Reports
Summary of records of surface waters of Maryland and the Potomac River Basin, 1892-1943
1944, Maryland Geological Survey
Bulletin 1
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to being together in one volume the records of monthly and yearly discharge for all gaging stations in Maryland and in the basin of the Potomac River for which records of flow have been collected prior to October 1, 1943. The Potomac River basin comprises not only the greater part of Maryland, but portions of Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and all of the District of Columbia. Inclusion of the records of flow for all gaging stations in the entire basin materially increases the utility and value of the summary. There are about 11,900 monthly records in all, equivalent to about 990 years.
The Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior, began to collect records of stream flow in Maryland in June 1894 with the establishment of a gaging station on the Potomac River at Cumberland. This station was discontinued in 1897. A station was established on the Potomac at Point of Rocks in February 1895 and has been in operation ever since. This record is now nearly 50 years in length, which makes it one of the longest continuous records of stream flow in the United States. A gaging station was established on Rock Creek at Lyons Mill near Q Street, District of Columbia, in July 1892, but was discontinued in 1894. Rock Creek may be considered a Maryland stream as 80 percent of its drainage area is in Maryland.
