St. Jones River
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| St. Jones River | |
|---|---|
 The St. Jones River in Dover in 2006
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| Country | United States |
| State | Delaware |
| Length | 10.5 mi (17 km) [1] |
| Watershed | 36 mi² (93 km²) [2] |
| Source | Silver Lake |
| - location | Dover |
| - coordinates | [3] |
| - elevation | 13 ft (4 m) [4] |
| Mouth | Delaware Bay |
| - location | Bowers |
| - coordinates | [3] |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) [3] |
The St. Jones River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in central Delaware in the United States. It is 10.5 mi (17 km) long and drains an area of 36 square miles (93 km²) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The river is believed to have been named either for Robert Jones, an early European property owner in the region, or for "St. Jone", the Welsh spelling of St. John.[3]
The St. Jones River flows for its entire length in east-central Kent County. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the river is considered to begin at the dam of Silver Lake in the city of Dover;[3] Silver Lake is fed by streams known as Fork Branch,[5] Penrose Branch,[6] and Maidstone Branch.[7] From Silver Lake, the St. Jones River flows generally southeastwardly, along the east side of downtown Dover and past the Delaware State Capitol and the Dover Air Force Base to Bowers, where it flows into Delaware Bay, approximately 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the mouth of the Murderkill River.[8]
The lower course of the river southeast of Dover is surrounded by brackish marshes and salt marshes, open water habitats, and wetlands. A portion of the lower river, along with nearby Blackbird Creek, have received federal protection as the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve system.[9]
Contents |
[edit] Variant names
The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "St. Jones River" as the stream's name in 1894. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as:[3]
- Jones Creek
- Joness Creek
- Kishlen
- Saint Jones Creek
- Warge Kijhlen
- Wulfs Creek
- Wulfscreek
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ National Estuarine Research Reserve System (December 2006). Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve: St. Jones River. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (2006-12-14). Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for Bacteria and Nutrient Impairments on the St. Jones River Watershed, Delaware. Decision Rationale.. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ a b c d e f Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for St. Jones River (Feature ID #217883). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Silver Lake (Feature ID #214647). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Fork Branch (Feature ID #213972). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Penrose Branch (Feature ID #214437). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Maidstone Branch (Feature ID #214266). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
- ^ DeLorme (2004). Maryland Delaware Atlas & Gazetteer. p.52, p.62. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-279-X.
- ^ National Estuarine Research Reserve System (December 2006). Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
[edit] External links
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State of Delaware Dover (capital) |
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