Cabin John Creek is a

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 drai ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

of 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 Augu ...

in Montgomery County,

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 t ...

. The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

covers an area of . The

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the creek originate in the city of Rockville, and the creek flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011 to the Potomac River.

History

Early land records in 1715 cite Captain John's Run, now Cabin John Creek. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

"Cabin John" is thought to be a corruption of the name "Captain John", but the origin of the name remains unresolved.

Course

The headwaters of the creek originate in the city of Rockville. The Cabin John Stream Valley Trail follows the course of the creek for , passing through Cabin John Regional Park and Cabin John Local Park. The

Union Arch Bridge The Union Arch Bridge, also called the "Cabin John Bridge", is a historic masonry structure in Cabin John, Maryland. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1864. The roadw ...

carries MacArthur Boulevard and the

Washington Aqueduct The Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs, using water from the Potomac River. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aquedu ...

over the stream about 1/4 mile before the creek flows through a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

under 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, ...

and empties into the Potomac River near Cabin John, Maryland.

Water pollution

The Cabin John Creek watershed is highly developed, and as a result the

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 ...

in the creek main stem and several tributaries is degraded. Montgomery County Government is implementing a long-term plan to improve water quality throughout the area, including stormwater management and

stream restoration Stream restoration or river restoration, also sometimes referred to as river reclamation, is work conducted to improve the environmental health of a river or stream, in support of biodiversity, recreation, flood management and/or landscape developm ...

projects. As of 2021 the county has installed restoration projects on the Booze Creek and Buck Branch tributaries.

Tributaries of Cabin John Creek

Listed from south to north: * Booze Creek * Thomas Branch ''(also called Beltway Branch and Thomas Run)'' * Ken Branch * Buck Branch * Congressional Branch * Snakeden Branch ''(also called Snake Den Branch)'' * Old Farm Creek * Bogley Branch

References

External links