The North Branch Potomac River flows from

Fairfax Stone Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park is a West Virginia state park commemorating the Fairfax Stone, a surveyor's marker and boundary stone at the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River. The original stone was placed on Octobe ...

in West Virginia to its confluence with the

South Branch Potomac River The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolu ...

near

Green Spring, West Virginia Green Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) and railroad town in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 218. Green Spring is located north of Springfield on Green Spring Road (West Virginia ...

, where it turns into 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 ...

proper.

Course

From the Fairfax Stone, the North Branch Potomac River flows to the man-made

Jennings Randolph Lake Jennings Randolph Lake is a reservoir of located on the North Branch Potomac River in Garrett County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia. It is approximately eight miles upstream of Bloomington, Maryland, and approximately five miles n ...

, an

impoundment Impoundment may refer to: Water control * The result of a dam, creating a body of water ** A reservoir, formed by a dam ** Coal slurry impoundment, a specialized form of such a reservoir used for coal mining and processing * Impounded dock, an enc ...

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 People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

, and Westernport in Maryland and then on by Keyser, West Virginia to

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Maryland. At Cumberland, the river turns southeast. 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 Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

, Maryland and turns southeast once more on its way toward

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and 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 ...

Water quality

Historically, the North Branch had highly acidic water due to waste from coal mining and paper production in the region. In 1969, one measuring station recorded a pH of 2.3, comparable to

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

. This regularly killed wildlife across a span. It was somewhat mitigated by the construction of the Bloomington Dam, which allowed for flow control based on density. The dam was constructed in 1981; by 1987, the pH had returned to the neutral range in some areas, but dissolved aluminum and manganese concentrations were still at toxic levels, which continued to impede full wildlife recovery. In 1990, Maryland installed lime dosers, devices which dispense alkaline

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

into the river, to further mitigate acidity in problem spots. This was successful, and today fish can survive in the river again.

Tributaries

* Stony River (West Virginia) * Abram Creek (West Virginia) * Savage River (Maryland) *

Georges Creek Georges Creek may refer to: Places Australia *Georges Creek (Armidale Dumaresq), a tributary of the Macleay River in New South Wales In the United States * Maryland: **George's Creek, Maryland, unincorporated community in Allegany County **Georges ...

(Maryland) ** Laurel Run (Maryland) *

New Creek New Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 stream in eastern West Virginia, United States. It is the third major West Virginia tributary to the North ...

(West Virginia) * Limestone Run (West Virginia) * Warrior Run (Maryland) * Wills Creek (Pennsylvania/Maryland) **

Brush Creek A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

(Pennsylvania) **

Little Wills Creek Little Wills Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of Wills Creek in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Gertler, Edward. '' ...

(Pennsylvania) *

Evitts Creek Evitts Creek may refer to: * Evitts Creek, Maryland, an unincorporated community *Evitts Creek (North Branch Potomac River) Evitts Creek is a tributary stream of the North Branch Potomac River in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. T ...

(Maryland and Pennsylvania) *

Patterson Creek Patterson Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the North Branch Potomac River in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, in the United States. ...

(West Virginia) ** Mill Creek (West Virginia) * Dans Run (West Virginia) *

Green Spring Run Green Spring Run is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the North Branch Potomac River in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West ...

(West Virginia)

References

{{reflist Rivers of West Virginia Rivers of Maryland Tributaries of the Potomac River