Cross County Trail 7th Pohick Creek crossing 2021b

Pohick Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 15, 2011

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 Fairfax County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. It takes its name from the Pohick Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

once prevalent in the area. Pohick Creek forms in the vicinity of

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

and flows southeast past the western edge of

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir ( ) is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir (plantation), Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Lord ...

to empty into the tidal Pohick Bay, which itself empties, along with Accotink Bay, into Gunston Cove, an embayment of the tidal Potomac River. Pohick Creek is a popular stream for

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an outdoor adventure sport where paddlers navigate a river in a specially designed kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles: river running, creeking, slalom, playboating, and squirt boating. Each style offers ...

, rafting, and paddling, providing Class II and III rapids along a stretch between Hooes Road (Virginia Secondary Route 636) and the Richmond Highway ( U.S. Route 1) at Lorton. Several tributaries of the Pohick Creek are impounded by dams constructed under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to prevent

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...

and flooding. Originally eight dams were planned, but from 1970 to 1985, only six were actually built. * Lake Braddock (Pohick #7) was the first dam built in 1970, and impounds the Pohick Creek in Burke. * Huntsman Lake (Pohick #8) was built in 1973, and impounds the Middle Run in Springfield. * Lake Royal (Pohick #4) was completed in 1977, and impounds the Rabbit Branch in Burke above its confluence with the Sideburn Branch, where it forms Pohick Creek. * Lake Barton (Pohick #2) completed in 1978, impounds a tributary of the Sideburn Branch in Burke. * Woodglen Lake (Pohick #3), which impounds the Sideburn Branch in Fairfax, was completed in 1981. * Lake Mercer (Pohick #1) became in 1985 the final dam completed, impounding the South Run in Springfield.

Variant names

The following variant names have been listed on the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

. *North West Branch *Poehick Creeke *Poheick Creek *West Branch

Course

Pohick Creek forms at the confluence of Rabbit Branch and Sideburn Branch in Burke, Virginia. Pohick Creek Creek then flows southeast, forming the border between Burke and West Springfield. After crossing the Fairfax County Parkway, it enters Newington and descends into a gorge where the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail follows the creek, crossing it eight times. It then passes into Lorton and crosses

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

, the

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RF&P Subdivision, and U.S. Route 1. It then meets the Potomac River in Pohick Bay about 0.5 miles north of Springfield Farms.

Watershed

Pohick Creek drains of area, receives about 43.5 in/year of precipitation, has a topographic wetness index of 409.88 and is about 31.0% forested.

Maps

References

{{authority control Rivers of Virginia Rivers of Fairfax County, Virginia Tributaries of the Potomac River

Variant names

Course

Watershed

See also

Maps

References