by Joe McCue
May 2020
Middle River is 71 miles long. It starts in Summerdean and flows into the North River between Weyers Cave and Grottoes.
Middle River drains 373 sq. miles (38.4%) of Augusta County's 971 sq. miles. This means all the water from creeks and streams within that 373 sq. miles flows into one body - Middle River.
So, if it rains in Middlebrook, how does that rainwater get to the Chesapeake Bay?
If it doesn't get absorbed into the ground, it goes into Back Creek.
Back Creek flows into Middle River near Hebron Church in Swoope.
Middle River flows into North River.
The combined flow of Middle and North continues to Port Republic where it meets up with South River and becomes the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.
The South Fork flows north and meets the North Fork of the Shenandoah at Front Royal. The combined flow is now simply the Shenandoah River.
The Shenandoah flows north to meet the Potomac at Harpers Ferry where the combined flow of all those rivers and streams heads for the Chesapeake Bay.
Knowing all this now, what are your watersheds?