Seneca Creek (Potomac River)

Not to be confused with Seneca Creek in West Virginia, a tributary of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River near Seneca Rocks.

Seneca Creek is a 5.8-mile-long (9.3 km)[1] stream in Montgomery County, Maryland, roughly 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Washington, D.C. It drains to the Potomac River.

Contents

Course

The creek begins with two main tributaries:

These tributaries converge near Darnestown. Another major tributary, Dry Seneca Creek, empties into Seneca Creek west of Darnestown. The creek continues south and passes under an aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal before it flows into the Potomac River at Riley's Lock (Lock 24 on the Canal). There is about a 600 feet (180 m) change in elevation from the stream's upper sources to its mouth at the Potomac. Seneca Creek has a watershed area of 121 square miles (310 km2).

Recreation

Depending on conditions, parts of the creek are navigable by light watercraft, such as kayaks or canoes. At Riley’s Lock there is a boat ramp into the creek which provides access to the Potomac River.

An area of about 6,300 acres (25 km2) along 14.75 miles (23.74 km) of the creek has been set aside as Seneca Creek State Park. It has trails including the 16.5 miles (26.6 km) Seneca Creek Greenway Trail, the 10 miles (16 km) Schaeffer Farm Trail, and many shorter and easier trails. Parking and picnic areas are provided at various locations in the park. Long Draught Creek, a small tributary north of Gaithersburg has been dammed to form the 90 acres (0.36 km2) Clopper Lake which is the centerpiece of the park's day use area. This area includes multiple picnic areas, a disc golf course, boat rentals for the lake, and restroom facilities.

During the 1920s and 1930s Seneca was a popular vacation spot for people from lower Montgomery County and Washington who came to Seneca for the cooler temperatures, boating, swimming, and fishing. There was a hotel near the canal and cottages lined the creek until they were washed away or destroyed by the several floods that have affected this area. Unfortunately Seneca has been the site of many drownings and boating accidents over the years. Today the area is a popular local recreation area.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011

External links

Potomac River system
Cities and towns | Bridges | Islands | Tributaries | Variant names
District of Columbia | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Virginia | West Virginia
Streams shown as: Major tributaries • subtributaries • (subsubtributaries) • (subsubsubtributaries)
Tidal Potomac River
Upper Potomac River
Shenandoah River
North Branch Potomac River
South Branch Potomac River
Lakes and reservoirs
Waters of Maryland
Bays/Estuaries
Rivers
Anacostia • Annemessex (Big) • Annemessex (Little) • Back • Bird • Blackwater • Blackwater (Little) • Bohemia • Bush • Casselman • Chester • Chicamacomico • Choptank • Choptank (Little) • Christina River • Corsica • Elk • Front • Gunpowder • Hawlings • Jones Falls • Magothy • Magothy (Little) • Manokin • Middle • Miles • Monocacy • Monocacy (Little) • Nanticoke • North East • Patapsco • Patuxent • Pocomoke • Port Tobacco • Potomac • Rhode • St. Martin • St. Marys • Sassafras • Savage • Severn • South • Susquehanna • Transquaking • Tred Avon • Warwick • West • Wicomico (Potomac) • Wicomico • Wye • Wye East • Youghiogheny
Creeks/Runs/Streams
Antietam • Alloway • Ballenger • Bear (Patapsco) • Bear (Sideling Hill) • Bear (Youghiogheny) • Bennett • Big Pipe • Bodkin • Bread and Cheese • Broad (Choptank) • Broad (Potomac) • Broad (Susquehanna) • Broad Run • Budds • Cabin John • Carroll • Catoctin • Catoctin (Little) • Chicamuxen • Conococheague • Conococheague (Little) • Conowingo • Cuckold • Curtis • Deep Run • Deer • Dividing • Double Pipe • Dry Seneca • Dueling • Dundee • Evitts • Fifteenmile • Fishing • Flintstone • Frog Mortar • Furnace • Georges • Great Seneca • Greys • Gwynns Falls • Harris • Henson • Herring Run • Honga • Indian (Anacostia) • Indian (Patuxent) • Israel • Laurel Run • Licking • Linganore • Little Falls Branch • Little Pipe • Little Seneca • Lyons • Main • Marley • Marsh • Marshyhope • Mattawoman • Meekins • Middle • Minnehaha Branch • Moores Run • Muddy Branch • Nanjemoy • Nassawango • Northeast Branch Anacostia River • Northwest Branch Anacostia River • Octoraro • Owens • Oxon • Paint Branch • Parsons • Piney • Piscataway • Pomonkey • Rock (Potomac) • Rock Run • Rockburn Branch • Romney • St. Leonard • Saltpeter • Sams Creek • Sellman • Seneca (Middle) • Seneca (Potomac) • Sideling Hill • Slaughter • Sligo • Stony • Swanson • Toms • Tonoloway • Town (Patuxent) • Town (Potomac) • Town (Tred Avon) • Trappe • Tuckahoe • Turville • Tuscarora (Monocacy) • Tuscarora (Potomac) • Tuscarora (Little) • Watts Branch • Wills • Winters Run
Lakes
Reservoirs