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85-574: Roughly the northeastern portion of the Bay from the Narrows to Sandy Hook is known as the Lower Bay (named in relation to the neighboring Upper [New York] Bay); roughly the western portion of the Bay (including the portion at the mouth of New Jersey's Raritan River ) is called Raritan Bay ; and roughly the southeastern portion of the Bay (that is, the portion south and the portion southwest from Sandy Hook)

170-764: A New Jersey Transit railroad bridge which carries the North Jersey Coast Line ; the Victory Bridge which carries Route 35 (connecting Perth Amboy and Sayreville, New Jersey ); the Edison Bridge , which carries U.S. Route 9 (connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville ); and the Driscoll Bridge , which carries the Garden State Parkway (connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville). The Raritan River

255-404: A large depositional plain near its mouth. This lack of significant deposits near the river mouth differs from most other American estuaries. Around New York Harbor, sediment also flows into the estuary from the ocean when the current is flowing north. The area around Hudson River was inhabited by indigenous peoples ages before Europeans arrived. The Lenape , Wappinger , and Mahican branches of

340-592: Is 315 miles (507 km) long, with depths of 30 feet (9.1 m) for the stretch south of the Federal Dam, dredged to maintain the river as a shipping route. Some sections there are around 160 feet deep, and the deepest part of the Hudson, known as "World's End" (between the US Military Academy and Constitution Island ) has a depth of 202 feet (62 m). The Hudson and its tributaries, notably

425-588: Is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey . Its watershed drains much of the central region of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near Staten Island on the Atlantic Ocean . Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of the Hudson River approximately 6,000 years ago. Following the end of the last ice age , the Narrows had not yet been formed and

510-619: Is an important source of drinking water for the central portion of New Jersey. A water filtration plant operated by New Jersey American Water is located in Somerset and draws its water at the confluence of the Raritan River and its largest tributary (the Millstone River ), providing an average of 132,000,000 US gallons (500,000 m ) of water per day. The New Jersey Water Supply Authority operates two reservoirs off of

595-531: Is believed that the first use of the name Hudson River in a map was in a map created by the cartographer John Carwitham in 1740. In 1939, the magazine Life described the river as "America's Rhine", comparing it to the 760-mile (1,220 km) Rhine in Central and Western Europe. The tidal Hudson is unusually straight for a river, and the earliest colonial Dutch charts of the Hudson River designated

680-673: Is credited for the Old World 's discovery of continental North America, with his journey in 1497 along the continent's coast. In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed north along the Atlantic seaboard and into New York Harbor, however he left the harbor shortly thereafter, without navigating into the Hudson River. In 1598, Dutch men employed by the Greenland Company wintered in New York Bay . In 1609

765-577: Is estimated to have formed between 26,000 and 13,300 years ago. Along the river, the Palisades are of metamorphic basalt , or diabases , the Highlands are primarily granite and gneiss with intrusions , and from Beacon to Albany, shales and limestones , or mainly sedimentary rock . The Narrows were most likely formed about 6,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Previously, Staten Island and Long Island were connected, preventing

850-518: Is known as Sandy Hook Bay. Since before the time of the Lenape , the Native American inhabitants of the area, the Lower Bay has sustained a rich marine ecosystem with multiple fish species and molluscs , especially oyster , clam and mussel beds. In the 20th century, due to increased population and industrial pollution, the water quality of the bay and its ability to support marine life

935-683: The Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York at Henderson Lake in the town of Newcomb , and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between New York City and Jersey City , eventually draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Upper New York Bay . The river serves as a physical boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Farther north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties . The lower half of

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1020-548: The Algonquians lived along the river, mostly in peace with the other groups. The Algonquians in the region mainly lived in small clans and villages throughout the area. One major settlement was called Navish, which was located at Croton Point , overlooking the Hudson River. Other settlements were located in various locations throughout the Hudson Highlands . Many villagers lived in various types of houses, which

1105-605: The Battle of Harlem Heights the following month. Later that year, the British and Continental Armies were involved in skirmishes and battles in rivertowns of the Hudson in Westchester County, culminating in the Battle of White Plains . Also in late 1776, New England militias fortified the river's choke point known as the Hudson Highlands , which included building Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery on either side of

1190-840: The Bear Mountain Bridge , which connects Westchester and Rockland Counties. Afterward, leaving the Hudson Highlands, the river enters Haverstraw Bay , the widest point of the river at 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide. Shortly thereafter, the river forms the Tappan Zee and flows under the Tappan Zee Bridge , which carries the New York State Thruway between Tarrytown and Nyack in Westchester and Rockland Counties respectively. At

1275-716: The Delaware River at Honesdale, Pennsylvania , and the Hudson River at Kingston, New York. This canal enabled the transportation of coal, and later other goods as well, between the Delaware and Hudson River watersheds. The combination of these canals made the Hudson River one of the most vital waterways for trade in the nation. During the Industrial Revolution , the Hudson River became a major location for production, especially around Albany and Troy. The river allowed for fast and easy transport of goods from

1360-579: The Dutch East India Company financed English navigator Henry Hudson in his search for the Northeast Passage , but thwarted by sea ice in that direction, he sailed westward across the Atlantic in pursuit of a Northwest Passage . During the search, Hudson sailed up the river that would later be named after him. He then sailed upriver to a point near Stuyvesant (Old Kinderhook), and the ship’s boat with five members ventured to

1445-634: The Erie Canal (completed in 1825) sparked a "canal fever" in the United States, catalyzing the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R) between New Brunswick on the Raritan and Bordentown on the Delaware River . The D&R was completed in 1834 and provided a critical link between Philadelphia (and the rest of the greater Mid-Atlantic region , at large) and New York (and

1530-521: The Federal Dam in Troy . There are about two high tides and two low tides per day. As the tide rises, the tidal current moves northward, taking enough time that part of the river can be at high tide while another part can be at the bottom of its low tide. Strong tides make parts of New York Harbor difficult and dangerous to navigate. During the winter, ice floes may drift south or north, depending upon

1615-546: The Green Brook Flood Control Project , which is designed to protect Bound Brook from a 150-year flood. In August 2011, record flooding occurred once again after Hurricane Irene swept through the area. This problem was exacerbated by well-above average rainfall that fell in the weeks before the storm hit, and spurred completion of the Army Corps of Engineers flood control project. As of 2015,

1700-758: The Harlem River Ship Canal connecting to the Harlem River ), the east bank of the river becomes Manhattan . The river is sometimes still called the North River from this point south. The George Washington Bridge crosses the river between Fort Lee and the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel also cross under the river between Manhattan and New Jersey. South of

1785-471: The Hudson Valley , flowing along the west bank of Albany and the east bank of Rensselaer . Interstate 90 crosses the Hudson into Albany at this point in the river. The Hudson then leaves the Capital District, forming the boundary between Greene and Columbia Counties. It then meets its confluence with Schodack Creek, widening considerably at this point. After flowing by Hudson , the river forms

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1870-647: The Lightship Ambrose , which was superseded by the Ambrose Light . The bay contains popular beaches at Brighton Beach and Coney Island in Brooklyn . There are also beaches on Staten Island. Just outside the bay, facing the Atlantic, are the beaches of Sandy Hook and the Rockaways. Several lighthouses were built to aid navigation in and around Lower New York Bay, located both on land and in

1955-553: The Mohawk River , the largest tributary of the Hudson River, in Waterford . The river then reaches the Federal Dam in Troy , marking an impoundment of the river. At an elevation of 2 feet (0.61 m), the bottom of the dam marks the beginning of the tidal influence in the Hudson as well as the beginning of the lower Hudson River. South of the Federal Dam, the Hudson River begins to widen considerably. The river enters

2040-459: The Raritan Bay and move further inland along the river valley. As English colonists took over the region, they took advantage of the river's location between New York and Philadelphia as well as a road network developed by the Lenape to turn the region into a transportation and commercial hub. As a result, the Raritan River became an important waterway for colonial travel and trade, allowing for

2125-669: The Saint Lawrence Seaway . Further south the Hudson takes in water from the Batten Kill River and Fish Creek near Schuylerville . The river then forms the boundary between Saratoga and Rensselaer counties. The river then enters the heart of the Capital District . It takes in water from the Hoosic River , which extends into Massachusetts . Shortly thereafter the river has its confluence with

2210-581: The St. Lawrence Seaway , and then British cities such as Montreal to the Hudson River and New York City. Another major canal was the Oswego Canal , which connected the Erie Canal to Oswego and Lake Ontario , and could be used to bypass Niagara Falls. The Cayuga-Seneca Canal connected the Erie Canal to Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake . Farther south, the Delaware and Hudson Canal was built between

2295-633: The United States Geological Survey (USGS). USGS maps show the longest source of the Hudson as the Opalescent on the western slopes of Little Marcy Mountain, originating two miles north of Lake Tear of the Clouds. Using river names as seen on maps, Indian Pass Brook flows into Henderson Lake . The outlet of Henderson Lake is most commonly referred to as the official start of the Hudson River, as it flows east and meets

2380-672: The 1800s. One of the most significant canals of this era was the Erie Canal . The canal was built to link the Midwest to the Port of New York , a significant seaport during that time, by way of the Great Lakes , the canal, the Mohawk River , and the Hudson River. The completion of the canal enhanced the development of the American West, allowing settlers to travel west, send goods to markets in frontier cities, and export goods via

2465-609: The Algonquians called wigwams , though large families often lived in longhouses that could be a hundred feet long. At the associated villages, they grew corn, beans, and squash. They also gathered other types of plant foods, such as hickory nuts and many other wild fruits and tubers. In addition to agriculture, the Algonquians also fished in the Hudson River, focusing on various species of freshwater fish, as well as various variations of striped bass , American eels , sturgeon , herring , and shad . Oyster beds were also common on

2550-644: The Battery , the river proper ends, meeting the East River to form Upper New York Bay, also known as New York Harbor . Its outflow continues through the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island , under the Verrazzano Bridge , and into Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean through the Hudson Canyon . The lower Hudson is a tidal estuary, with tidal influence extending as far as

2635-606: The British, who had invaded the largely-defenseless New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam and the colony of New Netherland were renamed New York, after the Duke of York . Under British colonial rule, the Hudson Valley became an agricultural hub. Manors were developed on the east side of the river, and the west side contained many smaller and independent farms. In 1754, the Albany Plan of Union was created at Albany City Hall on

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2720-427: The Delaware to the Raritan river and serves over 1 million customers along the way The Raritan River has persistent flooding problems when excessive rain from storms affects the river basin. The flooding problems mainly affect the town of Bound Brook , which is partially built on a natural floodplain at the junction of several tributaries, and Manville , which has a large neighborhood known as Lost Valley that lies on

2805-619: The English and the Dutch over control of the river and colony. During the 18th century, the river valley and its inhabitants were the subject and inspiration of Washington Irving , the first internationally acclaimed American author. In the nineteenth century, the area inspired the Hudson River School of landscape painting , an American pastoral style, as well as the concepts of environmentalism and wilderness . The Hudson River

2890-564: The Hudson River and New York City. The completion of the canal made New York City one of the most vital ports in the nation, surpassing the Port of Philadelphia and ports in Massachusetts . After the completion of the Erie Canal, smaller canals were built to connect it with the new system. The Champlain Canal was built to connect the Hudson River near Troy to the southern end of Lake Champlain. This canal allowed boaters to travel from

2975-652: The Hudson River from terminating via the Narrows. At that time, the Hudson River emptied into the Atlantic Ocean through a more westerly course through parts of present-day northern New Jersey, along the eastern side of the Watchung Mountains to Bound Brook, New Jersey and then on into the Atlantic Ocean via Raritan Bay . A buildup of water in the Upper New York Bay eventually allowed the Hudson River to break through previous land mass that

3060-427: The Hudson River, and would later become Kingston. Fort Orange was founded on the river north of Wiltwyck, and later became known as Albany. The Dutch West India Company operated a monopoly on the region for roughly twenty years before other businessmen were allowed to set up their own ventures in the colony. In 1647, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant took over management of the colony, and surrendered it in 1664 to

3145-468: The Hudson and a metal chain between the two. In 1777, Washington expected the British would attempt to control the Hudson River, however they instead conquered Philadelphia, and left a smaller force in New York City, with permission to strike the Hudson Valley at any time. The British attacked on October 5, 1777, in the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery by sailing up the Hudson River, looting

3230-566: The Hudson flowed along the Watchung Mountains to present-day Bound Brook , then followed the course of the Raritan eastward into Lower New York Bay . The name Raritan possibly derives from a branch of the Lenape people called the Nariticongs, the first people known to settle the Raritan Valley. Following conflict with the arriving Dutch colonists , the native people of the region were forced to sell their territory near

3315-416: The Hudson. The plan allowed the colonies to treaty with the Iroquois and provided a framework for the Continental Congress . During the American Revolutionary War , the British realized that the river's proximity to Lake George and Lake Champlain would allow their navy to control the water route from Montreal to New York City. British general John Burgoyne planned the Saratoga campaign , to control

3400-427: The Langerack by the Dutch. An embellished (and partly erroneous) list of "The Old Reaches" was published in a tourist guidebook for steamboat passengers in the nineteenth century. The source of the Hudson River is Henderson Lake , located in the Adirondack Mountains at an elevation of 4,322 ft (1,317 m). However, the photogenic Lake Tear of the Clouds is more conventionally cited in popular culture as

3485-454: The Mohawk River, drain an area of 13,000 square miles (34,000 km ), the Hudson River Watershed. It covers much of New York, as well as parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. Parts of the Hudson River form coves , such as Weehawken Cove in the towns of Hoboken and Weehawken in New Jersey. The City of Poughkeepsie and several adjacent communities in the mid-Hudson valley, totalling about 100,000 people, rely on

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3570-421: The Raritan as well. The tidal portions of the river host migratory salt water species such as striped bass , fluke , winter flounder , weakfish and bluefish . Recently, efforts to restore anadromous fish populations have been made, done by removing many of the obsolete dams and the constructing dam bypass infrastructure. Hopefully this will result in restoring shad , striped bass, and sturgeon populations in

3655-419: The Raritan river, the Spruce Run Reservoir and Round Valley Reservoir , and controls releases of water to ensure the “minimum passing flow rates” enforced by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection . Additionally, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, managed by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, serves as a water supply that pumps over 100,000,000 US gallons (380,000 m ) of water per day from

3740-454: The bay itself. The earliest, at Sandy Hook, was built in colonial times. In New Jersey : In New York : Within Lower New York Bay: There are two small artificial islands in Lower New York Bay, both located a mile offshore from South Beach, Staten Island . In the early 20th century, both islands were used as a quarantine station, housing immigrants found to have been carrying contagious diseases when they landed at Ellis Island . At

3825-601: The boundary between Orange and Dutchess Counties. It flows between Newburgh and Beacon and under the Newburgh Beacon Bridge , taking in the Fishkill Creek . In this area, between Gee's Point at the US Military Academy and Constitution Island , an area known as "World's End" marks the deepest part of the Hudson, at 202 feet (62 m). Shortly thereafter, the river enters the Hudson Highlands between Putnam and Orange Counties, flowing between mountains such as Storm King Mountain , Breakneck Ridge , and Bear Mountain . The river narrows considerably here before flowing under

3910-485: The boundary between Ulster and Columbia Counties and Ulster and Dutchess Counties, passing Germantown and Kingston . The Delaware and Hudson Canal meets the river at this point. The river then flows by Hyde Park , former residence of Franklin D. Roosevelt , and alongside the city of Poughkeepsie , flowing under the Walkway over the Hudson and the Mid-Hudson Bridge . Afterwards, the Hudson passes Wappingers Falls and takes in Wappinger Creek . The river then forms

3995-459: The canal was developed as a state park for recreational use and remains in use as a water supply for central New Jersey. Various mill towns were formed along the canal and the aforementioned river (and tributaries), most notably (from south to north / west to east) being Trenton , Kingston , Blackwells Mills , Griggstown , Hillsborough , Manville , Chester , Bernards , Clinton , Raritan , Milltown , and Woodbridge . The river forms at

4080-418: The confluence of the North and South Branches just west of Somerville at the border of Bridgewater , Branchburg , and Hillsborough Townships . It flows for approximately 16 mi (26 km) before slowing in tidewater at New Brunswick , and its estuary extends 14 mi (23 km) more entering the western end of Raritan Bay at South Amboy . Comprehensive measures have been taken to reduce

4165-421: The current status of this project is: (In alphabetical order with 2020 population) The Raritan river is formed by the confluence of: Its main tributaries are: Others are: Lakes that are located within the Raritan Basin include: Hudson River The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York , United States. It originates in

4250-408: The development of trade centers like Raritan Landing and New Brunswick , where agricultural and raw material goods could be sold. During the American Revolutionary War , the river was the site of guerilla warfare by American militiamen against British patrols, culminating in the Battle of Bound Brook where a large British force attacked an American outpost south of the river. The success of

4335-452: The first European known to have entered the Upper New York Bay , but he considered the river to be an estuary. The Dutch called the river the North River , and they called the present-day Delaware River the South River , which formed the spine of the Dutch colony of New Netherland . Settlements of the colony clustered around the Hudson, and its strategic importance as the gateway to the American interior led to years of competition between

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4420-418: The floodplain between the Raritan River and its largest tributary river, which is known as the Millstone River . Other towns in the Raritan River basin also experience flooding to a lesser degree. Record flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 (42.13 ft (12.84 m)) flood crest, 14 ft (4.3 m) above flood stage) caused renewed interest in a flood control project called

4505-423: The hamlet of North River , and takes in the Schroon River at Warrensburg . Further south, the river forms the boundary between Warren and Saratoga Counties. The river then takes in the Sacandaga River from the Great Sacandaga Lake . Shortly thereafter, the river leaves the Adirondack Park, flows under Interstate 87 , and through Glens Falls , just south of Lake George although receiving no streamflow from

4590-421: The interior of the Northeast to the coast. Hundreds of factories were built around the Hudson, in towns including Poughkeepise, Newburgh, Kingston, and Hudson. The North Tarrytown Assembly (later owned by General Motors ), on the river in Sleepy Hollow, was a large and notable example. The River links to the Erie Canal and Great Lakes, allowing manufacturing in the Midwest, including automobiles in Detroit, to use

4675-429: The lake. It next goes through Hudson Falls . At this point the river forms the boundary between Washington and Saratoga Counties. Here the river has an elevation of 200 feet (61 m). Just south in Fort Edward , the river reaches its confluence with the Champlain Canal , which historically provided boat traffic between New York City and Montreal and the rest of Eastern Canada via the Hudson, Lake Champlain and

4760-415: The latter 20th century have begun to improve water quality, and restoration work has continued in the 21st century. The river was called Ka’nón:no or Ca-ho-ha-ta-te-a ("the river") by the Haudenosaunee , and it was known as Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk ("river that flows two ways" or "waters that are never still" ) or Mahicannittuk by the Mohican nation who formerly inhabited both banks of

4845-401: The lower portion of the river. The meaning of the Mohican name comes from the river's long tidal range. The Delaware Tribe of Indians (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) considers the closely related Mohicans to be a part of the Lenape people, and so the Lenape also claim the Hudson as part of their ancestral territory, also calling it Muhheakantuck . The first known European name for the river

4930-418: The most successful painters of the school. At the beginning of the 19th century, transportation from the US east coast into the mainland was difficult. Ships were the fastest vehicles at the time, as trains were still being developed and automobiles were roughly a century away. In order to facilitate shipping throughout the country's interior, numerous canals were constructed between internal bodies of water in

5015-414: The mouth of the river. The deeply eroded old riverbed beyond the current shoreline, Hudson Canyon , is a rich fishing area. The former riverbed is clearly delineated beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, extending to the edge of the continental shelf . As a result of the glaciation and the rising sea levels , the lower half of the river is now a tidal estuary that occupies the Hudson Fjord. The fjord

5100-415: The narrow, meandering stretches as racks , or reaches. These names included the four "lower reaches" through the Hudson Highlands (Seylmakers rack, Cocks rack, Hoogh rack, and Vosserack) plus the four "upper reaches" from Inbocht Bay to Kinderhook (Backers rack, Jan Pleysiers rack, Klevers rack, and Harts rack). A ninth reach was described as "the long reach" by the Englishman Robert Juet and designated as

5185-406: The pollution and increase the water quality. These actions have benefited the fish population which include (but are not limited to) largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , sunfish , catfish , trout , chain pickerel , american eels , carp and yellow perch . Pike can be found in relative abundance in some portions of the river like Clinton and Califon. An occasional Musky has been taken out of

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5270-406: The remaining wilderness, which was fast disappearing from the Hudson Valley just as it was coming to be appreciated for its qualities of ruggedness and sublimity . The school characterizes the artistic body, its New York location, its landscape subject matter, and often its subject, the Hudson River. In general, Hudson River School artists believed that nature in the form of the American landscape

5355-450: The rest of the greater New England region , at large), as these cities were situated along the crucial rivers of the Delaware and the Hudson , respectively. The vast majority of traffic along the canal was Pennsylvania anthracite coal with the rest consisting mostly of agricultural and textile goods. At its peak in 1866 the D&R transported more cargo than the Erie Canal. In 1932 the D&R canal shut down for commercial use. In 1974

5440-402: The river and therefore cut off the patriot hub of New England (to the river's east) from the South and Mid-Atlantic regions to the river's west. The action would allow the British to focus on rallying the support of loyalists in the southerly states. As a result, numerous battles were fought along the river and in nearby waterways. These include the Battle of Long Island , in August 1776 and

5525-519: The river floor, which provided an extra source of nutrition. Land hunting consisted of turkey, deer, bear, and other animals. The lower Hudson River was inhabited by the Lenape, while further north, the Wappingers lived from Manhattan Island up to Poughkeepsie . They traded with both the Lenape to the south and the Mahicans to the north. The Mahicans lived in the northern part of the valley from present-day Kingston to Lake Champlain , with their capital located near present-day Albany . John Cabot

5610-424: The river for their drinking water. New York Harbor, between the Narrows and the George Washington Bridge, has a mix of fresh and ocean water, mixed by wind and tides to create an increasing gradient of salinity from the river's top to its bottom. This varies with season, weather, variation of water circulation, and other factors; snowmelt at winter's end increases the freshwater flow downstream. The salt line of

5695-472: The river is a tidal estuary , deeper than the body of water into which it flows, occupying the Hudson Fjord , an inlet that formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation , estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago. Even as far north as the city of Troy , the flow of the river changes direction with the tides. The Hudson River runs through the Munsee , Lenape , Mohican , Mohawk , and Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European exploration,

5780-411: The river varies from the north in Poughkeepsie to the south at Battery Park in New York City, though it usually lies near Newburgh. The Hudson is sometimes called, in geological terms, a drowned river . The rising sea levels after the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation , the most recent ice age , have resulted in a marine incursion that drowned the coastal plain and brought salt water well above

5865-450: The river was known as the Mahicannittuk by the Mohicans, Ka'nón:no by the Mohawks, and Muhheakantuck by the Lenape. The river was subsequently named after Henry Hudson , an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company who explored it in 1609, and after whom Hudson Bay in Canada is also named. It had previously been observed by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano sailing for King Francis I of France in 1524, as he became

5950-455: The river. Many songbirds , wading birds , and waterfowl make their homes in and along the length of the river, such as mallards , canadian geese , great blue herons , double-crested cormorants , and common mergansers . Common songbirds include the american robin , song sparrow , northern mockingbird , common grackle , and the Red-winged blackbird . Crustaceans such as blue claw crab , fiddler crabs and green crabs are also found in

6035-408: The source of the Hudson. The river is named Feldspar Brook from where it emerges from Lake Tear of the Clouds until its confluence with the Opalescent River , after which it becomes the Opalescent until it reaches Calamity Brook flowing southward into the eastern outlet of Henderson Lake. After this point, the stream is known as the Hudson River according to the cartographical definition used by

6120-676: The southwest flowing Calamity Brook. The confluence of the two rivers however is where most maps begin to use the Hudson River name on a cartographical basis. South of the outlet of Sanford Lake, the Opalescent River flows into the Hudson. The Hudson then flows south, taking in Beaver Brook and the outlet of Lake Harris. After its confluence with the Indian River, the Hudson forms the boundary between Essex and Hamilton counties. The Hudson flows entirely into Warren County in

6205-613: The start of World War II the United States Merchant Marine used both islands as a training station (which opened in 1938); the Quonset huts built during this period still stand on Swinburne Island. The other major use for the two islands during World War II were as anchorages for antisubmarine nets that fenced off New York Bay from the Atlantic Ocean to keep enemy submarines out. Both islands are now part of Gateway National Recreation Area . Fort Lafayette

6290-605: The state line with New Jersey the west bank of the Hudson enters Bergen County . The Palisades are large, rocky cliffs along the west bank of the river; also known as Bergen Hill at their lower end in Hudson County . Further south the east bank of the river becomes Yonkers and then the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. South of the confluence of the Hudson and Spuyten Duyvil Creek (subsumed by

6375-665: The tidal sections of the river. Crayfish can be found farther upstream. The river is also used for recreational boating, including use by the rowing team of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The river is featured in the title of Rutgers' alma mater , On the Banks of the Old Raritan , and its flooding is mentioned in the song. Near its mouth, the river is spanned by the Raritan Bay Drawbridge ,

6460-500: The tides. The Mahican name of the river represents its partially estuarine nature: muh-he-kun-ne-tuk means "the river that flows both ways." Due to tidal influence from the ocean extending to Troy, NY, freshwater discharge is only about 17,400 cubic feet (490 m ) per second on average. The mean fresh water discharge at the river's mouth in New York is approximately 21,900 cubic feet (620 m ) per second. The Hudson River

6545-413: The vicinity of present-day Albany, reaching an end to navigation. The Dutch subsequently began to colonize the region, establishing the colony of New Netherland , including three major fur-trading outposts: New Amsterdam , Wiltwyck , and Fort Orange . New Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Hudson River, and would later become known as New York City . Wiltwyck was founded roughly halfway up

6630-646: The village of Peekskill and capturing the two forts. In 1778, the Continentals constructed the Great West Point Chain in order to prevent another British fleet from sailing up the Hudson. Hudson River School paintings reflect the themes of discovery, exploration, and settlement in America in the mid-19th century. The detailed and idealized paintings also typically depict a pastoral setting. The works often juxtapose peaceful agriculture and

6715-456: Was also the eastern outlet for the Erie Canal , which, when completed in 1825, became an important transportation artery for the early 19th century United States. Pollution in the Hudson River increased in the 20th century, more acutely by mid-century, particularly with industrial contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls , also known by their acronym PCBs. Pollution control regulations, enforcement actions and restoration projects initiated in

6800-516: Was an ineffable manifestation of God, though the artists varied in the depth of their religious conviction. Their reverence for America's natural beauty was shared with contemporary American writers such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson . The artist Thomas Cole is generally acknowledged as the founder of the Hudson River School , his work first being reviewed in 1825, while painters Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt were

6885-435: Was connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn to form the Narrows as it exists today. This allowed the Hudson River to find a shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean via its present course between New Jersey and New York City. Suspended sediments, mainly consisting of clays eroded from glacial deposits and organic particles, can be found in abundance in the river. The Hudson has a relatively short history of erosion, so it does not have

6970-643: Was on a small island in the Narrows, just off the Brooklyn shore. That island was removed during construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge . Coney Island , originally separated from the southern shore of Brooklyn by a narrow strait, has since been connected to the main part of Long Island by landfill, and is now a peninsula despite its name. 40°31′00″N 74°02′59″W  /  40.51667°N 74.04972°W  / 40.51667; -74.04972 Raritan River The Raritan River

7055-543: Was severely diminished. The water quality of the bay began to improve with the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act . The main shipping channel through Lower New York Bay is the Ambrose Channel , 2,000 feet (600 meters) wide and dredged to a depth of 40 feet (12 meters). The channel is navigable by ships with up to a 37-foot draft at low tide. The entrance to the Ambrose Channel was marked for many years by

7140-1040: Was the Rio San Antonio as named by the Portuguese explorer in Spain's employ, Estêvão Gomes , who explored the Mid-Atlantic coast in 1525. Another early name for the Hudson used by the Dutch was Rio de Montaigne . Later, they generally termed it the Noortrivier , or " North River ", the Delaware River being known as the Zuidrivier , or "South River". Other occasional names for the Hudson included Manhattes rieviere "Manhattan River", Groote Rivier "Great River", and de grootte Mouritse reviere , or "the Great Maurits River" (after Maurice, Prince of Orange ). The translated name North River

7225-583: Was used in the New York metropolitan area up until the early 1900s, with limited use continuing into the present day. The term persists in radio communication among commercial shipping traffic, especially below the Tappan Zee . The term also continues to be used in names of facilities in the river's southern portion, such as the North River piers , North River Tunnels , and the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant . It

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