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Pohick Creek

Stream in Virginia, USA

Pohick Creek
Summary

Stream in Virginia, USA

FieldValue
namePohick Creek
name_otherTributary to Potomac River
map_size250
pushpin_mapUSA Virginia#USA
pushpin_map_size250
pushpin_map_captionLocation of Pohick Creek mouth
subdivision_type1Country
subdivision_name1United States
subdivision_type2State
subdivision_name2Virginia
subdivision_type3County
subdivision_name3Fairfax
length14.32 mi
discharge1_locationPotomac River (Pohick Bay)
discharge1_avg41.20 cuft/s at mouth with Potomac River
source1confluence of Rabbit Branch and Sideburn Branch
source1_locationFairfax, Virginia
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation262 ft
mouthPotomac River (Pohick Bay)
mouth_locationabout 0.5 miles north of Springfield Farms, Virginia
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation0 ft
progressionsoutheast
river_systemPotomac River
basin_size32.21 sqmi
tributaries_leftRabbit Branch
tributaries_rightSideburn Branch
Middle Run
South Run
Rocky Branch
waterbodiesLake Royal
bridgesCommonwealth Boulevard, Guinea Road, Burke Lake Road, Old Keene Mill Road, VA 286, Pohick Road, I-95, Lorton Road, US 1, Old Colchester Road

Middle Run South Run Rocky Branch

One of many crossings of the [[Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail]] over Pohick Creek in [[Newington, Virginia

Pohick Creek is a 14.0 mi tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It takes its name from the Pohick Native American tribe once prevalent in the area.

Pohick Creek forms in the vicinity of Burke and flows southeast past the western edge of Fort Belvoir to empty into the tidal Pohick Bay, which itself empties, along with Accotink Bay, into Gunston Cove, an embayment of the tidal Potomac River. Pohick Creek is a popular stream for whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling, providing Class II and III rapids along a 5.5 mi stretch between Hooes Road (Virginia Secondary Route 636) and the Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) at Lorton.

Several tributaries of the Pohick Creek are impounded by dams constructed under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to prevent soil erosion and flooding. Originally eight dams were planned, but from 1970 to 1985, only six were actually built.

  • Lake Braddock (Pohick #7) was the first dam built in 1970, and impounds the Pohick Creek in Burke.
  • Huntsman Lake (Pohick #8) was built in 1973, and impounds the Middle Run in Springfield.
  • Lake Royal (Pohick #4) was completed in 1977, and impounds the Rabbit Branch in Burke above its confluence with the Sideburn Branch, where it forms Pohick Creek.
  • Lake Barton (Pohick #2) completed in 1978, impounds a tributary of the Sideburn Branch in Burke.
  • Woodglen Lake (Pohick #3), which impounds the Sideburn Branch in Fairfax, was completed in 1981.
  • Lake Mercer (Pohick #1) became in 1985 the final dam completed, impounding the South Run in Springfield.

Variant names

The following variant names have been listed on the Geographic Names Information System by the United States Geological Survey.

  • North West Branch
  • Poehick Creeke
  • Poheick Creek
  • West Branch

Course

Pohick Creek forms at the confluence of Rabbit Branch and Sideburn Branch in Burke, Virginia. Pohick Creek Creek then flows southeast, forming the border between Burke and West Springfield. After crossing the Fairfax County Parkway, it enters Newington and descends into a gorge where the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail follows the creek, crossing it eight times. It then passes into Lorton and crosses Interstate 95, the CSX RF&P Subdivision, and U.S. Route 1. It then meets the Potomac River in Pohick Bay about 0.5 miles north of Springfield Farms.

Watershed

Pohick Creek drains 32.21 sqmi of area, receives about 43.5 in/year of precipitation, has a topographic wetness index of 409.88 and is about 31.0% forested.

Maps

Course of Pohick Creek (Potomac River tributary)
Watershed of Pohick Creek (Potomac River tributary)
Converted Liberty ship ''Sturgis'' with '''MH-1A''' nuclear power reactor, in Gunston Cove, 1967.

References

References

  1. "ArcGIS Web Application". US EPA.
  2. "Watershed Report {{!}} Office of Water {{!}} US EPA".
  3. "GNIS Detail - Pohick Creek". US Geological Survey.
  4. "Pohick Creek Topo Map, Fairfax County VA (Fort Belvoir Area)". Locality, LLC.
  5. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map], accessed August 15, 2011
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.

rivers-of-virginia rivers-of-fairfax-county,-virginia tributaries-of-the-potomac-river
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