Rocky Gorge Reservoir is located on the
Patuxent River
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 ...
in
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
,
Montgomery, and
Prince George's counties in
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 ...
, between
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
and
Burtonsville. The
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
was created in 1952 by the construction of the T. Howard Duckett Dam on the Patuxent. The dam is visible from
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
near milemarker 34. Because of its close association with a dam by the name, the reservoir is sometimes called the T. Howard Duckett Reservoir. It has a surface area of . The reservoir is maintained as a
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
source by the
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water) is a bi-county political subdivision of the State of Maryland that provides safe drinking water and wastewater treatment for Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland except ...
(WSSC).
WSSC provides recreational facilities to the public on portions of the Rocky Gorge property, including hiking, picnicking, fishing, boating, horseback riding, and hunting.
Local fish species include
pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
and
largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...
.
Namesake
T. Howard Duckett drafted the law officially establishing the WSSC as a permanent bicounty agency.
[Brigham, Arthur.]
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
. ''The Montgomery County Story''. Montgomery County Historical Society. 21. 3. August 1978. Following lobbying by
E. Brooke Lee
Edward Brooke Lee (October 23, 1892 – September 21, 1984) was a Maryland politician and a veteran of World War I.
Early years
Edward Brooke Lee was born on October 23, 1892, at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. His parents were Franci ...
, the law was passed, effective May 1, 1918.
[ Duckett was named one of the three first official commissioners.][
]
See also
* Triadelphia Reservoir
References
External links
*
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
topo map
Burtonsville, Maryland
Chesapeake Bay watershed
Laurel, Maryland
Reservoirs in Maryland
Lakes of Howard County, Maryland
Lakes of Montgomery County, Maryland
Bodies of water of Prince George's County, Maryland
1952 establishments in Maryland
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