Monocacy River
| Monocacy River (Monnockkesey) | |
 The Monocacy River near Frederick in 2007
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Maryland |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Piney Creek, Double Pipe Creek, Israel Creek, Linganore Creek, Furnace Branch |
| - right | Toms Creek, Tuscarora Creek, Carroll Creek, Ballenger Creek |
| City | Frederick |
| Source | |
| - location | Harney, Carroll County, Maryland, United States |
| - elevation | 400 ft (122 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°43′11″N 77°13′03″W / 39.71972°N 77.21750°W |
| Mouth | Potomac River |
| - location | Dickerson, Maryland, United States |
| - elevation | 200 ft (61 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°13′22″N 77°27′15″W / 39.22278°N 77.45417°WCoordinates: 39°13′22″N 77°27′15″W / 39.22278°N 77.45417°W |
| Length | 58 mi (93 km) |
| Basin | 744 sq mi (1,927 km2) |
| Discharge | for Frederick |
| - average | 1,550 cu ft/s (44 m3/s) |
| - max | 3,060 cu ft/s (87 m3/s) |
| - min | 573 cu ft/s (16 m3/s) |
| Discharge elsewhere (average) | |
| - Bridgeport, Frederick County, Maryland |
400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) |
 The Monocacy River watershed
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The Monocacy River is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is 58.5 miles (94.1 km) long, with a drainage area of about 744 square miles (1,930 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." (However, another local tradition asserts that "Monocacy" means "well-fenced garden" in an Indian language.) The first town ever settled in Western Maryland, Monocacy, also gets its name from this river.
The Monocacy National 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.
The river rises in Carroll County, Maryland, west of the unincorporated town of Harney, at 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, Tuscarora Creek, Carroll Creek, Linganore Creek and Ballenger Creek in Frederick County and Double Pipe Creek in Carroll County; other Pennsylvania tributaries include Alloway Creek and Toms Creek in Adams County.
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Wikipedia