Muddy Branch is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

in Montgomery County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States, located about northwest of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Course

The

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of the stream originate in

Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

, and the stream flows southwest for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 15, 2011 through Muddy Branch Park and Blockhouse Point Conservation Park, under the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Patowmack Canal ...

near Pennyfield Lock, to the Potomac River.

Tributaries

*Decoverly Tributary *Dufief Tributary *Lakes Tributary *Pennyfield Lock Tributary *Potomac Grove Tributary *Query Mill Tributary *Quince Orchard Knolls Tributary *Rich Branch *Route 28 Tributary

Recreation

Parts of Muddy Branch flow through Blockhouse Point Conservation Park and the Muddy Branch Stream Valley Park. The Muddy Branch Greenway Trail is a long natural surface trail that follows the stream from the

to Malcolm King Park in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

. There is a boat ramp on Muddy Branch just before it goes under the C & O Canal that can be used by small boats (such as canoes and kayaks) to access the Potomac River. Muddy Branch and C and O Canal.jpg, Muddy Branch, crossing under the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, just before emptying into the Potomac River Muddy branch and trail 20201010 140036 1.jpg, Muddy Branch Stream and the Muddy Branch Greenway Trail MuddyBranchatQOfacingWest.jpg, Muddy Branch near Quince Orchard Road in North Potomac, Maryland Muddy branch morris park gaithersburg md 20201107 094800 1.jpg, Muddy Branch Stream behind Morris Park,

References

External links

Muddy Branch and Watts Branch Subwatersheds Implementation Plan (2012)
- Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection
Muddy Branch Alliance
- Community watershed group Rivers of Montgomery County, Maryland Tributaries of the Potomac River Rivers of Maryland {{Maryland-river-stub

Course

Tributaries

Recreation

See also

References

External links