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Smith Creek (Virginia)

Field	Value
name	Smith Creek
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	United States
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Virginia
subdivision_type3	Region
subdivision_name3	Shenandoah Valley
subdivision_type5	Municipality
subdivision_name5	Rockingham County, Shenandoah County

Smith Creek (also known as Smith's Creek) is a 35.5 mi tributary stream of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Its watershed comprises 106 sqmi within Shenandoah and Rockingham counties on the western slope of the Massanutten Mountain ridge. Its headwaters lie in Rockingham County just north of Harrisonburg, and its confluence with the North Fork of the Shenandoah River is located just south of Mount Jackson.

Smith Creek's major tributaries include:

Mountain Run, which runs from the west slope of the Massanutten Mountain
- Fridley Run, a tributary of Mountain Run
Dry Fork, which rises just east of Harrisonburg, joining Smith Creek just before Lacey Spring
Lacey Spring Branch, a short branch which runs from the limestone springs at Lacey Spring
War Branch, which rises at the base of the Massanutten Mountain southwest of the community of Athlone and continues past the community of Arkton before joining Smith Creek near Moores Mill Road
Gap Branch, which rises at the base of the Massanutten near New Market Gap and joins Smith Creak just prior to the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.

Smith Creek restoration project

Smith Creek has been the beneficiary of a large-scale stream restoration project to revitalize the stream to a point where the native trout species can again thrive. Prior to the Civil War, trout up to 5 and 6 pounds were common in the stream, but as forested land was converted to pasture land for livestock the stream became unsuitable for fish. Restoration techniques include restricting livestock's access to the stream, which will reduce sediment and contamination from fecal bacteria, and planting grasses and trees along the banks, which will reduce erosion and sediment and reduce the stream's temperature by shading the water from the summer sun. By 2006, populations have already been reestablished in Mountain Run, and they have begun migrating downstream.

In 2010, the Smith Creek watershed was named Virginia’s Chesapeake Showcase Watershed in recognition of the community's outstanding efforts to rejuvenate the creek's aquatic ecosystem. Fishermen continue to flock to the creek for its excellent fly fishing. By 2011, Smith Creek was home to brown trout over 24 in and 7 lb, and rainbow trout over 5 lb are not uncommon.

References

{{gnis. 1487343. Smith Creek
U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map], accessed August 15, 2011
[http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/tmdl/VA_TMDLs/SmithCr/Smith%20Creek%20DR.pdf EPA Smith Creek Decision Rationale]{{dead link. (July 2025)
[https://archive.today/20110523093509/http://www.dnronline.com/saturdaymagazine_details.php?AID=7158&CHID=37 Austin, Luanne. ''Daily News Record'' (of Harrisonburg, VA) 11 Apr 2006]
[http://www2.newsvirginian.com/sports/wnv-sports/2010/jun/25/sadler_smith_creek_watershed_honored-ar-297477/ Sadler, Tom. "Smith Creek watershed honored." ''The News Virginian.'' 25 Jun 2010.]
[http://www.mossycreekflyfishing.com/streams/private-water/susie-q-farm.aspx "Fly Fishing in the Shenandoah Valley's Smith Creek."]

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-rockingham-county,-virginia rivers-of-shenandoah-county,-virginia tributaries-of-the-shenandoah-river

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