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The Severn River is a tidal estuary U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011
long, located in
Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of Maryland, south of the
Magothy River The Magothy River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 through Anne Arundel County in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is located south of the Patapsco River ...
and north of the South River.


Geography

The Severn has a watershed area (including the water surface) of , or of land. Thus, its total watershed area is 15% water. Its source is the beginning of the non-tidal nine-mile long Severn Run in northwestern Anne Arundel County in Severn, Maryland. The river enters the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
near the major port city of
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, also the capital of Maryland. Most famous for the United States Naval Academy campus situated at the mouth of the river, the Severn provides an access point to the Chesapeake Bay not just for midshipmen but also for fishermen and pleasure boaters. Several tributary creeks drain highly developed areas, including Weems Creek and its nontidal portion Cowhide Branch, which drain most of the
Annapolis Mall Westfield Annapolis is a shopping mall, owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and is located near the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 97 in Parole, near Annapolis, Maryland. As of 2022, the mall features the traditional tenants Macy's and J ...
and the Anne Arundel Medical Center. The Severn River is crossed by two bridges. One, known as the
Severn River Bridge The Severn River Bridge, officially known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, is a bridge that crosses the Severn River northwest of the city limits of Annapolis, Maryland. The bridge serves as part of the John Hanson Highway, which is si ...
or Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, carries US 50/ US 301/ MD 2 and was first built in 1886. The other carries MD 450, and is now officially named the "
US Naval Academy Bridge The U.S. Naval Academy Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland. It is located downriver from the Severn River Bridge and adjacent to the United States Naval Academy. Its predecessor, a bascule bridge, once served ...
" because its south end traverses the academy. The latter bridge was built as a drawbridge in the late 1920s and replaced with the current high span in 1994. A former railroad trestle between the two current bridges, built in about 1887 for the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad (which became part of the
Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A) was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad an ...
), was removed post-1968 when it was declared unsafe. On the northshore from Annapolis is the communities of St. Margaret's adjacent to the colonial plantation of Whitehall.


Tributaries

If a tributary has sub-tributaries (commonly the upper, nontidal portion) below, they are listed after the "&". ;North Shore (Upriver to downriver) *Pointfield Branch *Bear Branch *Cold Spring Branch (Cool Spring Branch) *Chartwell Branch *Stevens Creek & Lake Liberty *Rock Cove *Forked Creek & Sacketts Pond *Yantz Creek (Yantz Cove) & Cedar Creek *Sullivan Cove *Ringgold Cove *Asquith Creek (Aisquith Creek) *Rays Pond *Chase Creek (Timberneck Creek) *Cool Spring Cove (or Creek) *Winchester Pond (Crouchs Pond) *Manresa Pond (Browns Cove or Pond) *Woolchurch Cove & Pond *Carr Creek ;South Shore (Upriver to downriver) *Sewell Spring Branch *Indian Creek & Indian Creek Branch *Cypress Branch *Arden Pond *Plum Creek & Gumbottom Branch *Valentine Creek *Old Place Creek (Fox Creek) *Browns Cove (on Little Round Bay) *Maynadier Creek & Deep Ditch Branch *Hopkins Creek & Davids Run *Brewer Pond & Arthurs Run *Brewer Creek & Howards Branch *Clements Creek & Hockley Branch *Saltworks Creek & Cabin Branch *Martins Pond (Whitehurst Lake) *Luce Creek & Howard Creek *Cove of Cork * Weems Creek & Cowhide Branch *Shady Lake *College Creek (Dorsey Creek) & Peters Cove *Spa Creek (Spaw Creek, Carrols Creek) & Acton Cove, Hawkins Cove *Back Creek *Lake Ogleton


Providence

Providence, the first colonial settlement in Anne Arundel County, was founded in the fall and winter of 1649–1650 at the beginning of a mass migration of a group of Puritans and non-conformists from Lower Norfolk County in Virginia to primarily the north side of the mouth of the Severn. It faded away after the 1680s when
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
came into favor and, in 1694, became Maryland's capital. This "lost town" of Providence was originally thought to be limited to the Carr Creek and Greenbury Point area across the river from Annapolis on what are now the grounds of Naval Station Annapolis (renamed North Severn Complex.) More recent archaeological research has uncovered homes of this scattered settlement further to the north and northeast as well, on the southern half of the Broadneck Peninsula, especially near Whitehall Creek.


References


NOAA Chart of Severn RiverSevern River history
from Anne Arundel County web site *A. T. Davison and C. B. Rucker. ''Gems of the Severn'' (Severn River Commission, Annapolis, MD, 1988) Available from Scenic Rivers Land Trust, http://www.srlt.org


Further reading


Maryland DNR's Surf Your Watershed
Severn River
Severn River AssociationSevern RiverkeeperSevern River CommissionCollege Creek watershed assessment from 2007


Severn River area publications and forums


Annapolis Forum
Electronic Discussion for Annapolis MD Area Folk

Environment section for Severn River and Chesapeake Bay {{authority control Tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay Rivers of Maryland Annapolis, Maryland Rivers of Anne Arundel County, Maryland