The

Maryland Department of the Environment The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is a government agency in the state of Maryland that implements and enforces environmental protection laws and programs. The agency's stated vision is "Healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities a ...

(MDE) has listed the Monocacy with impaired

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

for

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

and

fecal coliform A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

. A major tributary basin, the Double Pipe Creek watershed, is also impaired for sediment and bacteria. Some farmers in the Monocacy watershed participate in the national

Conservation Stewardship Program The Conservation Security Program (CSP) was a voluntary conservation program in the United States that supported stewardship of private agricultural lands by providing payments and technical assistance for maintaining and enhancing natural resou ...

operated by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

(USDA), designed to help stem pollution due to

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

runoff from

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. In the 1990s the watershed was part of a national water quality demonstration project sponsored by USDA, which helped farmers reduce fertilizer usage and reduced discharges of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

to the river.USDA
"Demonstration Projects – Selected Impacts"
October 31, 2006.

References

External links

Monocacy Scenic River Water Trail Map & Guide
- Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network (2006)
Monocacy River factsheet
- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Monocacy Watershed profile
– US EPA
Monocacy & Catoctin Watershed Alliance
– C&O Canal Virtual Tour
Monocacy Basin Stream Monitoring ProjectMonocacy Battlefield
– National Park Service
Fishing the Monocacy RiverKayaking/Canoeing the MonocacyMonocacy Scenic River Citizen's Advisory Board
{{authority control Rivers of Carroll County, Maryland Rivers of Frederick County, Maryland Rivers of Maryland Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Adams County, Pennsylvania

Geography

Pollution

See also

References

External links