Wappinger Creek
| Wappinger Creek (Ma-we-na-wasigh[1]) | |
| River | |
 Wappinger Creek at Red Oaks Mill at high flow
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| Name origin: Native American Indians known as the "Wappingers" | |
| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| State | New York |
| County | Dutchess |
| Municipality | Wappingers, New York, Poughkeepsie |
| Source | Thompson Pond |
| - location | Pine Plains |
| Mouth | Hudson River |
| - location | New Hamburg, New York, DutchessCounty, USA |
| Length | 41.7 mi (67 km), North–south |
 Wappinger Creek Watershed
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Wappinger Creek is a 41.7-mile-long (67.1 km)[3] creek which runs from Thompson Pond to the Hudson River at New Hamburg in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is the longest creek in Dutchess County, with the largest watershed in the county.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The creek flows in a north–south direction on the eastern side of the Hudson River. The creek's source is Thompson Pond near Pine Plains, and it heads southwestward towards its mouth in the Hudson River near New Hamburg. Along the way, it goes through fluctuations in width and follows an erratic path; in Wappingers Falls, it forms Wappinger Lake, a man-made reservoir.[4] The initial .25 mi (0.40 km) of the creek runs through rocky, steep, wooded terrain. However as it approaches the Hudson it enters the river's tidal range, and has sandbars, mudflats and marshes. The creek is also home to numerous species, and is an important spawning area for anadromous fish, which thrive in the creek between April and June. Largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, red-breasted sunfish, and brown bullhead, however, are resident species.[5] Also, the creek is annually stocked with various species of trout for the purpose of recreational fishing.[6] Some residents and maps such as the 1867 Dutchess County Atlas refer to the creek as the Wappingers, probably in deference to the Wappinger tribe
[edit] Tributaries
Wappinger Creek has four distinct tributaries; the longest of which is Little Wappinger Creek which enters the creek from the east bank.
The tributaries are listed below from the source to the mouth, with Hunns Lake Creek being the northern most and Little Wappinger Creek being the southernmost.
| Name | Mouth coordinates |
Source coordinates |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunns Lake Creek[7] | 41°52′29″N 73°42′10″W / 41.8748°N 73.7029°W | 41°54′50″N 73°38′39″W / 41.9139°N 73.6442°W | Named after its source, Hunns Lake |
| Willow Brook[8] | 42°43′36″N 73°42′26″W / 42.7267°N 73.7072°W | 41°42′14″N 73°42′26″W / 41.7038°N 73.7072°W | Enters Wappinger Creek where County Route 17 crosses |
| East Brach Wappinger Creek[9] | 41°48′50″N 73°45′29″W / 41.8139°N 73.7581°W | 41°47′39″N 73°41′33″W / 41.7942°N 73.6926°W | One of the two largest tributaries of Wappinger Creek |
| Little Wappinger Creek[10] | 41°47′51″N 73°47′20″W / 41.7975°N 73.7890°W | 41°59′18″N 73°46′16″W / 41.9884°N 73.7712°W | Longest Tributary of Wappinger Creek |
[edit] References
- ^ History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River: their origin, manners and customs..., By Edward Manning Ruttenberg, page 370
- ^ "Wappinger Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 23, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=136:3:366818524881346406::NO::P3_FID:968772. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed October 3, 2011
- ^ "Wappinger Lake Fishing in Dutchess County, New York". Fishingworks.com. http://www.fishingworks.com/lakes/new-york/dutchess/wappingers-falls/wappinger-lake/. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ NYSwaterfronts.com (1987). "COASTAL FISH & WILDLIFE HABITAT RATING FORM". http://www.nyswaterfronts.com/downloads/pdfs/sig_hab/hudsonriver/Wappinger_Creek.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ "Spring 2008 Trout Stocking for Dutchess County". New York State DEC. 2008. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/23326.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ ""Hunns Creek Lake"". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 23, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:953451. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ ""Willow Brook"". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 23, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:971338. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ ""East Branch Wappinger Creek"". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 23, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:949022. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ ""Little Wappinger Creek"". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 23, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:955723. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
[edit] See also
- List of rivers in New York
- Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum: Wappinger Creek Trail
[edit] External links
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