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Northwest Branch Anacostia River

Anacostia River tributary in Maryland, U.S.

Field	Value
name	Northwest Branch Anacostia River
map	Anacostiamap.png
map_size	250
map_caption	Map of the Anacostia River watershed showing the Northwest Branch
pushpin_map_size	250
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	United States
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Maryland
subdivision_type5	Cities
subdivision_name5	Wheaton, Silver Spring, Hyattsville
length	21.5 mi
source1_location	Sandy Spring, Maryland
mouth	Anacostia River
mouth_location	Bladensburg, MD
mouth_coordinates
basin_size	53.5 sqmi
tributaries_left	Old Orchard, Bryants Nursery, Norwood, Rolling Stone
tributaries_right	Bachelors Forest, Longmeade, Bel Pre Creek, Wheaton Park, Lamberton Dr, Sligo Creek

Northwest Branch Anacostia River is a 21.5 mi free-flowing stream in Montgomery County and Prince George's County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the Anacostia River, which flows to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

Course

The headwaters of the Northwest Branch are located near the community of Sandy Spring. The stream flows southward for 21.5 mi to its confluence with the Northeast Branch near Bladensburg to form the main stem of the Anacostia.

Watershed

The watershed in Montgomery County includes portions of the communities of Norwood, Bel Pre Manor, Colesville, Layhill, Glenmont, Wheaton, Hillandale, White Oak, Silver Spring, Kemp Mill, Four Corners, Woodmoor and Takoma Park. The Prince George's County portion of the watershed includes Adelphi, Langley Park, University Park, Chillum, Hyattsville, Avondale and Brentwood. The total watershed area, including a small portion of land in Washington, D.C., is 53.5 sqmi, with a resident population of about 254,000.

The middle section of the Northwest Branch is referred to as the Rachel Carson Environmental Area. It flows through a small gorge underneath the Capital Beltway between Colesville Road and Adelphi Mill. Located at the north end of the Northwest Branch Trail, near the home of noted environmental author Rachel Carson, it is deliberately left rustic and unimproved.

The majority of the Northwest Branch stream valley is a riparian buffer, protected as parkland by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). The Rachel Carson Greenway planned by M-NCPPC will extend the Northwest Branch Trail into northern Montgomery County as an unimproved hiking trail, connecting to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System in Prince George's County.

Geology

Northwest Branch crosses the geological fall line between the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain regions, which forms a small waterfall on the stream 0.5 mile south of the Burnt Mills Dam parks. This area was a favorite spot of Theodore Roosevelt.

Ecology

Several species of native anadromous fish spawn in the Northwest Branch watershed, including alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis).

Tributaries

The total stream channel length of Northwest Branch and all tributaries is 75 mi.

Bachelors Forest Tributary
Bel Pre Creek
Bryants Nursery Tributary
Lamberton Drive Tributary
Lockridge Drive Tributary
Longmeade Tributary
Norwood Tributary
Old Orchard Tributary
Rolling Stone Tributary
Sandy Spring Tributary
Sligo Creek
Wheaton Park Tributary

Crossings

Main article: List of crossings of the Anacostia River#Northwest Branch

References

Bibliography

References

"The National Map". U.S. Geological Survey.
{{coords. 39. 08. 46.9. N. 77. 02. 08.3. W
"Mission Statement".
(2016-01-06). "Northwest Branch: Profile".
"Sligo Creek: Profile".
"Rachel Carson Greenway & Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park Trails".
"Northwest Branch".
Meyer, Eugene. (2009-11-21). "When Presidents Came to Visit".
"Overhaul planned for two Anacostia River streams". Bay Journal.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

anacostia-river rivers-of-montgomery-county,-maryland rivers-of-prince-george's-county,-maryland rivers-of-maryland

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