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27-615: On leaving Wyalusing, the path went south a short distance, then forded the Susquehanna River near the Moravian village of Friedenshütten. It followed Sugar Run Creek upstream, climbed Bartlett Mountain , and crossed into what is now Sullivan County near the modern-day village of Colley in Colley Township . The Wyalusing Path climbed Dutch Mountain (coming near or crossing into Wyoming County ), then passed between

54-523: A fairly steep gradient, with rapid changes in elevation. The man-made Lake Needwood is located on the creek, north of Rockville. The conditions of Rock Creek are monitored by the United States Geological Survey . In Maryland, most of the northern Rock Creek watershed has good to excellent water quality , according to studies conducted by the county government. In 2004, to preserve water quality in partially developed areas,

81-878: A large arch bridge visible from the trail. It then flows into Lake Needwood at Rock Creek Regional Park in Maryland's Derwood – Rockville area. South of the Lake Needwood Dam, Rock Creek flows in a deep gorge and is paralleled by the main Rock Creek Trail, and is joined by the North Branch Rock Creek. It exits the gorge near the Twinbrook neighborhood of Rockville and the Parklawn Memorial Cemetery . At North Kensington , Beach Drive begins to parallel

108-655: A river can be crossed". Although today brod in the Serbo-Croatian means 'ship', Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well as Makedonski Brod in North Macedonia and other place names containing Brod in Slavic countries, where brod is still the word for 'ford', are named after fords. In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack

135-485: Is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing. The word ford is both a noun (describing the water crossing itself) and a verb (describing the act of crossing a ford). A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a bridge , and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford

162-658: Is affected by tides . The creek rises from a culvert under Dorsey Road at the north edge of Laytonsville Golf Course in Montgomery County , Maryland . A dam forms a small lake near its source. After exiting the golf course, Rock Creek flows between residential developments until it meets Agricultural History Farm Park, where the Upper Rock Creek Trail starts. It flows underneath the Intercounty Connector , which crosses it on

189-445: Is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied by stepping stones for pedestrians. The United Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most of them do not have any way of stopping vehicles from crossing when

216-757: The Dutch voorde (as in Vilvoorde , Coevorden , Zandvoort , or Amersfoort ) are cognates with the same meaning, all deriving from Proto-Indo-European *pértus 'crossing'. This is the source of Brythonic and Gaulish ritus (modern Welsh rhyd ; the Welsh name of Oxford is Rhydychen "ford of oxen"), which underlies such names as Chambord (from Gaulish *Camboritum "ford at the bend") and Niort ( Novioritum "new ford"). Towns such as Maastricht , Dordrecht , and Utrecht also formed at fords. The endings tricht , drecht , and trecht are derived from

243-587: The Latin word traiectum , meaning "crossing". Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort of Traiectum , is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing". The Afrikaans form was taken into South African English as drift and led to place names like Rorke's Drift and Velddrift . Similarly, in Slavic languages , the word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where

270-508: The National Park Service finished a project to remove or bypass eight fish barriers in the creek by adding a fish ladder to bypass the 1905 Peirce Mill Dam, modifying historic fords , and removing abandoned sewage lines and fords. The effort was designed to restore American shad , river herring , and other migratory fish to the creek and their historic upriver spawning grounds. An estimated two million fish migrate up

297-654: The River Amman ); Stafford , the county town of Staffordshire ('ford by a staithe ', or 'ford by the landing place'), Staffort crossing the river Pfinz ; and Stratford (a ford on a Roman street ). Similarly, the German word Furt (as in Frankfurt , the ford of the Franks ; Ochsenfurt , synonymous to Oxford; Schweinfurt , a ford where swine crossed the river; and Klagenfurt , literally "ford of complaints") and

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324-910: The United Kingdom . Examples are at Brockenhurst in Hampshire , Wookey in Somerset , and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire . Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions. Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations. Australia has the Gulf Savannah , and others may be found in Canada , Italy , South Africa , and Finland . They are also found on some Tennessee backroads, where they are referred to as "underwater bridges". In Israel and part of

351-582: The watershed comprises the second-largest watershed in Montgomery County, about 60 sq mi (160 km ). About 21 percent of the creek's watershed is in Washington. Total land usage in the watershed is 896 acres (3.63 km ) of wetlands or water, 22,272 acres (90.13 km ) of residential and commercial areas, 15,488 acres (62.68 km ) of forest or grasslands, and 10,304 acres (41.70 km ) of agricultural areas. The creek has

378-677: The British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge" in reference to the Anglo–Irish war . The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford'. Examples include Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Coat of arms of Oxford ); Hertford , the county town of Hertfordshire (the ford where harts cross or "deer crossing"); Brantford , (the ford where Joseph Brant Forded The Grand River ); Ammanford (a ford on

405-569: The combined sewer with separate storm sewers, and so eliminate CSO-related problems in the creek. As of 2021, the bacteria levels in the creek remained dangerously high due to the leaking sewer pipes, even during dry weather, and the public has been warned not to wade into the creek. Fish species observed in Rock Creek and its tributaries include eastern blacknose dace , bluntnose minnow , yellow bullhead , satinfin shiner , swallowtail shiner , longnose dace , and American eel . In 2006,

432-632: The county imposed restrictions on development (i.e., designation of "Special Protection Areas") in parts of this sub-watershed. The southern portion of the Maryland watershed is highly urbanized . Most of this portion of the creek and its tributaries have poor water quality. As of 2018, the county has completed several stream restoration projects throughout the watershed, and has additional projects planned or under construction. The D.C. segment of Rock Creek also has poor water quality. In addition to typical urban stormwater pollution problems such as runoff from streets and other impervious surfaces ,

459-577: The creek has high bacteria levels due to leaking sewer pipes and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The D.C. government, which has a stormwater discharge permit from the United States Environmental Protection Agency , is improving its stormwater management to raise water quality in Rock Creek. In 2009, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority began a planned two-year effort to replace portions of

486-705: The creek's mouth is the canal's eastern terminus. Just below this confluence, the Canal Company in 1831 completed a mole , causeway, and waste weir . This area, which the company dubbed "Rock Creek Basin", silted up and was dredged several times for the Canal's use. The creek (and the canal) empty into the Potomac River at the Tidewater Lock near the Watergate complex . The Maryland portion of

513-603: The creek. The creek eventually crosses the Capital Beltway and later reaches the Washington, D.C. , border. The creek flows for about 9 miles (14 km) through Rock Creek Park in Washington, where it is fed by several small creeks ( Piney Branch , Pinehurst Branch, Broad Branch, Soapstone Branch, and Luzon Branch) and numerous storm sewers . The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal joins Rock Creek in Georgetown ;

540-686: The enemy at any crossing point. Therefore, a ford was often a strategic military point with many famous battles fought at or near fords: Rock Creek (Potomac River) Rock Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River , in the United States, that empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay . The 32.6-mile (52.5 km) creek drains about 76.5 square miles (198 km ). Its final quarter-mile (400 m)

567-535: The headwaters of Loyalsock Creek and Mehoopany Creek in Sullivan County. The exact course of the path is less clear here, but it encountered Muncy Creek near its source in Sullivan County and followed it to it mouth at Canaserage (Muncy). Much of what we know about the Wyalusing Path comes from travelers' accounts of it. In May 1772, Samuel Harris had to ford Muncy Creek twenty times following

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594-587: The path. In June 1772, Moravian Bishop John Ettwein led a group of some 200 Lenape and Mohican Christians from their village of Friedenshütten ( Cabins of Peace ) west along the Wyalusing Path to Muncy, fording Muncy Creek thirty six times along the way. At Muncy they took the Great Shamokin Path and others to their new village of Friedensstadt ( City of Peace ) on the Beaver River in southwestern Pennsylvania. The trail crosses some of

621-407: The roughest terrain in northeast Pennsylvania , but provided a major transit route for Native American populations. Ford (crossing) A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water crossing

648-432: The water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged concrete floor. In such cases, a curb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery. Fords may be also equipped with a post indicating the water depth, so that users may know if

675-484: The water is too deep to attempt to cross. Some have an adjacent footbridge so that pedestrians may cross dryshod. Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse at Rock Creek in Washington, DC, but the regular use of this ford has been superseded by bridges. The crossing remained for "adventurous" drivers until 1996 when the National Park Service closed the ford to cars. A road running below

702-459: The water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and is sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature in rallying courses. Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites. There are many old fords known as watersplashes in

729-531: The water makes them impassable. According to The AA , many flood-related vehicle breakdowns are at fords. In New Zealand , fords are a normal part of roads, including, until 2010, along State Highway 1 on the South Island 's east coast. In dry weather, drivers become aware of a ford by crunching across outwash detritus on the roadway. A Bailey bridge may be built off the mainline of the road to carry emergency traffic during high water. At places where

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