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The Anacostia Watershed is home to over 800,000 residents of Maryland and Washington, DC and includes some of the most economically distressed areas in the metropolitan region.The Anacostia -- whose name comes from the Indian word anaquash, meaning "village trading center", was a thriving hub of Native American culture. The river teemed with shad, white and yellow perch, herring and other fish that were a staple food of the local people.
Wetland loss, deforestation, and urbanization have significantly degraded the water quality of the Anacostia River. About 23 percent of the land area of the watershed is impervious. Urbanization is particularly dense on the east and west banks of the tidal river in Washington, DC, where more than 70 percent of the land is covered by impervious surfaces.
An ecologically and physically diverse watershed crossing two physiographic provinces and three political jurisdictions, the Anacostia River is fed by an extensive network of tributaries, among them the Northwest Branch, Northeast Branch, Sligo Creek, Paint Branch, Little Paint Branch, Indian Creek and Beaverdam Creek. These streams straddle the Montgomery's County boundary, the fall line separating Montgomery's Piedmont province of relatively narrow and steep-sloped valleys and fast water, from the undulating Coastal Plain of Prince George's, supporting broader, meandering streams
For more information about, Anacostia River, log onto our website, DistrictofColumbiaxl.com.
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