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List of Delaware River tributaries

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The Delaware River looking north above Walpack Bend near Walpack, New Jersey, where the river leaves the historic Minisink region, a buried valley eroded from the Marcellus Formation

The watershed of the Delaware River drains an area of 14,119 square miles (36,570 km2) and encompasses 42 counties and 838 municipalities in five U.S. states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.[1]: p.9  This total area constitutes approximately 0.4% of the land mass in the United States.[1]: p.9  The Delaware River rises in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York, flowing southward for 419 miles (674 km) into Delaware Bay where its waters enter the Atlantic Ocean near Cape May in New Jersey and Cape Henlopen in Delaware. There are 216 tributary streams and creeks, comprising an estimated 14,057 miles of streams and creeks, in the watershed.[1]: p.11, 25 

The waters of the Delaware River's basin are used to sustain "fishing, transportation, power, cooling, recreation, and other industrial and residential purposes."[1]: p.9  While the watershed is home to 4.17 million people according to the 2000 U.S. census, these bodies of water provide drinking water to 17 million people, roughly 10% of the population of the United States.[1]: p.vi, 9  It is the 33rd largest river in the United States in terms of flow, but the nation's most heavily used rivers in daily volume of tonnage.[1]: p.11  The average annual flow rate of the Delaware is 11,700 cubic feet per second at Trenton, New Jersey.[1]: p.9 

Tributaries

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The main tributaries in New York are the Mongaup and Neversink rivers and Callicoon Creek. From Pennsylvania, the major tributaries are the Lackawaxen, Lehigh, and Schuylkill rivers. From New Jersey, the Big Flatbrook, Pequest, Musconetcong, and Maurice rivers, plus Oldmans, Raccoon and Rancocas creeks, flow into the Delaware.

Tributaries are arranged generally north to south from the source of the river to its mouth, its confluence with the Delaware River, tributaries within that rivers' watershed are mentioned in notes.

Tributaries in New York

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The Neversink River drainage basin
See also: List of rivers of New York

Tributaries in Pennsylvania

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See also: List of rivers in Pennsylvania
The Lehigh River drainage basin
The Schuylkill River drainage basin

Tributaries in New Jersey

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See also: List of rivers in New Jersey
The Paulins Kill drainage basin

The Appalachian Trail crosses the following tributaries or the watersheds of these tributaries in New Jersey: (1) Flat Brook (Big Flat brook), (Little Flat Brook), Dunnfield Creek, Stony Brook (Shawpocussing Creek), Paulins Kill via its tributary Yards Creek and Jacksonburg Creek.

Photo Tributary River length Watershed area Notes and remarks
Flat Brook 11.6-mile-long (18.7 km)
  • Flows into the Delaware at Flatbrookville, near Walpack Bend in Walpack Township, Sussex County, New Jersey
  • Tributaries include: Tillman Brook, Little Flat Brook, Beerskill, Big Flat Brook, Criss Brook, Forked Brook, Normanock Brook, Parker Brook, Stony Brook
Paulins Kill 41.6-mile (66.9 km) 176.85 square miles (458.0 km2)
Pequest River 35.7-mile-long (57.5 km) 162.62 square miles (421.2 km2)
  • Flows into the Delaware at Belvidere in Warren County, New Jersey
  • Tributaries include: Pophandusing Creek, Beaver Brook, Mountain Lake Brook, Furnace Brook, Bear Creek, Trout Brook
Musconetcong River 45.7-mile-long (73.5 km)

Tributaries in Delaware

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See also: List of rivers of Delaware

Tributaries of Delaware Bay

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A satellite image of Delaware Bay, January 2011

Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, as an estuary, forms a transitional zone between the river environment provided by the Delaware River and maritime environment of the Atlantic Ocean that is subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment. Delaware Bay covers 782 square miles (2,030 km2) in area.[2] The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware. The bay's outermost boundary separating it from the Atlantic are two capes: Cape Henlopen and Cape May.

Tributaries in New Jersey

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Tributaries in Delaware

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Philadelphia Water Department. "Moving from Assessment to Protection...The Delaware River Watershed Source Water Protection Plan" (PWSID #1510001) Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine (June 2007). Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  2. ^ Overview of the Delaware River Watershed Archived 2005-01-10 at the Wayback Machine
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