| Paint Branch | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Map of theAnacostia River watershed showing Paint Branch | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Montgomery andPrince George's counties,Maryland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• location | Northeast Branch Anacostia River |
| Length | 17.0 miles (27.4 km) |
| Basin size | 20.8 square miles (54 km2) |
Paint Branch is a 17.0-mile-long (27.4 km) tributary[1]stream of theAnacostia River that flows Southeastwards throughMontgomery County andPrince George's County,Maryland. Specifically, its primarytributary is of theNortheast Branch, which flows to the Anacostia River,Potomac River and theChesapeake Bay. The beginning elevation of the stream is 480 feet above sea level and it subsequently drops to 30 feet when its flows meet the Indian Creek inCollege Park, Maryland.[2]
Theheadwaters of Paint Branch are located nearSpencerville (about 11.5 miles (18.5 km) north ofWashington, D.C.) and the stream flows south for 14 miles (23 km) to itsconfluence with the Northeast Branch. Thewatershed area is 20.8 square miles (54 km2) and includes portions of the communities of Spencerville,Cloverly,Fairland,Colesville,White Oak and College Park, Maryland.[3]
The Paint Branch subwatershed is approximately 13,287 acres (20.7 miles) in size and 18%impervious.[4] The areas along Maryland's route 29, the intersection of Sandy Spring Road, and Columbia Pike in Burtonsville, Maryland have undergone extensive commercial development.[4] Contrasting this, counties that border the watershed's southern-flowing direction (Montgomery and Prince George's), offer the least amount of developed areas.
The Paint Branch tributary stream is classified according to the state of Maryland’s Department of the Environment as Use I and Use III waters.[4] Specifically, the lower partition of the Paint Branch stream is the Use I section, and the upper partition of the stream is Use III. A Use I stream has water contact recreations and the protection of nontidal warmwater aquatic life.[5] In so many words, this means that leisure occurs in these areas, while the growth of fish and other wildlife is protected. A Use III water expands on this concept, by categorically facilitating the growth and propagation of the trout species.[5] Thus, in the upper parts of the Paint Branch stream, naturally reproducing brown trout are one of the most significant aquatic species in the community.
There are two trails along the Paint Branch stream which holistically make up the Paint Branch Trail. One is a 3-mile hard surface trail in Montgomery County that runs from Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park to Fairland Road[6] with a trail extension in progress to take the trail to Old Columbia Pike.[7] The other is part of theAnacostia Tributary Trail System in Prince Georges County and goes from Lake Artemesia to Cherry Hill Road.[8]
38°58′43″N76°55′00″W / 38.978722°N 76.916641°W /38.978722; -76.916641
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