The Monocacy River is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is approximately 58 statute miles (93.3 km) long, with a drainage area of about 744 mi² (1,927 km²). It is the largest Maryland tributary to the Potomac.
The name Monocacy comes from the Shawnee name for the river, Monnockkesey, which translates to "river with many bends."
The Monocacy Battlefield lies alongside part of the river, marking an 1864 engagement during the American Civil War, the Battle of Monocacy Junction. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal crosses over the river at the Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest of the 11 aqueducts on the canal.
Geography
The river rises in Carroll County, Maryland, west of the unincorporated town of Harney , near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The river is formed by the confluence of Marsh Creek and Rock Creek , which flow out of Adams County, Pennsylvania. Maryland tributaries include Furnace Branch in Montgomery County, Double Pipe Creek in Carroll County, and Stony Creek in Frederick County; other Pennsylvania tributaries include Tom's Creek in Adams County and Franklin County.
About 60% of the Monocacy Watershed is dedicated to agricultural use; about 33% of the watershed is forested. The city of Frederick and its suburbs is the largest urban area within the watershed.
The Monocacy is categorized as a Maryland Wild and Scenic River, but it has one of the greatest nonpoint source pollution problems in the state due in large part to runoff from the 3,500 farms, livestock operations and dairies in the watershed. The river is part of a national water quality demonstration project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designed to help stem pollution due to erosion and runoff from agricultural operations.
Little Monocacy River
The Little Monocacy River, despite its name, does not feed into the Monocacy; the Little Monocacy is located almost entirely in Montgomery County and enters the Potomac just downstream from where the Monocacy enters the Potomac. Its headwaters rise southwest of Comus , and most of its approximately 17 mi² (43.8 km²) watershed is farmland and pasture (60.56%) or forested land (36.03%).
Monocacy Creek
Monocacy Creek in Northampton County, Pennsylvania is also unconnected to the Monocacy River. It is a tributary of the Delaware River via the Lehigh River.
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