Rivers in Maryland

Have you ever wondered how many rivers there are in Maryland? That question, however, is one that has no absolute answer, because there is no quantitative definition of "river." In general, rivers are bigger than creeks, and creeks are bigger than brooks. But how big does a creek have to be before we call it a river? There is no widely or generally accepted answer to this question. In fact, some so-called "creeks" may be bigger than some named "rivers."

In an effort to provide an answer to the question of how many rivers there are in Maryland, it was arbitrarily decided to simply count those bodies of water having "river" as part of their names. The names listed below were taken from the Official State Highway Map of Maryland. Rivers with branches (e.g., North, Middle and South Branches of the Patapsco River) are included only once in this listing. The numbers 1-42 refer to the numbered locations (approximate) on the map below.

Rivers in Maryland (links lead to more information beyond MGS)
1	Youghiogheny	12	South	23	Bohemia	34	Transquaking
2	Casselman	13	Severn	24	Sassafras	35	Chicamacomico
3	Savage	14	Magothy	25	Chester	36	Honga
4	Potomac	15	Patapsco	26	Corsica	37	Nanticoke
5	Monocacy	16	Back	27	Wye	38	Wicomico
6	Anacostia	17	Middle	28	Wye East	39	Manokin
7	Port Tobacco	18	Gunpowder	29	Miles	40	Big Annemessex
8	Wicomico	19	Bush	30	Tred Avon	41	Pocomoke
9	St. Mary's	20	Susquehanna	31	Choptank	42	Saint Martin
10	Patuxent	21	North East	32	Little Choptank
11	West	22	Elk	33	Blackwater

Compiled by the Maryland Geological Survey, 2300 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
This electronic version of "Fact Sheet No.3 " was prepared by R.D. Conkwright, Division of Coastal and Estuarine Geology, Maryland Geological Survey. Please send comments on this page to Dale Shelton (dale.shelton@maryland.gov)