The Little Patuxent River begins in Howard County near Alpha Ridge, is joined by the Middle Patuxent River near Savage, and continues south to join the Patuxent River near Crofton in Anne Arundel County. Its total length is 45 miles, including 25 miles in Howard County. At Guilford, the median daily flow is 44 cubic feet per second, the greatest flow was 12,400 cubic feet per second during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the average depth is 2.5 feet, and the highest flooding reached 18.38 feet during Hurricane Agnes. Today the river provides scenic views, recreation, and habitat for fish and wildlife, while in earlier times it powered sawmills, gristmills, and cotton mills. The Little Patuxent watershed is the land area that catches rain and drains it to the river, part of the larger Patuxent River watershed and the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed, so water falling here eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay. Lakes on tributaries of the river include Centennial Lake, Lake Elkhorn, Lake Kittimaqundi, and Wilde Lake. The name Patuxent comes from an Algonquian word meaning rapids. The Little Patuxent watershed totals 103 square miles, with 51.2 square miles in Howard County; the Patuxent watershed totals 956 square miles, with 185 square miles in Howard County; and the Chesapeake Bay watershed totals 64,000 square miles, covering all 250 square miles of Howard County, almost all of Maryland at 12,000 square miles, and parts of six states: NY, PA, DE, MD, VA, and WV. The Fall Line is the edge where rivers descend from the higher Piedmont Plateau to the lower Coastal Plain in Maryland, creating waterfalls and rapids, generally following interstate Route 95, marking where upstream navigation becomes difficult and where falling water can power mills and factories. Between Guilford and Savage, the river drops nearly 60 feet. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers 1.7% of the landmass of the United States but contains 5.2% of the total population, and Howard County lies 80% in the Patuxent River watershed and 20% in the Patapsco River watershed.