A Report to Congress on the Patuxent River

Published:

January 1, 1998

Originator:

Chesapeake Bay Program

The Patuxent River is one of eight major tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay. It begins near the convergence of Carroll, Howard, Frederick and Montgomery counties, and is bordered byPrince George's, Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary's as it travels 100 miles south and southeast to the Chesapeake Bay. The river moves first through gently rolling uplands with occasional steep, stream-formed vallleys, then for about 80 miles through low, flat to gently rolling land, with wide stream valleys. It falls 800 feet and drains 930 square miles, fully one-tenth of the State's totaal lan area. forty-four square miles, or five percent of the watershed,is in Federal ownership.