Delaware River information

Delaware River
Delaware River
	The Delaware River flowing through the Delaware Water Gap in 2021
	Map of the Delaware River watershed, showing major tributaries and cities
Location
Country	United States
State	New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland
Cities	Margaretville, NY, Delhi, NY, Deposit, NY, Hancock, NY, Callicoon, NY, Lackawaxen, PA, Port Jervis, NY, Stroudsburg, PA, Easton, PA, New Hope, PA, Trenton, NJ, Camden, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Chester, PA, Wilmington, DE, Salem, NJ, Dover, DE
Physical characteristics
Source	West Branch
• location	Mount Jefferson, Town of Jefferson, Schoharie County, New York, United States
• coordinates	42°27′12″N 74°36′26″W / 42.45333°N 74.60722°W
• elevation	2,240 ft (680 m)
2nd source	East Branch
• location	Grand Gorge, Town of Roxbury, Delaware County, New York, United States
• coordinates	42°21′26″N 74°30′42″W / 42.35722°N 74.51167°W
• elevation	1,560 ft (480 m)
Source confluence
• location	Town of Hancock, Delaware County, New York, United States
• coordinates	41°56′20″N 75°16′46″W / 41.93889°N 75.27944°W
• elevation	880 ft (270 m)
Mouth	Delaware Bay
• location	Delaware, United States
• coordinates	39°25′13″N 75°31′11″W / 39.42028°N 75.51972°W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	301 mi (484 km)
Basin size	13,539 sq mi (35,070 km2)
Discharge
• location	Trenton
• average	12,100 cu ft/s (340 m3/s)
• minimum	4,310 cu ft/s (122 m3/s)
• maximum	329,000 cu ft/s (9,300 m3/s)
Discharge
• location	Port Jervis
• average	7,900 cu ft/s (220 m3/s)
• minimum	1,420 cu ft/s (40 m3/s)
• maximum	52,900 cu ft/s (1,500 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Neversink River, Pequest River, Musconetcong River
• right	Lehigh River, Schuylkill River, Christina River
National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Scenic, Recreational

Delaware River

Legend

East Branch Delaware River

NY

PA

West Branch Delaware River

Equinunk Creek

Lordville–Equinunk Bridge

Kellams Bridge

Callicoon Bridge

Cochecton–Damascus Bridge (PA 371)

Skinners Falls–Milanville Bridge

Narrowsburg–Darbytown Bridge (PA 652 / NY 52)

Tusten Station Railroad Bridge (NS Rail)

Lackawaxen River

Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct

Barryville–Shohola Bridge (PA 434 / NY 55)

Shohola Creek

Pond Eddy Bridge

Mongaup River

Millrift Railroad Bridge (NS Rail)

Mid-Delaware Bridge (US 6 / US 209)

Interstate 84 Bridge (I-84)

PA

NY

NJ

Neversink River

Milford–Montague Toll Bridge (US 206)

Dingman's Ferry Bridge

Big Bushkill Creek (Bush Kill)

Flat Brook

Depew Island

Poxono Island

Tocks Island

Depue Island

Shawnee Island

Brodhead Creek

Schellenbergers Island

Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge (I-80 / AT)

Delaware Water Gap

Delaware River Viaduct

Portland–Columbia Pedestrian Bridge

Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge (NJ 94)

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad

Dildine Island

Belvidere - Riverton Bridge

Pequest River

Foul Rift

Roxburg Branch

Keifer Island

Martins Creek Branch

Martins Creek

Getters Island

Bushkill Creek

Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (US 22)

Northampton Street Bridge

Lehigh River

Delaware Canal

Lehigh and Hudson River Railway

Central Railroad of New Jersey Bridge

Lehigh Valley Railroad

Interstate 78 Toll Bridge (I-78)

Whippoorwill Island

Raubs Island

Riegelsville Bridge

Musconetcong River

Upper Black Eddy–Milford Bridge

Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge (NJ 12)

Marshall Island

Treasure Island

Prahls Island

Tohickon Creek

Delaware & Raritan Canal

Lumberville Wing Dam

Bull's Island

Paunnacussing Creek

Lumberville–Raven Rock Bridge

Lockatong Creek

Hendrick Island

Wickecheoke Creek

Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge (PA 263)

New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge (US 202)

New Hope–Lambertville Bridge (PA 179 / NJ 179)

Lambertville Wing Dam

Washington's Crossing

Washington Crossing Bridge

Scudder Falls Bridge (I-295)

West Trenton Railroad Bridge WTR

Rotary Island

Calhoun Street Bridge

To the Raritan River in New Brunswick

To Bristol

Assunpink Creek

Lower Trenton Bridge (US 1 Bus.)

Trenton–Morrisville Toll Bridge (US 1)

Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge TRE

Falls of the Delaware

Limit of tidal river

and navigability

Biles Creek

Crosswicks Creek

Newbold Island

Scotts Creek

Tullytown Cove

Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge (I-95)

Burlington Island

Mill Creek

Assiscunk Creek

Burlington–Bristol Bridge (PA 413 / NJ 413)

Neshaminy Creek

Mud Island Shoal

Poquessing Creek

Rancocas River

Pennypack Creek

Pompeston Creek

Tacony–Palmyra Bridge (PA 73 / NJ 73)

Palmyra Cove

Pennsauken Creek

Betsy Ross Bridge (NJ 90)

Frankford Creek

Delair Bridge ACL

Petty Island

36th Street Bridge

Cooper River

Benjamin Franklin Bridge (I-676 / US 30 / PATCO)

RiverLink Ferry

Summer only

Walt Whitman Bridge (I-76)

Newton Creek

Little Timber Creek

Big Timber Creek

Schuylkill River

Woodbury Creek

Little Mantua Creek

Mantua Creek

Little Tinicum Island

Darby Creek

Crum Creek

Ridley Creek

Chester Island

Chester Creek

Old Canal

Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322 / CR 536)

Raccoon Creek

PA

DE

NJ

Naamans Creek

Oldmans Creek

Shellpot Creek

Christiana River

Salem Canal

Delaware Memorial Bridge (I-295 / US 40)

Pea Patch Island

Forts Ferry Crossing

Summer only

Branch Canal

Salem River

Chesapeake & Delaware Canal

to the Chesapeake Bay

Reedy Island

Alloway Creek

Delaware Bay

Cape May–Lewes Ferry (US 9)

Atlantic Ocean

The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for 282 miles (454 km)^[1] along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before emptying into Delaware Bay.

The river has been recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as one of the country's Great Waters^[2] and has been called the "Lifeblood of the Northeast" by American Rivers.^[3] Its watershed drains an area of 13,539 square miles (35,070 km²) and provides drinking water for 17 million people, including half of New York City via the Delaware Aqueduct.

The Delaware River has two branches that rise in the Catskill Mountains of New York: the West Branch at Mount Jefferson in Jefferson, Schoharie County, and the East Branch at Grand Gorge, Delaware County. The branches merge to form the main Delaware River at Hancock, New York. Flowing south, the river remains relatively undeveloped, with 152 miles (245 km) protected as the Upper, Middle, and Lower Delaware National Scenic Rivers.^[4] At Trenton, New Jersey, the Delaware becomes tidal, navigable, and significantly more industrial. This section forms the backbone of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area, serving the port cities of Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. The river flows into Delaware Bay at Liston Point, 48 miles (77 km)^[1] upstream of the bay's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean between Cape May and Cape Henlopen.

Before the arrival of European settlers, the river was the homeland of the Lenape native people. They called the river Lenapewihittuk, or Lenape River, and Kithanne, meaning the largest river in this part of the country.^[5]

In 1609, the river was visited by a Dutch East India Company expedition led by Henry Hudson. Hudson, an English navigator, was hired to find a western route to Cathay (China), but his encounters set the stage for Dutch colonization of North America in the 17th century. Early Dutch and Swedish settlements were established along the lower section of the river and Delaware Bay. Both colonial powers called the river the South River (Zuidrivier), compared to the Hudson River, which was known as the North River. After the English expelled the Dutch and took control of the New Netherland colony in 1664, the river was renamed Delaware after Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and the Virginia colony's first royal governor, who defended the colony during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in 1776 led to the Americans winning the Battle of Trenton, which was a pivotal moment in the American Revolution.

^ ^a ^b "DRB river-mileage spreadsheet" (PDF). River Mileage System. Delaware River Basin Commission. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
^ National Wildlife Federation (August 18, 2010). "America's Great Waters Coalition". Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
^ "Delaware River". www.americanrivers.org. American Rivers. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
^ "National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the DRB". nj.gov. Delaware River Basin Commission. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
^ Heckewelder, John; Du Ponceau, Peter S. (1834), "Names which the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians, who once inhabited this country, had given to Rivers, Streams, Places, &c.", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 4: 351–396, doi:10.2307/1004837, JSTOR 1004837

[river-mileage-1] "DRB river-mileage spreadsheet" (PDF). River Mileage System. Delaware River Basin Commission. Retrieved October 24, 2022.

[2] National Wildlife Federation (August 18, 2010). "America's Great Waters Coalition". Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.

[3] "Delaware River". www.americanrivers.org. American Rivers. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

[4] "National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the DRB". nj.gov. Delaware River Basin Commission. Retrieved October 24, 2022.

[5] Heckewelder, John; Du Ponceau, Peter S. (1834), "Names which the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians, who once inhabited this country, had given to Rivers, Streams, Places, &c.", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 4: 351–396, doi:10.2307/1004837, JSTOR 1004837

Delaware River information

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