| Anacostia River | |
|---|---|
 Anacostia River adjacent to the United States National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. | |
 Map of the Anacostia River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland and Washington, D.C. |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Bladensburg, Maryland |
| • coordinates | 38°56′33″N 76°56′38″W / 38.94250°N 76.94389°W |
| Mouth | Potomac River |
• location | Washington, D.C. |
• coordinates | 38°51′13″N 77°01′13″W / 38.85361°N 77.02028°W |
• elevation | −3 ft (−0.91 m)[1] |
| Length | 8.4 mi (13.5 km) |
| Basin size | 176 sq mi (460 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 216.93 cu ft/s (6.143 m3/s) (estimate)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Northeast Branch |
| • right | Northwest Branch |
The Anacostia River /ænəˈkɒstiə/ is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel and ultimately empties into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. It is about 8.7 miles (14.0 km) long.[3] The name "Anacostia" derives from the area's early history as Nacotchtank, a settlement of Necostan or Anacostan Native Americans on the banks of the Anacostia River.
Heavy pollution in the Anacostia and weak investment and development along its banks made it "D.C.'s forgotten river".[4] More recently, however, private organizations; local businesses; and the D.C., Maryland, and federal governments have made efforts to reduce pollution and protect the ecologically valuable Anacostia watershed.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Anacostia River
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Anacostia River". WATERS GeoViewer. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved August 15, 2011
- ^ "The history of the Anacostia River - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.