Patuxent River

Patuxent River. Riverfront Park Heritage and Nature Trail. The Patuxent River is the longest river that is located entirely in the state of Maryland. It spans 115 miles from the Piedmont area near the intersection of Howard, Montgomery, Frederick, and Carroll counties to the Chesapeake Bay. Traveling through seven counties on its journey to the Chesapeake Bay, the river crosses the highly urbanized Baltimore/Washington corridor collecting runoff from the cities of Laurel, Bowie, and Columbia. The Patuxent widens to a navigable tidal estuary near the colonial seaport of Queen Anne in Prince George's County. The River spans over 2 miles in some areas from Queen Anne to the Chesapeake Bay. , , The Patuxent River was first named "Pawtuxunt" from Captain John Smith's voyage upriver in 1608. Captain Smith got as far as Lyons Creek area, 40 miles from the Chesapeake. By the mid and late 1600's colonists spread upriver to Mt. Calvert and Billingsly Point, two colonial mansions approximately 44 miles from the Chesapeake. By the early 1700's, the Snowden iron ore furnace was shipping "pig iron" downriver from the current vicinity of the 1783 Montpelier Mansion. , , The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission constructed two dams on the main branch in the mid 20th century. Brighton Dam was constructed 96 miles from the Chesapeake in 1943, impounding the waters of Triadelphia Reservoir. The T. Howard Duckett Dam was constructed in 1952 and is located outside of Laurel. This dam creates the Rocky Gorge Reservoir.