Brandywine Headwaters

Headwaters are typically narrow and shallow. They would naturally be surrounded by trees, which offer much protection to water quality and stream ecosystem function.

The white lines depict the headwaters of the Brandywine River watershed. Headwaters are small 1st and 2nd order streams.

Stream Order	Length (mi)	Count of Segments	% Length
1	148	182	60
2	44	67	18
3	25	42	10
4	15	39	6
5	12	23	5
6	1	1	<1

How many headwater stream miles are there? What percent of total stream miles in the watershed are headwaters?

View the Brandywine headwaters and mid-sized streams »

Sources: Maps from Google Earth. Illustrations from Emma Skurnick. Interactive map co-produced by UNC-TV’s QUEST and Stroud Water Research Center.
Credits: David Arscott, Heather Brooks, Susan Gill, Lucy Laffitte. Full credits