Neptune's Needle

c.280 miles long; rising in the Catskills, SE N.Y., in E and W branches, which meet at Hancock. It flows SE along the N.Y.-Pa. border to Port Jervis, then bet. Pa. and N.J. generally S to Delaware Bay, an estuary (52 miles long) bet. N.J. and Del. A migratory bird protection zone has been established over the bay. Reservoirs and dams on the river’s headstreams provide flood control and water supply; part of N.Y. city’s water supply comes from the Delaware R. The diversion of large amounts of water from the upper Del. R. has increased the salinity of Delaware Bay. The Delaware R. Basin Compact was formed (1961) to regulate the use of water in the entire river basin. The Delaware R. cuts through Kittatinny Mt. near Stroudsburg, Pa., forming the Delaware Water Gap, a scenic resort and recreation area.

The lower Delaware R., from Trenton, N.J. (the head of navigation), past Philadelphia (an ocean port), to Wilmington, Delaware, flows through a highly industrialized area; water pollution is a problem here. The Delaware R. has long been significant in commerce and carries a significant amount of tonnage. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal links it with Chesapeake Bay. Delaware River tidal to Trenton, NJ

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Compiler

Peter Richards