The Jones Falls is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011

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 ...

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 ...

. It is impounded to create Lake Roland before running through the city of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

and finally emptying into the

Baltimore Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...

. The Jones Falls valley has a long history in the city of Baltimore as a transportation corridor. The valley of the Jones Falls carries Falls Road (which is numbered as Maryland Route 25), the tracks for the

Amtrak Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

, the Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) of

Interstate 83 Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mo ...

, and the

Baltimore Light Rail Baltimore Light RailLink (formerly Baltimore Light Rail, and also known simply as the "Light Rail") is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, as well as its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Maryland Transit ...

. The Baltimore Penn Station also rests on an elevated platform in the valley. It also carries tracks for a historic rail line which is currently served by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. The

MTA Maryland The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Baltimore-Washing ...

Route 27 also provides transportation on Falls Road; however, at some point it was moved from following 36th Street south to other city streets. Jones Falls River Watershed Map

The Jones Falls is spanned by many bridges within Baltimore City's borders, and often the Jones Falls Expressway rests directly above the river.

Course

The Jones Falls begins as a small stream in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City ...

near

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

at the intersection of Caves and Garrison Road (39.41771° -76.75750°). It travels southeast for before joining the North Branch Jones Falls stream near Stevenson (39.41225° -76.70937°). North Branch Jones Falls originates near Worthington by the intersection of Park Heights Avenue and Walnut Avenue (39.46135° -76.75057°). The North Branch travels south for before joining Jones Falls stream. The falls then travels east for before

Dipping Pond Run Flag dipping refers to the movement of a flag as a signal. Dipping may also refer to: * Treating sheep with a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide in a sheep dip * Treating livestock with pesticides by walking them through a plunge dip ...

joins at ( 39.41424° -76.68557°). The Jones Falls continues east another before Deep Run intersects near

Brooklandville Brooklandville is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States near the intersection of Jones Falls Expressway and the Baltimore Beltway. The general area is a part of Lutherville, and some addresses in the area are con ...

(39.41467° -76.67060°). The stream then continues south along

(I-83), which is named the Jones Falls Expressway, for until

Slaughterhouse Branch A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are Animal slaughter, slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a Meat packing industry, packaging facility. Slaug ...

and Moores Branch join it next to the I-83 overpass over Maryland Route 25 (MD 25, Falls Road) (39.39587° -76.66442°). Jones Falls near Lake Roland dam

The Jones Falls travels southeast for , passing through Lake Roland Park, until it meets Lake Roland, an impounding of the stream. (39.39069° -76.64639°) In Lake Roland,

Roland Run Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

and

Towson Run Towson Run is a tributary of Jones Falls, a stream in Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States. The stream runs north through Sheppard Pratt and Towson University, near the communities of Rodgers Forge and Armagh Village. Geology The ...

both join. Once it leaves Lake Roland, the Jones Falls becomes a small river. Not long after leaving the lake, the Jones Falls enters

directly underneath an intersection of Interstate 83 and the

's mainline, with both routes beginning to parallel I-83. For the remainder of the Jones Falls' course, I-83 enters the Jones Falls valley, where it constantly crosses over, parallels, and covers the river. Another after entering the city, Western Run joins near

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

(39.36717° -76.64835°). The Jones Falls, I-83, and the Light Rail continue south for before the last major stream, Stony Run, empties into the stream near

Druid Hill Park Druid Hill Park is a urban park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. Its boundaries are marked by Druid Park Drive (north), Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road (west and south), and the Jones Falls Expressway / Interstate 83 (east). Along the way, MD 25 enters the valley, running parallel to the river opposite of the highway and rail lines. MD 25 is also paralleled by the

Jones Falls Trail Jones Falls Trail (typically abbreviated JFT) is a hiking and bicycling trail in Baltimore, Maryland. It mostly runs along the length of the namesake Jones Falls, a major north–south stream in and north of the city that has long acted as a m ...

. About a before it intersects Stony Run, the Jones Falls goes over a waterfall named "Round Falls".
American Whitewater Jones Falls - Lake Roland to Round Falls. About after Stony Run, and after passing by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, the

CSXT CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

-operated Baltimore Belt Line bridges the river, bound for the

Howard Street Tunnel The Baltimore Belt Line was constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in the early 1890s to connect the railroad's newly constructed line to Philadelphia and New York City/Jersey City with the rest of the railroad at Baltimore, Marylan ...

. The Jones Falls then immediately passes underneath North Avenue. Just south of North Avenue, the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

enters the valley upon exiting the

Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel (or B&P Tunnel) is a double-tracked, masonry arch railroad tunnel on the Northeast Corridor in Baltimore, Maryland, just south of Pennsylvania Station. Opened in 1873, the tunnel is used by about 140 Amtrak and M ...

and bridging the Jones Falls, with Howard Street Bridge directly above this intersection. MD 25 ends shortly after (splitting into the one-way couplet of eastbound Lanvale Street and westbound Lafayette Avenue), with the Jones Falls Trail joining city streets, and the Light Rail also leaves the valley to join Howard Street. After the rapid succession of bridges, the Jones Falls almost immediately enters a tunnel, the Jones Falls Conduit, which curves to flow directly underneath I-83 (39.30896° -76.61964°). After passing by Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station, situated directly in the valley, the Northeast Corridor exits the valley, and the Jones Falls Conduit and I-83 curve sharply to the south. The river and highway continue to Fayette Street. Here, I-83 ends; two block south of this point, the Jones Falls exits the conduit and flows several more blocks before it empties into the east side of the

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". Th ...

(39.28657° -76.60457°) near

Mr. Trash Wheel Mr. Trash Wheel, officially called the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, is a trash interceptor, a vessel that removes trash from the Jones Falls river as it empties into the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. It is powered by water wheels and solar c ...

Future

As far back as 1990, city-sponsored planning studies showed support for the idea of partially demolishing I-83 and thus

daylighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is given to daylighting while designing a b ...

the Jones Falls. More recent suggestions include a long-range plan proposed by Marc Szarkowski, while he was working for the Philadelphia firm Dremodeling, and a more immediate and concrete plan commissioned by the city from Baltimore-based Rummel, Klepper & Kahl in 2009. The Szarkowski vision is wide ranging, including infill housing, an expansion of Penn Station, a system of roundabouts, a multi-story sculpture and several new, buried transit lines. Szarkowski has publicly acknowledged the extremely ambitious and long-range nature of the plan. The RK&K study was more limited, assessing only the area from Fayette Street to Chase Street.According to secondary materials from the company: tp://ftp.dot.state.fl.us/LTS/d1/profserv/14108/RSH_FDOT%20D1_US41_CR865_PDE_431332_1_22_01.pdf/ref> The long-range Szarkowski concept includes selected portions of the watershed from as far north as Woodberry, though with significantly less engineering detail included.

References

External links

The Jones Falls Watershed Association

Article from the Johns Hopkins Newsletter
{{authority control Landforms of Baltimore Patapsco River Rivers of Maryland Subterranean rivers of the United States

Course

Future

See also

References

External links