Brandywine Creek (Christina River tributary)

Brandywine Creek
Brandywine Creek at Hagley Mill race
Hagley mill race on the Brandywine
Christina River Basin, including Brandywine Creek
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania, Delaware
CitiesChadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware
Physical characteristics
SourceWest Branch Brandywine Creek
 • locationHoney Brook Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates40°06′51″N 75°55′35″W / 40.11417°N 75.92639°W / 40.11417; -75.92639
 • elevation850 ft (260 m)
2nd sourceEast Branch Brandywine Creek
 • locationHoney Brook Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates40°07′09″N 75°53′15″W / 40.11917°N 75.88750°W / 40.11917; -75.88750
 • elevation686 ft (209 m)
Source confluence 
 • locationEast Bradford and Pocopson Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania, US
 • coordinates39°55′21″N 75°38′58″W / 39.92250°N 75.64944°W / 39.92250; -75.64944
 • elevation184 ft (56 m)
MouthChristina River
 • location
Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, US
 • coordinates
39°43′55″N 75°31′53″W / 39.73194°N 75.53139°W / 39.73194; -75.53139
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length20 mi (32 km)
Basin size300 sq mi (780 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationWilmington
 • average408 cu ft/s (11.6 m3/s)
Basin features
ProgressionChristina RiverDelaware RiverDelaware BayAtlantic Ocean
Tributaries 
 • leftPlum Run
Radley Run
Harvey Run
Wilson Run
Beaver Creek
Ramsey Run
Rocky Run
Husbands Run
Alapocas Run
 • rightPocopson Creek
Bennetts Run
Ring Run
Craigs Mill Run

Brandywine Creek[1][2] (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long[3] and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.

The mouth of the creek on the Christina River in present-day Wilmington, Delaware, is the site of the New Sweden colony, where colonists first landed on March 29, 1638. The Battle of Brandywine was fought around the creek near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 1777, during the American Revolution. Water-powered gristmills in Brandywine Village, near the creek mouth, and the nearby DuPont gunpowder mill were important in developing American industry before the introduction of steam power.

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Brandywine Creek (Christina River tributary)
  2. ^ United States Geological Survey Hydrological Unit Code: 02-04-02-05- Brandywine-Christina Watershed
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 1, 2011