Occoquan River

Occoquan River

The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The river is 24.7 miles (39.8 km) long,^[1] and its watershed covers about 590 square miles (1,528 km²). It is formed by the confluence of Broad Run and Cedar Run in Prince William County; Bull Run enters it east-southeast of Manassas, as the Occoquan turns to the southeast. It reaches the Potomac at Belmont Bay. The Occoquan River is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The name Occoquan is derived from a Doeg Algonquian word translated as "at the end of the water".^[2]

The river is a scenic area, and many local high schools and colleges use the river for the sport of rowing.

Dams

The Occoquan has three dams along its length. The first is at the town of Occoquan, a reservoir belonging to the Fairfax County Water Authority, which serves as a source of drinking water for parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties. The Occoquan Reservoir stretches from Occoquan to Bull Run. Further upriver is Lake Jackson. The dam that creates Lake Jackson is at Virginia State Route 234, Dumfries Road, and is a former hydroelectric facility. Today the dam contains the lake, but has not produced electricity in several decades. There is a third dam up Broad Run from its confluence with Cedar Run; this dam forms Lake Manassas, which is the primary water supply for the city of Manassas.

Parks

Sandy Run Regional Park is at Fairfax Station and consists of the northeastern arm of the Occoquan Reservoir. The park is exclusively for the education, practice, and competition of rowing. The high schools that use this park for rowing are members of the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association (VASRA). The member schools which call this park their home are Robinson Secondary School, W. T. Woodson High School, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, James Madison High School, Fairfax High School, Oakton High School, West Springfield High School, Langley High School, J. E. B. Stuart High School, and South County Secondary School.

Fountainhead Regional Park is also in Fairfax Station, further upriver from Sandy Run Regional Park, past Bull Run. Lake Braddock Secondary School, Westfield High School and Woodbridge High School, also VASRA members, use the park for rowing.

The Occoquan River is bordered by three parks administered by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. The three parks are Bull Run, Hemlock and Foundation Head. In addition to horse riding, trailing cycling, fishing and boating access, the Bull Run to Occoquan trail travels through all three parks from the beginning of the river to its end.

See also

• Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority
• List of rivers of Virginia

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 15, 2011
2. ^ "History of the Occoquan". Friends of the Occoquan. http://www.friendsoftheoccoquan.org/history.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 

External links

• Friends of the Occoquan
• Occoquan River Maritime Association (ORMA)
• Occoquan Watershed Coalition
• Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory (OWML)
• Northern Virginia Regional Commission: Occoquan Basin Nonpoint Pollution Management Program
• The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club - Bull Run/Occoquan Trail
• A Blog about living and boating on the Occoquan River, includes a map of marinas

Sources

• ADC The map People Street Map Book of Prince William County, Virginia, 28th Edition, 2003
• Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory
• Northern Virginia Regional Commission

Potomac River system Cities and towns | Bridges | Islands | Tributaries | Variant names District of Columbia | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Virginia | West Virginia Streams shown as: Major tributaries • subtributaries • (subsubtributaries) • (subsubsubtributaries)

Tidal Potomac River Gulf Branch | Donaldson Run | Maddox Branch | Windy Run | Spout Run | Foundry Branch | Rock Creek | Boundary Channel | Tiber Creek | Rocky Run | Washington Channel | Anacostia River • Pope Branch • Watts Branch • Hickey Run • Northwest Branch • (Sligo Creek) • Northeast Branch • (Paint Branch) | Four Mile Run | Oxon Creek | Hunting Creek • Cameron Run | Broad Creek | Henson Creek | Swan Creek | Piscataway Creek | Little Hunting Creek | Dogue Creek | Accotink Creek • Daniels Run | Pohick Creek | Pomonkey Creek | Occoquan River • Bull Run • Broad Run • Cedar Run | Neabsco Creek | Powells Creek | Mattawoman Creek | Chicamuxen Creek | Quantico Creek | Little Creek | Chopawamsic Creek | Tank Creek | Aquia Creek | Potomac Creek • Accokeek Creek | Nanjemoy Creek | Port Tobacco River | Popes Creek (Maryland) | Gambo Creek | Piccowaxen Creek | Upper Machodoc Creek | Cuckold Creek | Wicomico River | Monroe Creek | Mattox Creek | Popes Creek (Virginia) | St. Marys River | Yeocomico River | Coan River | Hull Creek Upper Potomac River North Branch Potomac River | South Branch Potomac River | Town Creek | Little Cacapon River • North Fork Little Cacapon River • South Fork Little Cacapon River | Fifteenmile Creek | Sideling Hill Creek | Cacapon River • Lost River • Trout Run • Capon Springs Run • Dillons Run • Edwards Run • Mill Branch • North River • (Grassy Lick Run) • (Tearcoat Creek) • (Bearwallow Creek) | Sir Johns Run | Warm Spring Run | Tonoloway Creek • Little Tonoloway Creek | Sleepy Creek • Meadow Branch | Licking Creek | Cherry Run | Back Creek • Hogue Creek • Isaacs Creek • Tilhance Creek | Little Conococheague Creek | Conococheague Creek • Back Creek | Opequon Creek • Abrams Creek • Mill Creek • Middle Creek • Tuscarora Creek (West Virginia) | Antietam Creek | Shenandoah River | Little Catoctin Creek | Catoctin Creek (Virginia) | Catoctin Creek (Maryland) | Tuscarora Creek (Maryland) | Monocacy River • Rock Creek • Marsh Creek • Alloway Creek • Toms Creek • (Middle Creek) • Double Pipe Creek • (Big Pipe Creek) • (Little Pipe Creek) • Owens Creek • Tuscarora Creek • Carroll Creek • Linganore Creek • Israel Creek • Double Pipe Creek • Bush Creek • Ballenger Creek • Bennett Creek | Little Monocacy River | Goose Creek • Little River | Broad Run (Virginia) | Sugarland Run | Broad Run (Maryland) | Seneca Creek • Dry Seneca Creek • Little Seneca Creek • Great Seneca Creek | Difficult Run | Cabin John Creek | Dead Run | Little Falls Branch | Pimmit Run | Rock Run | Watts Branch | Muddy Branch Shenandoah River North Fork Shenandoah River • Cedar Creek • Smith Creek | South Fork Shenandoah River • North River • (Middle River) • South River North Branch Potomac River Stony River | Abram Creek | Savage River | Georges Creek • Laurel Run | New Creek | Limestone Run | Warrior Run | Wills Creek • Brush Creek • Little Wills Creek | Evitts Creek | Patterson Creek • Mill Creek | Dans Run | Green Spring Run South Branch Potomac River North Fork South Branch Potomac River • Mill Creek • Seneca Creek | South Fork South Branch Potomac River • Kettle Creek | Lunice Creek | Mill Run | Mill Creek | Big Run | Buffalo Creek Lakes and reservoirs Lake Accotink | Lake Anne | Lake Artemesia | Lake Bernard Frank | Lake Braddock | Breckenridge Reservoir | Brushy Fork Lake | Burke Lake | Dalecarlia Reservoir | Georgetown Reservoir | Jennings Randolph Lake | Kingman Lake | Little Seneca Lake | McMillan Reservoir | Mount Storm Lake | Lake Needwood | Sleepy Creek Lake | Stony River Reservoir | Tidal Basin | Trout Pond | Warden Lake