Paint Branch is a tributaryU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 15, 2011

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

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...

that flows Southeastwards through Montgomery County and Prince George's 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 ...

. Specifically, its primary

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 ...

is of the Northeast Branch, which flows to the Anacostia River,

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 ...

and the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. The beginning elevation of the stream is 480 feet above sea level and it subsequently drops to 30 feet when its flows meet the Indian Creek in College Park, Maryland. 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 Paint Branch are located near Spencerville (about north 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 ...

) and the stream flows south for to its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Northeast Branch. The watershed area is and includes portions of the communities of Spencerville, Cloverly, Fairland, Colesville,

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

and College Park, Maryland.Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership. Washington, DC
"Paint Branch: Profile."
Accessed 2009-09-16.

Watershed characteristics

Physical

The Paint Branch subwatershed is approximately 13,287 acres (20.7 miles) in size and 18% impervious. The areas along Maryland's route 29, the intersection of Sandy Spring Road, and Columbia Pike in Burtonsville, Maryland have undergone extensive commercial development. Contrasting this, counties that border the watershed's southern-flowing direction (Montgomery and Prince George's), offer the least amount of developed areas.

Biological and ecological

The Paint Branch tributary stream is classified according to the state of Maryland’s Department of the Environment as Use I and Use III waters. Specifically, the lower partition of the Paint Branch stream is the Use I section, and the upper partition of the stream is Use III. A Use I stream has water contact recreations and the protection of nontidal warmwater aquatic life. In so many words, this means that leisure occurs in these areas, while the growth of fish and other wildlife is protected. A Use III water expands on this concept, by categorically facilitating the growth and propagation of the trout species. Thus, in the upper parts of the Paint Branch stream, naturally reproducing brown trout are one of the most significant aquatic species in the community.

Tributaries

*Left Fork *Right Fork *Gum Springs Tributary *Good Hope Tributary *Snowden's Mill Branch *Fairland Farms *Columbia Park Tributary *Hollywood Branch *Martin Luther King Tributary *Tanley Road Tributary *Stewart-April Lane Tributary *West Farm Branch *Little Paint Branch *Indian Creek

Recreation

Paint branch trail montgomery county md 20201024 100410 1

There are two trails along the Paint Branch stream which holistically make up the Paint Branch Trail. One is a 3-mile hard surface trail in Montgomery County that runs from Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park to Fairland Road with a trail extension in progress to take the trail to Old Columbia Pike. The other is part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System in Prince Georges County and goes from Lake Artemesia to Cherry Hill Road.

References

External links

Eyes of Paint Branch
Community watershed organization
Restoring Paint BranchAnacostia RiverkeeperCountywide Stream Protection Strategy: Paint Branch Watershed
Montgomery County Dept. of Environmental Protection
Anacostia Watershed SocietyAnacostia Watershed Restoration PartnershipPaint Branch Trail
Montgomery County Dept. of Parks

Prince George's County Dept. of Parks & Recreation Rivers of Montgomery County, Maryland Rivers of Prince George's County, Maryland Rivers of Maryland Anacostia River {{PrinceGeorgesCountyMD-geo-stub