There are five major river systems on the eastern coast of the United States; Delaware River, Hudson River, Susquehanna River, James River, and Potomac River. These rivers flow from north to south, and this whole region is known as the Mid-Atlantic Region. About 4% of the United States depends on the significant Delaware River on the Atlantic coast for drinking water and other things. It is a source of water used for drinking, agriculture, and industrial use and includes Philadelphia and New York State and not New York City. Delaware Township consists of New Jersey’s Hunterdon County and the Hunterdon Plateau township. The southern portion falls in the Amwell Valley.The river flows for 419 mi (674 km) on the Bay of Delaware and enters from the Cape May in New Jersey into the Atlantic Ocean and enters into Delaware from Cape Henlopen. You will find the deepest point of the Delaware River at Big Eddy at Narrowsburg, New York. The approximate flow of the river current is 2.5 mph (4 kph), and the average annual flow rate recorded at Trenton, New Jersey, is 11,700 cubic ft/s (331.3 cubic m/s).The Delaware Estuary stretches from Trenton across the Bay, including the tidal reaches of the Delaware River. They also include New Jersey, Morrisville, Pennsylvania, south of Cape May, and Cape Henlopen. Since the Delaware River is considered an estuarine, the salinity levels vary from the Bay to the freshwater at Trenton.Apart from reading these facts, you can also find more fun facts articles like the River Thames and Rivers in Colorado.Origin Of The NameThomas West, 12th Baron De La Warr, also spelled as Delaware, served as a privy councilor for Queen Elizabeth I and King James. The Delaware Bay, along with the Delaware River and the Delaware province, is named in honor of Thomas. He is also known by many to be one of the English founders of Virginia and, during the First Anglo-Powhatan War, was the governor who defended the colony.Along The DelawareThe central Delaware Valley is located in southeastern Pennsylvania and surrounding the states of Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey, which contains the Philadelphia metro area.Since the Delaware River flows through all these areas, the region was named the Delaware Valley. The Catskill mountains are drained by headstreams of Delaware and flow through Pennsylvania and NJ into northern Delaware Bay and the Ocean. The Dutch explorers named it the South River to distinguish it from the North River, an estuary of the Hudson River. The upper valley is where the river forms the border between New York and Pennsylvania. The Bay forms a part of the New Jersey-Delaware state border on the east coast of the United States and is an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean. Delaware River is on the southeast and northeast of Pike County. The three Delaware counties, New Castle, Kent Sussex, and Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem in New Jersey, are the six counties that border the Bay.Almost 70,000 ac (28,328 ha) of land alongside the rivers of Pennsylvania shores and New Jersey and 40 mi (60 km) of the middle Delaware River are preserved by the National Park Service. The Delaware Water Gap, the first national park in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is one of the most popular tourist attraction spots having an average of more than 4.5 million visitors annually. In December 2016, an act on the Delaware River Basin Conservation was passed to conserve the wildlife habitat and restore marine life. The other three critical areas covered in the act were the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program, including flood control programs.The Delaware River Watershed covers an area of 12,800 sq mi (33151 sq km)! New York State covers about one-fifth of the upper watershed, and the other parts covered are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. Delaware River’s basin is occupied by a variety of wildlife which can be seen on the banks of the river.Delaware River HistoryContinuous snow, ice, rains, and end erosion over millions of years made way to shape the Delaware River.The river made way for itself through the shattered and cracked quartzite. Probably if the quartzite weren’t cracked, it would not have been possible to form a gap through the mountains. The original name of the Delaware River was Lenapewihittuk or Lenape River and Kithanne, which meant the largest river in this part of the country. It was the homeland of the Lenape Native Americans before the arrival of the European settlers. In 1609, the Dutch East India Company expedition led by Henry Hudson visited the river. In 1631, the Dutch founded their first European settlement in Delaware at Lewes (Zwaanendael). As the Quakers established their colonies of Pennsylvania, West Jersey, including the present area of Delaware, in 1664, the region became an English settlement. In the 18th century, cities like Camden (then Cooper’s Ferry), Philadelphia, Trenton, Wilmington, and New Castle were established in Delaware. As the river provided the path for settlement, the German immigrants settled over northeastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey and became a part of this agriculturally developed region. On December 25, 1776, General George Washington and a small army of 2,400 men successfully braved their way through the icy and freezing Delaware River. George Washington took over 11 hours to cross the Delaware River on Christmas night. They were on their way to attack the Hessian Garrison of 1500 at Trenton, New Jersey.Delaware River Wildlife FactsThe upper Delaware, which flows freely, provides exceptionally clean and high-quality water. This upper river holds superior ecological integrity conducive to an abundance of wildlife.Due to its diverse ecosystem, many wildlife like the eagles, bears, snakes, insects, otters, herons, Canadian geese, deer, and many more are found along the river banks. More than 60 species survive within the river and its tributaries. Freshwater mussels help the waters to remain clean. Eels, an endangered American species, are fish found in the Delaware River, the longest river without any dam located east of the Mississippi. The American shad also migrates between the Atlantic Ocean and the river. The blue-spotted sunfish have made the river a permanent habitat. You can also watch the great blue herons hunting into the shallow portions of the river hunting for fishes, frogs, or small crustaceans. You can enjoy the sightseeing of the river otters gliding on the water or sliding on the riverbanks. During the early mornings and late dusk, you can see the white-tailed deer hopping its way across the roadways.Hundreds of birds species survive on the upper Delaware River. The bald eagle is an important winter resident in the region. The other species like the waterfowl, sparrows, hawks, and shorebirds reside on the banks of the river. Visitors can enjoy seeing birds in designated hotspot areas, and in 1998 the area was designated as the Important Bird Area (IBA).According to the 2020 Beach Sweeps Report, almost 185,221 pieces of trash were found in the Delaware River. The river is highly polluted with plastic waste and carries over 283,000 lb (128,8366 kg) of plastic waste annually to the ocean. From Philadelphia to the deep water bay, the river is 600 ft (180 m) wide and 30 ft (9.1 m) deep. However, the main channel of the Delaware River maintains a depth of 40 ft (12 m).William Penn’s Pennsylvania colony also included the state of Delaware. In 1682, the territory along with the western shore of Delaware Bay was leased out by the Duke of York to Penn, based on his request. The William Penn Foundation was started in 2014 to protect the watershed which feeds into the Delaware River and is a source of drinking water for more than 15 million people.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Delaware river facts, then why not look at facts about rivers in Mississippi or Puerto Princesa underground river facts.
There are five major river systems on the eastern coast of the United States; Delaware River, Hudson River, Susquehanna River, James River, and Potomac River.
