Chopawamsic Creek is a 6.8 miles (10.9 km) tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 in Prince William

Prince William County, Virginia

-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...

 and Stafford

Stafford County, Virginia

Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, and just across the Rappahannock River from the City of Fredericksburg. As of the 2000 census, the population was 92,446, increasing to 128,961 in 2010.. Its county seat is Stafford. In 2006, and again in 2009,...

 counties, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Chopawamsic Creek is formed by the confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the North and South Branches of Chopawamsic Creek and empties into the Potomac River south of Quantico

Quantico, Virginia

- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...

 at the Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...

's Air Station. Breckenridge Reservoir

Breckenridge Reservoir

Breckenridge Reservoir is a small reservoir on Chopawamsic Creek in Prince William and Stafford counties, Virginia. The reservoir's western shore is the Marine Corps Base Quantico and the eastern shore is a part of Prince William Forest Park, which is a unit of the National Park Service...

 lies at the stream's confluence with the North and South Branches. Along with its North Branch, Chopawamsic Creek forms part of the boundary between Prince William and Stafford counties.

Variant names

The Board on Geographic Names decided upon Chopawamsic Creek as the stream's official name in 1891. Previously, it had been known by the following names according to the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...

:

• Chapanamsick Creek
• Chapawansick Creek
• Chapowamsic Creek
• Chipawanic Swamp
• Chipawansic Creek
• Chippowamsick Creek
• Chopawansick Creek
• Chopowamsic Creek

Tributaries

Tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

streams are listed from source to mouth.

• North Branch Chopawamsic Creek
  • Middle Branch Chopawamsic Creek
• South Branch Chopawamsic Creek