Hackensack River

The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the New Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city of Hackensack, is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay. Once believed to be among the most polluted watercourses in the United States, it staged a modest revival by the late 2000s. The river is divided into the upper river, north of the Oradell Reservoir and Oradell Dam, and lower river, south of the reservoir and dam.

The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the New Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city of Hackensack, is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay. Once believed to be among the most polluted watercourses in the United States, it staged a modest revival by the late 2000s. The river is divided into the upper river, north of the Oradell Reservoir and Oradell Dam, and lower river, south of the reservoir and dam. ==Description== The Hackensack River rises in southeastern New York, in Rockland County, in the Sweet Swamp, located in the hamlet of New City just west of the Hudson River and half a mile south of High Tor State Park. It flows briefly southeast, into the Lake DeForest reservoir, separated from the Hudson by less than 3 mi (5 km). South of the dam, it then flows south, diverging from the Hudson. Just across the New Jersey state line, in northern Bergen County, it is impounded to form the reservoir Lake Tappan near River Vale. South of Lake Tappan, it flows in a meandering course southward through the suburban communities of New Jersey. Near Oradell, it is impounded to form Oradell Reservoir, where it is surrounded primarily by Oradell, Haworth, and Emerson, and joined by several streams, including the Dwars Kill, the Cherry Brook, and Pascack Brook. Van Buskirk Island, a man-made island and site of the New Milford Plant of the Hackensack Water Company, lies in this area. South of the reservoir, it flows through the Oradell Dam through River Edge, Hackensack, Teaneck, Bogota, and Ridgefield Park, once again approaching within 3 mi (5 km) of the Hudson, and separated from it by the ridge of the Palisades. At Little Ferry, it is joined by the broad Overpeck Creek, then flows southward, widening in a broad, meandering tidal estuary through the Meadowlands, forming extensive side streams and wetlands. South of North Bergen, it forms the boundary between Bergen County to the west and Hudson County to the east. Opposite Secaucus it is joined by Berry's Creek, then flows past the western edge of Jersey City, which overlooks the river's valley from the ridge of the Palisades, before forming Newark Bay at its confluence with the Passaic River between Jersey City and Kearny. As it flows through the Meadowlands it is traversed by numerous rail and road bridges. ==History== The name of the Hackensack River comes from the Lenape word Achinigeu-hach, or Ackingsah-sack, meaning "flat confluence of streams" or "stony ground". Conflicts with the Lenape prevented the early Dutch settlers of the New Netherland colony from expanding westward into the valley into late in the 17th century. The river furnished both the Native Americans and the European settlers with abundant runs of herring, shad, and striped bass. At the outset of the colonial era, the river's watershed was home to Lenape groups now known as the Rumachenanck (or Haverstraw), Tappan, and Hackensack, the latter exonym taken from an encampment near the confluence of the tributary Overpeck Creek. European settlement began in the mid-17th century as part of New Netherland, when the region was called Achter Kol, meaning "rear pass" or "behind the ridge", to describe the valleys west of the Hudson Palisades, which afforded passage to trapping grounds in the northern hinterlands. The river and the surrounding meadowlands presented a formidable difficulty in transportation and communication. The wetlands helped allow the escape of the Continental Army under George Washington in 1776 after several defeats at the hands of the British army on the east side of the Hudson. It later served as a protective barrier that allowed Washington's army to encamp in the nearby hills near Morristown. ==Tributaries== ===New Jersey=== Berry's Creek Bashes Creek Cherry Brook Moonachie Creek Mill Creek Cromakill Creek Bellmans Creek Losen Slote Overpeck Creek Coles Brook French Brook Hirshfeld Brook Dwars Kill Tappan Run Pascack Brook Holdrum Brook Hillsdale Brook Cherry Brook ===New York=== Nauraushaun Brook Nanuet, New York East Branch Hackensack River Toms Creek West Branch Hackensack River ==See also== List of New Jersey rivers List of New York rivers List of crossings of the Hackensack River Little Ferry Seaplane Base Hackensack RiverWalk ==References== ==External links== Bergen SWAN - Watershed Protection Group Hackensack Riverkeeper - Environmental organization Hackensack River tides - Fairleigh Dickinson University Hackensack River bridges Wild New Jersey: Fishes of the Hackensack River Meadowlands Environment Center - Environmental education facility Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute New Jersey Naval Museum Home of the W.W. II Submarine USS Ling (SS-297) USS Ling Photos on board the Submarine USS Ling SS-297 NOAA Chart 12337, Passaic and Hackensack Rivers U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations

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