Delaware River
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What is the Delaware River?
The Delaware River is on the Atlantic slope of the United States, reaching tidewater at Trenton, New Jersey, approximately 130 miles (210 km) above its mouth. Including its longest branch, the river stretches about 405 miles (650 km) and drains an area of 11,440 square miles (29,630 square km). The river forms part of the boundary between Pennsylvania and New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and a short stretch between Delaware and New Jersey. Its course runs primarily to the south.
The river is bordered by major cities such as Port Jervis, Easton, Philadelphia, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington.
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Where does the Delaware River start and end?
The Delaware River begins in Schoharie County, New York, at 1,886 feet (575 meters) above sea level. The river flows south, cutting through the Catskill Mountains and Appalachian valleys, and passing through the Delaware Water Gap. The Delaware River meets tidewater at Trenton, New Jersey, approximately 130 miles (210 km) above its mouth. Below Trenton, the river broadens into a sluggish inlet with many marshes, eventually widening into its estuary, Delaware Bay. Delaware Bay extends southeastward for 52 miles (84 km) to the entrance between Cape May, New Jersey, and Cape Henlopen, Delaware.
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Which states does the Delaware River flow through or border?
The Delaware River flows through or borders New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The river's main branch begins in Schoharie County, New York, and runs south, cutting through the Catskill Mountains. It forms part of the boundary between Pennsylvania and New York, as well as the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For a short distance, it also marks the boundary between Delaware and New Jersey. Major cities along the Delaware River include Port Jervis, New York; Easton, Philadelphia, and Chester, Pennsylvania; Trenton and Camden, New Jersey; and Wilmington, Delaware.
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Why is the Delaware River important to the people and cities near it?
The Delaware River is important to people and cities because it serves as a crucial source of water, a transportation route, and a facilitator of economic activities. The Interstate Commission on the Delaware River Basin (Incodel) was formed to prevent water pollution and conserve water. Channels have been dredged to facilitate traffic on the river from Delaware Bay to Philadelphia and Trenton.
Northern Delaware utilized the river's swift flow to power early industries, and steamboats on the river assisted in the commercial development of agriculture.
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What kinds of wildlife and plants live in and around the Delaware River?
The Delaware River is home to a diverse range of plant and animal life. Hardwood trees are common in the north, while pines mix with hardwoods in the south. The river and its surrounding areas provide habitats for various animals, including deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, and muskrats.
Beaches and marshes along the Delaware River serve as winter refuges and migratory stops for various wildfowl and birds like sandpipers. The river itself supports a complex ecosystem, but faces environmental challenges such as pollution from agricultural runoff and industrial waste, which can lead to eutrophication and harm aquatic life.
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How has the Delaware River been used for transportation, industry, or history in the United States?
The Delaware River has served various transportation, industrial, and historical purposes in the United States.
Transportation
Before railway competition, commerce thrived on the river's upper course. To facilitate traffic, channels were dredged from Delaware Bay's deep water to Philadelphia and from Philadelphia to Trenton. Steamboats on the Delaware River assisted the commercial development of the state’s agriculture.
Industry
Northern Delaware utilized water-powered industry due to its swift-flowing rivers and creeks. Wilmington became the chemical capital because it serves as the administrative and research center for several chemical companies.
History
During the American Revolution, George Washington and his soldiers crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to surprise British Hessian troops in Trenton.
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Delaware River, river of the Atlantic slope of the United States, meeting tidewater at Trenton, New Jersey, about 130 miles (210 km) above its mouth. Its total length (including the longest branch) is about 405 miles (650 km), and the river drains an area of 11,440 square miles (29,630 square km). The river 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. The river’s course is basically to the south.
The main, or west, branch rises in Schoharie county, New York, at a point 1,886 feet (575 metres) above sea level. The river cuts deeply through a plateau until it emerges from the Catskill Mountains. Leaving the mountains and plateau, the river flows down Appalachian valleys, skirts the Kittatinny Mountains, which it crosses at Delaware Water Gap (a national recreation area) between nearly vertical walls of sandstone, and passes through an area of farms and forests until it enters hills again at Easton, Pennsylvania. From this point it is flanked at intervals by hills and in places by cliffs, including the Nockamixon Rocks, 3 miles (5 km) long and more than 200 feet (60 metres) high. At Trenton there is a fall of 8 feet (2 metres).
Below Trenton the river becomes a broad, sluggish inlet of the sea, with many marshes along its side, widening into its estuary, Delaware Bay. Its main tributaries in New York are the Mongaup and Neversink rivers; in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers; and in New Jersey, the Musconetcong and Maurice rivers. Major cities along the Delaware include Port Jervis (New York); Easton, Philadelphia, and Chester (Pennsylvania); Trenton and Camden (New Jersey); and Wilmington (Delaware).
Commerce was important on the upper course of the river before the beginning of railway competition (1857). Of the various early canals only two continued to be of any importance—the canal from Trenton to New Brunswick, uniting the Delaware and Raritan rivers, and the canal joining the Delaware River with Chesapeake Bay. The Interstate Commission on the Delaware River Basin (Incodel) was formed in 1936 by the four states in the watershed of the river (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) to control and prevent water pollution, plan the conservation of water supply for the use of the cities, and plan development along the course of the entire river. In 1962 the staff and assets of Incodel were absorbed by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the body established the previous year to replace it. The DRBC—which included the four basin state governors and the division engineer of the regional U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—was the first equal partnership between federal and state governments in river basin management. To facilitate traffic on the river, channels have been dredged from the deep water in Delaware Bay to Philadelphia and from Philadelphia to Trenton.
During the American Revolution, on Christmas night in 1776, George Washington and about 2,400 of his soldiers crossed the Delaware from Pennsylvania to New Jersey 9 miles (14 km) above Trenton and successfully surprised British Hessian troops in their winter quarters at Trenton.