thumb|300px|Conococheague Creek near its mouth in [[Williamsport, Maryland, as viewed upstream from an aqueduct on the towpath trail in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park]]

Conococheague Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, is a free-flowing stream that originates in Pennsylvania and empties into the Potomac River near Williamsport, Maryland. It is in length, with in Pennsylvania and in Maryland. The watershed of Conococheague Creek has an area of approximately , out of which only (12% of the area) are in Maryland.

The word "Conococheague" is translated from the Delaware Indian or Unami-Lenapi term òk'chaxk'hanna, which means "many-turns-river." The Conococheague, or Connogochegue, as it was known at the time, was the northernmost extent of the range along the Potomac within which Congress in the Residence Bill of 1790 authorized the establishment of the Federal District, known as the District of Columbia. By presidential proclamation, George Washington placed the District at the lower end of the range, near the "Eastern Branch", later Anacostia River, which marked the southernmost extent of the Residence Bill's range.

The water divide between Conococheague Creek and Conodoguinet Creek is sometimes used as the boundary between the Hagerstown Valley and the Cumberland Valley.

Main stem above the West Branch

thumb|right|270px|[[U.S. Route 40 in Maryland#Washington County|U.S. 40 bridge over Conococheague Creek from Wilson's Bridge]]

thumb|315x315px|[[Wilson's Bridge, U.S. 40]]

Conococheague Creek, above its confluence with its West Branch, is sometimes referred to as the East Branch Conococheague Creek. At , the "East Branch" is shorter than the West Branch.

Main stem below the West Branch

Conococheague Creek continues south into Maryland and enters the Potomac near Williamsport, where the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road crossed the river at William's Ferry, continuing on to Winchester, Virginia. The crossing is where Braddock's forces crossed the Potomac after leaving Frederick on their way to Winchester. The Tuscarora Trail crosses the Conococheague.

See also

  • List of Maryland rivers
  • List of rivers of Pennsylvania

References

  • Conococheague Creek at Maryland Department of the Environment