The Choptank River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and the largest river on the Delmarva Peninsula.^[4] Running for 71 miles (114 km),^[5] it rises in Kent County, Delaware, runs through Caroline County, Maryland, and forms much of the border between Talbot County, Maryland, on the north, and Caroline County and Dorchester County on the east and south. It is located north of the Nanticoke River, and its mouth is located south of Eastern Bay. Cambridge, the county seat of Dorchester County, and Denton, the county seat of Caroline County, are located on its south shore.

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Choptank River
The river in Denton, MD.
Map of the rivers of the Eastern Shore of Maryland with the Choptank and its watershed highlighted
Location
Country	United States
State	Maryland, Delaware
County	Dorchester (MD), Caroline (MD), Kent (DE)
Cities	Cambridge, Denton, Harmony
Physical characteristics
Source	Confluence of Tidy Island Creek and Culbreth Marsh Ditch
• location	Choptank Mills, Delaware
• coordinates	39°04′3.41″N 075°44′10.75″W[1]
• elevation	28 ft (8.5 m)[1]
Mouth	Chesapeake Bay
• location	about 1 mile south of Tilghman Island, Maryland
• coordinates	38°38′4.46″N 075°19′35.81″W[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	65.38 mi (105.22 km)[2]
Basin size	710.74 square miles (1,840.8 km2)[3]
Discharge
• location	Chesapeake Bay
• average	809.67 cu ft/s (22.927 m3/s) at mouth with Chesapeake Bay[3]
Basin features
Progression	Chesapeake Bay → Atlantic Ocean[2]
River system	Choptank River
Tributaries
• left	Culbreth Marsh Ditch, Cow Marsh Creek, Sandman Branch, Gravelly Branch, Little Gravelly Branch, Tubmill Branch, Spring Branch, Chapel Branch, Watts Creek, Mill Creek, Robins Creek, Fowling Creek, Dawson Branch, Berry Run, Bell Creek, Hog Creek, Crowberry Creek, Mitchell Run, Little Creek, Skeleton Creek, Marsh Creek, Fox Creek, Hunting Creek, Blinkhorn Creek, Cabin Creek, Warwick River, Wrights Creek, White Hall Creek, Jenkins Creek, Phillips Creek
• right	Tidy Island Creek, Broadway Creek, Forge Branch,Tuckahoe Creek, Turkey Creek, Kings Creek, Williams Creek, Barker Creek, Miles Creek, Raccoon Creek, Bolingbroke Creek, Muddy Creek, Porpoise Creek, Holmes Creek, Crosiadore Creek, La Trappe Creek, Island Creek, Tred Avon River, Broad Creek, Harris Creek
Waterbodies	Mud Millpond
Bridges	Still Road, Sandtown Road, MD 313, MD 314, MD 404, Meeting House Road, MD 331, US 50

Close

Its watershed area in Maryland is 1,004 square miles (2,600 km²), of which 224 square miles (580 km²) is open water, so it is 22% water. The predominant land use is agricultural with 418 square miles (1,080 km²), or 48% of the land area. The river is named after the native Choptank people.

The Choptank River begins at Choptank Mills, Delaware, where Tidy Island Creek and Culbreth Marsh Ditch join together. It ends at the Chesapeake Bay in a very wide mouth between Blackwalnut Point on Tilghman Island, and Cook Point, near Hudson, Maryland. Tidy Island Creek and Culbreth Marsh Ditch rise in western Kent County, Delaware. The entire watershed is in the coastal plain. The Choptank reaches sea level near Denton, Maryland, and is not salty until around 2 miles (3.2 km) below Denton.

The river is navigable up to Denton, about 45 miles upriver. The bridge at Cambridge limits traffic to 50 feet vertical clearance. The river’s mouth is marked in the main channel by an abandoned, tilting masonry lighthouse on the underwater Sharps’ Island. Knapp’s Narrows offers a shortcut to boats approaching from the north.^[6]

Its main tributaries are the Tred Avon River and Tuckahoe Creek on the north side, and Cabin Creek and Hunting Creek on the south side. There are several small creeks on the northern shore, including Harris Creek, Broad Creek, Irish Creek, Island Creek, La Trappe Creek, Bolingbroke Creek, Mile Creek, Kings Creek, Forge Branch and Broadway Branch. On the southern shore the small creeks include Jenkins Creek, the Warwick River, Marsh Creek, Maryland, Skeleton Creek, Mitchell Run, Hog Creek, Fowling Creek, Robins Creek, Church Creek, Williston Creek, Watts Creek, Chapel Branch, Spring Branch, Gravelly Branch and Cow Marsh Creek.^{[citation needed]}

• List of rivers of Delaware
• List of rivers of Maryland