Delaware River
Encyclopedia : D : DE : DEL : Delaware River
The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony.
It meets tide-water at Trenton, New Jersey. Its total length, from the head of the longest branch to the capes, is 410 miles (660 km), and above the head of the bay its length is 360 miles (579 km). The mean freshwater discharge of the Delaware River into the estuary is 11,550 cubic feet (330 m³) per second.
It constitutes in part the boundary between Pennsylvania and New York, the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and, for a few miles, the boundary between Delaware and New Jersey. William Penn delegated defence responsibilites of predominantly Quaker Pennsylvania to Delaware by setting the New Jersey border to the mean low tide line on the Jersey side of the river.
Commerce was once important on the upper river, primarily prior to railway competition (1857).
- The Delaware division of the Pennsylvania Canal, running parallel with the river from Easton to Bristol, opened in 1830.
- The Delaware and Raritan Canal, running from Trenton to New Brunswick, unites the waters of the Delaware and Raritan rivers.
- The Morris Canal and the Delaware and Hudson Canal connect the Delaware and Hudson rivers.
- The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal joins the waters of the Delaware with those of the Chesapeake Bay.
In the "project of 1885" the United States government undertook systematically the formation of a 26 ft (8 m) channel 600 ft (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to deep water in Delaware Bay. The River and Harbor Act of 1899 provided for a 30 foot (9 m) channel 600 feet (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of the bay.
Course
The main, west or Mohawk branch rises in Schoharie County, New York, about 1886 feet (575 m) above the sea, near Mount Jefferson, and flows tortuously through the plateau in a deep trough, impounded at one point to create Cannonsville Reservoir, the largest in New York City's water supply system, then becoming the state boundary at the 42nd parallel, until it emerges from the Catskills. Similarly, the East Branch begins from a small pond south of Grand Gorge in the town of Roxbury in Delaware County, flowing southward toward its impoundment by New York City to create Pepacton Reservoir. The confluence is just south of Hancock.
After leaving the mountains and plateau, the river flows down broad Appalachian valleys, skirts the Kittatinny range, which it crosses at the Delaware Water Gap, between nearly vertical walls of sandstone, and passes through a quiet and charming country of farm and forest, diversified with plateaus and escarpments, until it crosses the Appalachian plain and enters the hills again at Easton, Pa. From this point it is flanked at intervals by fine hills, and in places by cliffs, of which the finest are the Hockamixon Rocks, 3 miles (5 km) long and above 200 feet (60 m) high.
At Trenton there is a fall of 8 feet (2.4 m). Below Trenton the river flows between Philadelphia, PA and New Jersey before becoming a broad, sluggish inlet of the sea, with many marshes along its side, widening steadily into its great estuary, Delaware Bay.
Tributaries
Its main tributaries in New York are Mongaup and Neversink rivers and Callicoon Creek; from Pennsylvania, Lackawaxen, Lehigh, and Schuylkill rivers; and from New Jersey, Rancocas Creek and Musconetcong and Maurice rivers. Oldmans and Raccoon creeks are tributaries in New Jersey.
- Appoquinimink River
- Alloway Creek
- Assiscunk Creek
- Assunpink Creek
- Chester Creek
- Christina River
- Cooper River (New Jersey)
- Crosswicks Creek
- Equinunk Creek
- Flat Brook
- Frankford Creek
- Lehigh River
- Lockatong Creek
- Maurice River
- Musconetcong River
- Neshaminy Creek
- Oldmans Creek
- Paulins Kill
- Pennypack Creek
- Pequest River
- Pohatcong Creek
- Poquessing Creek
- Raccoon Creek (New Jersey)
- Rancocas Creek
- Ridley Creek
- Salem River
- Schuylkill River
- Shohola Creek
- Tohickon Creek
- Wickecheoke Creek
Flooding
Although not particularly known as a river that is prone to excessive flooding, the Delaware has in fact experienced a number of serious flooding events as the result of snow melt and/or rain run-off from heavy rainstorms. Record flooding occurred in the August 1955, in the aftermath of tropical storms. The river gauge at Riegelsville, NJ recorded an all time record crest of 38.85 feet on 8/19/1955. More recently, the same gauge recorded a peak of 34.07 feet on 4/4/2005. Source: [USGS] See Also: [(State of New Jersey: RECENT FLOODING EVENTS IN THE DELAWARE RIVER BASIN)]
Since the upper Delaware basin has few population centers along its banks, flooding in this area mainly affects natural unpopulated flood plains. The towns of Easton, PA and Phillipsburg, NJ in the middle part of the Delaware basin experience flooding problems from time to time. The City of Trenton, NJ and surrounding areas in PA and NJ also suffer from Delaware flooding problems. The lower part of the Delaware basin from Philadelphia southward to the Delware Bay is tidal and much wider than portions further north, and is not prone to river related flooding (although tidal surges can cause minor flooding in this area).
Crossings
The Delaware River is a major barrier to travel between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Most of the larger bridges are tolled only westbound, and are owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Delaware River Port Authority, Burlington County Bridge Commission or Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
Major oil spills
A number of oil spills have taken place in the Delaware over the years.- 1975-01-31 — 11,000,000 gallions of crude oil spilled from the Corinthos tanker
- 1985-09-28 — 435,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from the Grand Eagle tanker after running aground on Marcus Hook Bar
- 1989-06-24 — 306,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from the Presidente Rivera tanker after running aground on Claymont Shoal
- 2004-11-26 — 265,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from the Athos 1 tanker; the tanker's hull had been punctured by a submerged, discarded anchor
See also
- Burlington County Bridge Commission
- Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
- Delaware River Port Authority
- List of New Jersey rivers
- List of New York rivers
- List of Pennsylvania rivers
- Tocks Island Dam Project
- Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
- Washington Crossing
Notes
References
External links
- [Delaware River Basin Commission]
- [Delaware Riverkeeper Network]
- [National Park Service: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area]
- [National Park Service: Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River]
- [National Park Service: Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic River]
- [U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations]
- [U.S. Geological Survey: NY stream gaging stations]
- [U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations]
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