Passage Creek is a 38.5 miles (62 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...

 stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 of the North Fork Shenandoah River in Fort Valley

Fort Valley, Virginia

Fort Valley is a mountain valley in Shenandoah County, Virginia. The so-called "valley within a valley" lies between the two arms of the northern Massanutten Mountain range in the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is closed at both ends Fort Valley is a mountain valley in Shenandoah County, Virginia....

, 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...

. For most of its length it flows through a rural valley between the two spine-like ridges of Massanutten Mountain

Massanutten Mountain

Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Geography:The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the...

, then exits the valley by cutting a narrow gorge through the northeast end of the mountain. The creek passes through US Forest Service protected land. It is a popular fishing spot because it is stocked with trout. It runs along Fort Valley Road, and is accessible at the Elizabeth Furnace

Elizabeth Furnace

Elizabeth Furnace was a blast furnace in the Shenandoah Valley that was used to create pig iron from 1836 – 1888 using Passage Creek for water power. Iron ore was mined nearby, purified in the furnace, and then pig iron was transported over the Massanutten Mountain to the South Fork of the...

recreation area.