Wallkill River

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Wallkill River
Islands in the river near Walden, NY
Islands in the river near Walden, NY
Origin Lake Mohawk, New Jersey
Mouth Rondout Creek
Basin countries USA
Length 94 miles (151 km)
Source elevation ~720 feet (219 m)
Avg. discharge 215 ft³/s (6 m³/s) at Unionville; 1,044 ft³/s (31 m³/s) at Gardiner
Basin area 785 square miles (2.041 km²)

The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk near Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly more than 90 miles (144 km) into New York, where it drains into Rondout Creek near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston.

The river is often said to be unusual because it flows north between two major south-flowing rivers, the Hudson and the Delaware River. It also has the unusual distinction of being a river that drains into a creek, due to being impounded shortly before the Rondout confluence into a small body of water called Sturgeon Pond near Rifton, and what reaches the Rondout from there is the lesser flow.

Contents

[edit] Course

Its broad valley nestles between the main Appalachian Mountains and the northern end of the Blue Ridge, supporting much local agriculture. During its course it first drains most of Sussex County, New Jersey, then flows through the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge at the New Jersey/New York state line. Most of the New Jersey portion is navigable by canoe.

The Wallkill at near floodstage in September 2006, in the National Wildlife Preserve, in Sussex county, NJ
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The Wallkill at near floodstage in September 2006, in the National Wildlife Preserve, in Sussex county, NJ

Then is heavily diverted as it flows through the rich Black Dirt Region of Warwick. Until drainage projects were built here, this region was known as the Drowned Lands. After lending its name to the Town of Wallkill, in northern Orange County, it begins to regain its volume as it passes by Orange County Airport, Montgomery and through Walden, where dams have been built in the past to provide power for local industry. The largest, in Walden, still is used by New York State Electric and Gas today.

Dam, falls and NYSEG power station at Walden, seen here after heavy rainfall in October 2005.
Enlarge
Dam, falls and NYSEG power station at Walden, seen here after heavy rainfall in October 2005.

After briefly serving as the line between Orange and Ulster counties, it passes by Wallkill, the second community to take its name from the river, and then the striking scenery of the Shawangunk Ridge is visible as it winds past the Ulster County Fairgrounds and New Paltz, where its flood plain becomes more noticeable, on the way to its mouth at the Rondout.

Also somewhat unusually, the Wallkill tends to cross political borders much more often than it forms them, at least in New York (in New Jersey it divides several townships). Other than the brief segment that follows the Orange-Ulster line, there is only southern Orange County, where it divides the towns of Minisink, Wawayanda and Wallkill on its west from Warwick and Goshen to the east. Two villages, Montgomery and New Paltz, are also bounded by the river in part.

In addition to the town and hamlet in New York, two school districts take their name from the river: Wallkill Valley Regional, in New Jersey and Wallkill Central in New York (Valley Central also derives its name indirectly from the river).

Sturgeon Pond, created by impounding the Wallkill shortly before it joins the Rondout.
Enlarge
Sturgeon Pond, created by impounding the Wallkill shortly before it joins the Rondout.

[edit] History

Native Americans knew the river as Twischsawkin, meaning "the land where plums abound". At least three prehistoric rock shelters have been found in archaelogical digs in the region. For the indigenous peoples, it was not only important for its arable land but for its geological resources. The river and its valley are abundant in flint and chert, from which they made spear points and arrowheads.

European settlers of the region named it first the Palse River, after New Paltz. Later, when it was clear that the river continued well beyond the original New Paltz patent, it took after the Waal river in their native Netherlands. They worked their way down it from the Hudson Valley in the 17th century, and were followed by the British after the colony changed hands.

Settlers recognized the agricultural possibilities of the Drowned Lands almost as soon as they moved in. Efforts to divert the river and create more farmland appear to have begun as early as 1760. It would take 66 years, however, before a canal succeeded in draining the land and making enough available to profitably cultivate.

By that time industry was beginning to harness the river, too, as Jacob Walden established his mill in the village downriver that would later take his name. Millers in the Black Dirt Region clashed heavily with farmers in what were known as the Muskrat and Beaver Wars for decades afterwards, since the millers needed the water to flow freely while the farmers depended on keeping it diverted. In 1871 the farmers finally won. What industry there was would be confined to Montgomery and Walden where the railroad ran nearby.

In 1955 the river experienced the most serious flooding in its history, when two hurricanes pounded the Northeast after a dry summer.

[edit] Tributaries

Moving downriver (south to north)

[edit] Crossings

Moving upriver (north to south):

New York:

New Jersey:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Maps and aerial photos

Mouth or other endpoint (Rondout Creek)

Source (Lake Mohawk)

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