Choptank River

Choptank River
The river in Denton, MD.
Map of the rivers of the Eastern Shore of Maryland with the Choptank and its watershed highlighted
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland, Delaware
CountyDorchester (MD), Caroline (MD), Kent (DE)
CitiesCambridge, Denton, Harmony
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of Tidy Island Creek and Culbreth Marsh Ditch
 • locationChoptank Mills, Delaware
 • coordinates39°04′3.41″N 075°44′10.75″W / 39.0676139°N 75.7363194°W / 39.0676139; -75.7363194[1]
 • elevation28 ft (8.5 m)[1]
MouthChesapeake Bay
 • location
about 1 mile south of Tilghman Island, Maryland
 • coordinates
38°38′4.46″N 075°19′35.81″W / 38.6345722°N 75.3266139°W / 38.6345722; -75.3266139[1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length65.38 mi (105.22 km)[2]
Basin size710.74 square miles (1,840.8 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationChesapeake Bay
 • average809.67 cu ft/s (22.927 m3/s) at mouth with Chesapeake Bay[3]
Basin features
ProgressionChesapeake BayAtlantic Ocean[2]
River systemChoptank River
Tributaries 
 • leftCulbreth Marsh Ditch, Cow Marsh Creek, Sandman Branch, Gravelly Branch, Little Gravelly Branch, Tubmill Branch, Spring Branch, Chapel Branch, Watts Creek, Mill Creek, Robins Creek, Fowling Creek, Dawson Branch, Berry Run, Bell Creek, Hog Creek, Crowberry Creek, Mitchell Run, Little Creek, Skeleton Creek, Marsh Creek, Fox Creek, Hunting Creek, Blinkhorn Creek, Cabin Creek, Warwick River, Wrights Creek, White Hall Creek, Jenkins Creek, Phillips Creek
 • rightTidy Island Creek, Broadway Creek, Forge Branch,Tuckahoe Creek, Turkey Creek, Kings Creek, Williams Creek, Barker Creek, Miles Creek, Raccoon Creek, Bolingbroke Creek, Muddy Creek, Porpoise Creek, Holmes Creek, Crosiadore Creek, La Trappe Creek, Island Creek, Tred Avon River, Broad Creek, Harris Creek
WaterbodiesMud Millpond
BridgesStill Road, Sandtown Road, MD 313, MD 314, MD 404, Meeting House Road, MD 331, US 50

The Choptank River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and the largest river on the Delmarva Peninsula.[4] Running for 71 miles (114 km),[5] it rises in Kent County, Delaware, runs through Caroline County, Maryland, and forms much of the border between Talbot County, Maryland, on the north, and Caroline County and Dorchester County on the east and south. It is located north of the Nanticoke River, and its mouth is located south of Eastern Bay. Cambridge, the county seat of Dorchester County, and Denton, the county seat of Caroline County, are located on its south shore.

Its watershed area in Maryland is 1,004 square miles (2,600 km2), of which 224 square miles (580 km2) is open water, so it is 22% water. The predominant land use is agricultural with 418 square miles (1,080 km2), or 48% of the land area. The river is named after the native Choptank people.

  1. ^ a b c "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. US Geological Survey. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Choptank River Watershed Report". watersgeo.epa.gov. US EPA. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  4. ^ P185 Cruising the Chesapeake; A Gunkholer's Gide (Third Edition), William H Shellenberger, McGraw Hill, 2001
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2016-06-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 1, 2011

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