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 sove ...
of
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 ...
, 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 / ...
near the major port city of
Annapolis, also the capital of Maryland. Most famous for the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The 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 and the Anne Arundel Medical Center.
The Severn River is crossed by two bridges. One, known as the
Severn River Bridge or Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, carries
US 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
/
US 301
U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...
/
MD 2 and was first built in 1886. The other carries
MD 450
Maryland Route 450 (MD 450) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 Alternate (US 1 Alternate) in Bladensburg east to US 50, US 301, and MD 2 near Arnold. MD 450 forms a local complement t ...
, and is now officially named the "
US Naval Academy Bridge" 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
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
.
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 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