Goose Creek is a 53.9 miles (86.7 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 Fauquier

Fauquier County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

 and Loudoun

Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...

 counties in northern

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...

 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...

. It comprises the principal drainage system for the Loudoun Valley

Loudoun Valley

The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...

.

Course

Goose Creek rises at Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state....

 on the Blue Ridge

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

 near Linden

Linden, Virginia

Linden is an unincorporated community in Fauquier and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is less than an hour from Washington, D.C...

. The creek initially flows eastward down the mountain, falling 600 feet (182.9 m) in its first 10 miles (16.1 km). At Delaplane

Delaplane, Virginia

Delaplane is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, located approximately due west of Washington, D.C.. Delaplane is situated along U.S. Route 17 and Interstate 66; bordering Upperville, Virginia to the north, Hume, Virginia to the south, Paris, Virginia to the west, and...

 the creek levels out and turns in a northeasterly direction for another 10 miles, whereupon it passes under U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...

 and enters Loudoun County. Once in Loudoun, the creek continues in a northeastward direction for 15 miles (24.1 km) to the western foot of Catoctin Mountain

Catoctin Mountain

Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, comprises the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range...

, where it turns to the north briefly, before reaching the confluence of the North Fork and then turning to the east and cutting through a gap in the mountain. On the east side of the mountain the creek again turns to northeast, joining with the Little River

Little River (Goose Creek)

Little River is a tributary stream of Goose Creek in Fauquier and Loudoun counties in northern Virginia. Via Goose Creek, it is a tributary of the Potomac River....

. The creek flows for 15 miles (24.1 km) through central Loudoun County, reaching the Potomac just east of Leesburg

Leesburg, Virginia

Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...

 and south of Harrison's Island. Goose Creek is partially dammed north of State Route 267. The dam may be portaged through the woods on the eastern shore.

North Fork

The North Fork of Goose Creek rises at the east end of Sleeter Lake in Round Hill

Round Hill, Virginia

Round Hill is the name of several communities in the U.S. state of Virginia.*Round Hill, Frederick County, Virginia*Round Hill, Loudoun County, Virginia *Round Hill, Rappahannock County, Virginia...

 and flows 13.3 miles (21.4 km) in a southeastward direction, joining with the main branch in the water gap

Water gap

A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...

 of the Catoctin Mountain.

History

In 1849, construction began on a system of locks and dams to render the creek navigable up to three large mills in the Loudoun Valley on the Little River, North Fork and main creek bed. Across the Potomac from the mouth of a creek, a special lock on the C&O Canal was constructed to allow canal boats from Goose Creek to enter the canal. By 1845, the Goose Creek and Little River Navigation Company canal system had been completed on Goose Creek to Ball's (Evergreen) Mill, 12 miles (19.3 km) upstream from the mouth. Due to financial concerns it was decided that the canal would not be built any further upstream. Though the lower portion of the canal saw significant usage, only one boat was ever known to have traveled the whole stretch, and by 1857 the canal was put out of business by the completion of the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia. Its oldest line extended from Alexandria on the Potomac River northwest to Bluemont at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Snickers Gap, not far from the boundary line between...

 to Leesburg. Most of the locks and dams were destroyed by the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Goose Creek Bridge on the Ashby's Gap Turnpike was the site of a Civil War battle in the Loudoun Valley

Loudoun Valley

The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...

 during the Gettysburg Campaign

Gettysburg Campaign

The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...

 in 1863. (See Battle of Upperville#Goose Creek for details.) The bridge was built between 1801 and 1803 and is the longest remaining stone turnpike bridge in the state of Virginia.

Tributaries

Tributaries are listed in order from the source of Goose Creek to its mouth.

• Mitchell's Branch
• Bolling Branch
• Gap Run
• Panther Skin Creek
• Cromwell's Run
• Wancopin Creek
• North Fork Goose Creek
  • Jacks' Run
  • Crooked Run
  • Beaverdam Creek
• Big Branch
• Little River
  Little River (Goose Creek)
  Little River is a tributary stream of Goose Creek in Fauquier and Loudoun counties in northern Virginia. Via Goose Creek, it is a tributary of the Potomac River....
  
  
• Tan Branch
• Black Branch
• Beaver Dam Creek
• Sycolin Creek
• Tuscarora Creek
• Cattail Branch

Variant 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...

, Goose Creek has been known by the following names throughout its history:

• Cokongoloto
• Cokongoloto Anglice
• Goes Creek
• Goes Flug
• Gohongarestaw
• Gooscreek
• Goose River
• Lee's Creek
• Tiber River