Location and Site Description

Our Stream's Location

Map from Montgomery County Environmental Protection Agency. Link to Montgomery Countywide Stream Protection Strategy Web Site and Upper Rock Creek Watershed information.

The creek is located directly behind the playing fields at Forest Oak Middle School to the east of MidCounty Highway in Gaithersburg, MD. The school site on MidCounty Highway lies between Route 124 and Shady Grove Road. The creek is in a suburban community.

The source of our stream was difficult to determine. Our research suggests two possibilities for the source of our stream:
  1. a spring in the Washington Grove Area or
  2. from Lake Whetstone in Montgomery Village.
This area is still undergoing development and there are plans to add roads in this area. (A bypass for 124 around the Washington Grove area.) This stream flows into Mill Creek which in turn is part of the Rock Creek watershed. The Rock Creek has its mouth at the Potomac River. The Potomac is one of the larger tributaries and fresh water sources for the Chesapeake Bay.

Site Description

The vegetation surrounding our stream is dense. It consists of hardwood trees and a variety of shrubs. This vegetation runs to the banks of the stream. These trees and shrubs act as an excellent buffer. The bank is steep. The stream is relatively undisturbed as evidenced by the cutting away of large rocks in the stream bed.

In our research with public agencies, we discovered that the land surrounding the stream was formally used for agricultural purposes. Evidence, such as an old barbed-wire fence supports this research.

Runoff consists of water from:

The stream was relatively low due to an extremely dry July and August. We compared this to our previous stream observation during the early spring of 1997. The stream flows over large rocks and the water appears to be clear.

Our Stream

This site is created and maintained by Holly Geddes.
Last updated on March 21, 2003

Bay Studies Coordinator: Jay Foster