Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (
The Susquehanna River forms from two main branches: the
The river drains 27,500 square miles (71,000 km2), including nearly half of the land area of Pennsylvania. The drainage basin includes portions of the Allegheny Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains, cutting through a succession of water gaps in a broad zigzag course to flow across the rural heartland of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland in the lateral near-parallel array of mountain ridges. The river empties into the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay at Perryville and Havre de Grace, Maryland, providing half of the Bay's freshwater inflow. The bay lies in the flooded valley, or ria, of the Susquehanna.
Geology
The Susquehanna River is one of the
Course
Both branches and the lower Susquehanna were part of important regional transportation corridors. The river was extensively used for
North Branch Susquehanna
Also called the Main Branch Susquehanna, the longer branch of the river rises at the outlet of
A couple of miles south, in
, before receiving the West Branch at Northumberland.West Branch Susquehanna
The origin of the official West Branch is near
The West Branch turns to the southeast and passes Karthaus (at Mosquito Creek), Keating (at Sinnemahoning Creek), Renovo and Lock Haven, where it receives Bald Eagle Creek. It passes Williamsport, where both Lycoming Creek and Loyalsock Creek empty into it, then turns south, passing Lewisburg, before joining the North Branch flowing from the northwest at Northumberland.
Main Susquehanna flow
Downstream from the confluence of its branches in Northumberland, the river flows south past Selinsgrove, where it is joined by its Penns Creek tributary, and cuts through a water gap at the western end of Mahantongo Mountain. It receives the Juniata River from the northwest at Duncannon, then passes through its last water gap, the Susquehanna Gap through the Blue Mountain Ridge, just northwest of Harrisburg.
Etymology
"Susquehanna" may come from the
The Lenape are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who had communities ranging from coastal Connecticut through New York and Long Island, and further south into New Jersey and Delaware in the mid-Atlantic area. Their settlements in Pennsylvania included Con'esto'ga ("Roof-place" or "town", modern Washington Boro, Lancaster County), also called Ka'ot'sch'ie'ra ("Place-crawfish", modern Chickisalunga, Lancaster County), or Gasch'guch'sa ("Great-fall-in-river", modern Conewago Falls, Lancaster County). They were called Minquas ("quite different"), or Sisa'we'hak'hanna'lenno'wak ("Oyster-river-people") by others.[20][citation needed] The Lenape also called the area Sisa'we'hak'hanna'unk ("Oyster-river-place").[21]
Peoples of the mid-Atlantic Coast included coastal peoples who spoke
In Virginia and other southern colonies, Siouan-speaking tribes constituted a third major language family, with their peoples occupying much of the middle areas of the interior. Algongquian-speaking peoples predominated in the coastal areas. Iroquoian speakers, such as the Cherokee and Tuscarora peoples, generally occupied areas to the interior near the Piedmont and foothills.[24]
History
In 1615, the river was traversed by the French explorer Étienne Brûlé. In the 1670s the Conestoga, or Susquehannock people, succumbed to Iroquois conquest by the powerful Five Nations of the Iroquois League based in present-day New York, who wanted to control the fur trade with Europeans. The Susquehannock assimilated with the Iroquois. In the aftermath, the Iroquois resettled some of the semi-tributary Lenape in this area, as it was near the western boundary of the Lenape's former territory, known as Lenapehoking.
The Susquehanna River has continued to play an important role throughout the
In 1779 during the American Revolutionary War, General James Clinton led an expedition down the Susquehanna from its headwaters. His party had made the upper portion navigable by damming the river's source at Otsego Lake, allowing the lake's level to rise, and then destroying the dam and flooding the river in order for his flotilla to travel for miles downstream. James Fenimore Cooper described this event in the introduction to his historical novel, The Pioneers (1823).
At Athens, Pennsylvania, then known as Tioga or "Tioga Point", Clinton met with General John Sullivan and his forces, who had marched from Easton, Pennsylvania. Together on August 29, they defeated the Tories and warriors of allied Iroquois bands at the Battle of Newtown (near present-day Elmira, New York). This was part of what was known as the "Sullivan-Clinton Campaign" or the "Sullivan Expedition". They swept through western New York, dominated by the Seneca people, destroying more than 40 Seneca villages, as well as the stores of crops the people had set aside for winter. Many of the Iroquois left New York and went to Canada as refugees; casualties from exposure and starvation were high that winter.
Following the United States gaining independence in the Revolutionary War, in 1790 Colonel Timothy Matlack, Samuel Maclay and John Adlum were commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to survey the headwaters of the Susquehanna river. They were to explore a route for a passage to connect the West Branch with the waters of the Allegheny River, which flowed to Pittsburgh and the Ohio River.[25] In 1792, the Union Canal was proposed in order to link the Susquehanna and the Delaware rivers in Pennsylvania along Swatara and Tulpehocken creeks. In the 19th century, many industrial centers developed along the Susquehanna, using its water power to drive mills and coal machinery, to cool machines, and as a waterway for the transport of raw and manufactured goods.
Based on colonial charters, both Pennsylvania and
In the 1790s English
In 1833 John B. Jervis began a canal system to extend the
The Susquehanna River figures in the history of the
During the
In 1972 the remnants of Hurricane Agnes stalled over the New York-Pennsylvania border, dropping as much as 20 inches (510 mm) of rain on the hilly lands. Much of that precipitation was received into the Susquehanna from its western tributaries, and the valley suffered disastrous flooding. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was among the hardest-hit communities and the capital Harrisburg was flooded. The Chesapeake Bay received so much fresh water that it altered the ecosystem, killing much of the marine life that depended on saltwater.
The
In September 2011 the Susquehanna River and its communities were hit by Tropical Storm Lee, which caused the worst flooding since Agnes in 1972.
Bridges, ferries, canals and dams
The Susquehanna River is important in the transportation history of the United States. Before the Port Deposit Bridge opened in 1818, the river formed a barrier between the northern and southern states, as it could be crossed only by ferry. The earliest dams were constructed to support ferry operations in low water. The presence of many rapids in the river meant that while commercial traffic could navigate down the river in the high waters of the spring thaws, nothing could move up.
The Susquehanna was improved by navigations throughout the 1820s and 1830s as the Pennsylvania Canal. Together with facilities of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, loaded barges were transferred from the canal and hoisted across the mountain ridge into the Pittsburgh area with access to the Monongahela, Allegheny Rivers and their confluence into the Ohio River flowing southwest towards the Mississippi River. The 82-mile (132 km) Union Canal was completed in 1828 to connect the Schuylkill River (flowing southeast towards the Delaware River at Philadelphia) at Reading westwards to the Susquehanna River above the state capital of Harrisburg.[28] Competition from faster transport via the railroad industry by the 1850s resulted in reducing the reliance on the river for transport.[29]
Two canal systems were constructed on the lower Susquehanna to bypass the rapids. The first was the Susquehanna Canal, also called the Conowingo Canal or the Port Deposit Canal, completed in 1802 by a Maryland company known as the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal. The second was the much longer and more successful Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. The canals required dams to provide canal water and navigation pools. As the industrial age progressed, bridges replaced
Most of the canals have been filled in or are partially preserved as a part of historical parks. Dams generally are used to generate power or to provide lakes for recreation.
Environmental threats
It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997.[35] The designation provides for technical assistance from federal agencies to state and local governments working in the Susquehanna watershed.
Another environmental concern is radioactivity released during the 1979 Three Mile Island accident.[36] However, extensive radionuclide studies over a 25-year period from 1979 through 2003, confirm that the Three Mile Island accident has not resulted in any harmful radiation effects.[37] The areas in and along a 262-km length of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania were monitored for the presence of radioactive materials. This study began two months after the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) partial reactor meltdown; it spanned the next 25 years. Monitoring points included stations at the PPL Susquehanna and TMI nuclear power plants. Monthly gamma measurements documented concentrations of radionuclides from natural and anthropogenic sources. During this study, various series of gamma-emitting radionuclide concentration measurements were made in many general categories of animals, plants, and other inorganic matter, both within and near the river. Sampling began in 1979 before the first start-up of the PPL Susquehanna power plant. Although all species were not continuously monitored for the entire period, an extensive database was compiled. In 1986, the ongoing measurements detected fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. These data may be used in support of dose or environmental transport calculations.[citation needed] The remaining reactor at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in 2019.[38]
In 2015, a smallmouth bass with a rare, cancerous tumor was caught from the river, raising renewed concerns about toxic materials and water pollution.[39][40] The Environmental Protection Agency reported, "we do not have sufficient data at this time to scientifically support listing the main stem of the Susquehanna as impaired."[39]
Recreation
The Susquehanna River has attracted boaters who watch or fish for its migratory species. Many tourists and local residents use the Susquehanna in the summer for recreation purposes such as kayaking, canoeing, and motor-boating. Due to the high volume of smallmouth bass in the river, it is the host of numerous bass fishing tournaments each year and is regarded by many as one of the premier bass fishing rivers in North America. Canoe races are held annually on various sections of the river, such as the amateur race held in Oneonta, New York.
Susquehanna rowing and paddling have a long history. Starting in 1874, rowers from Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, raced men from Sunbury. The General Clinton Canoe Regatta, a 70-mile (110 km) flat-water race, takes place each year in Bainbridge, New York, on Memorial Day weekend. Binghamton University Crew and Hiawatha Island Boat Club are also located on the river, in the Southern Tier of New York.
The Appalachian Trail passes through Duncannon, Pennsylvania, and crosses the Susquehanna on the Clarks Ferry Bridge.
See also
- List of crossings of the Susquehanna River
- City Island (Pennsylvania)
- Garrett Island (Maryland)
- Geography of Pennsylvania
- List of Maryland rivers
- List of New York rivers
- List of Pennsylvania rivers
- McCormick Island
- Spades Wharf Island
- Three Mile Island accident
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 8, 2011
- ^ a b "Susquehanna River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
- ^ "Otsego Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
- ^ "Susquehanna River Basin Map - Susquehanna River Basin Commission". docs.dcnr.pa.gov. 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
data
- ^ "USGS 01578310 Susquehanna River at Conowingo, MD". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ^ "USGS 01540500 Susquehanna River at Danville, PA". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ "Susquehanna River". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ "The Susquehanna River". Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ Susquehanna River Trail Archived April 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, accessed March 25, 2010.
- ^ Susquehanna River Archived April 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Green Works Radio, accessed March 25, 2010.
- ^ "Susquehanna River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b "Description of the Geology of York County Peninsula". Penn State University Libraries. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
- ^ Lehigh Valley Railroad's Engine refurbishment and construction work at Sayre yard.
- ^ 297 Mitchel Rd, Carrolltown, Cambria County, PA 15722 Lat,Lng: 40.584789, -78.718370 per BING Maps
- ^ Simms, William Q. "Two Lights on the Hill". Lighthouse Digest. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
- ^ "siskëwahane". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Lenape Language Preservation Project. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-103-14922-3, p. 132.
- ^ "History on the Half-Shell: The Story of New York City and Its Oysters." (n.d.), New York Public Library blog. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/01/history-half-shell-intertwined-story-new-york-city-and-its-oysters Archived September 17, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- OCLC 1976122.
- ISBN 978-1-103-14922-3, pp. 81, 85,132.
- ISBN 1-104-25351-8, pp. 48, 161, and 222.
- ^ ISBN 1-104-25351-8, p. 141.
- ^ "John Smith, A Map of Virginia, 1612". www.marinersmuseum.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8139-2609-4.
- ^ Storey, Henry Wilson. History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.
- ^ a b Chenango, Whitford. http://www.mikalac.com/tech/tra/chenango.html Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Civil War Timeline" The main bridge across the Susquehanna was burnt by the townspeople of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, in order to stop the advancing Confederates, who were encamped in Wrightsville, York County. Archived October 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, National Park Service
- LCCN 89-25150.
- ^ Paddle the Susquehanna Archived April 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 10, 2011.
- ^ "The Pride of the Susquehanna". Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ Skrapits, Elizabeth (March 12, 2011). "Winter flood slams Shickshinny". The Citizens' Voice. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ Hughes, Matt (November 5, 2011). "Shickshinny offered help from group of Buddhists". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. Retrieved November 18, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Annapolis, MD. "Susquehanna River Named America's Most Endangered River for 2005." April 13, 2005.
- ^ "Susquehanna Fact Sheet" (PDF). Chesapeake Bay Foundation. April 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Washington, D.C. "American Heritage Rivers: Upper Susquehanna and Lackawanna Rivers." October 19, 2006.
- ^ Sturgis, Sue (April 2, 2009). "Investigation: Revelations about Three Mile Island Disaster Raise Doubts over Nuclear Plant Safety". Facing South. Institute for Southern Studies. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
- S2CID 205637858.
- ^ Sholtis, Brett. "Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down". Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ a b Ohlheiser, Abby (May 5, 2015). "Why a smallmouth bass with a rare, cancerous tumor has Pa. officials worried". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ^ Begley, Sarah (May 8, 2015). "Rare Cancer Discovered in Pennsylvania Smallmouth Bass". TIME.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
Further reading
- Miller, Peter (March 1985). "Susquehanna: America's Small-Town River". OCLC 643483454.