Hudson River
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Image:HudsonRiverJerseyCity1890.jpg The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, is a river running mainly through New York State but partly forming the boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey. It is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Netherlands, who explored it in 1609. Early European settlement of the area clustered around the river. The area inspired the Hudson River School of painting, a sort of early American pastoral idyll.
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Geography
Image:Hudson river from bear mountain bridge.jpg The official source of the Hudson is Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondack Mountains. However, the waterway from the lake is known as Feldspar Brook and the Opalescent River, feeding into the Hudson at Tahawus. The actual Hudson River begins several miles north of Tahawus at Henderson Lake. The Hudson is joined at Troy (north of Albany) by the Mohawk River, its major tributary, just south of which the Federal Dam separates the Upper Hudson River Valley from the Lower Hudson River Valley or simply the Hudson River Valley. South of Troy, the Hudson widens and flows south into the Atlantic Ocean between Manhattan Island and New Jersey, forming New York Harbor, at New York Bay, an arm of the Ocean. The Hudson was originally named the "North River" by the Dutch, because it was the river that marked the northern most reaches of the New Netherland colony. It was the English who originated the Hudson name, although the river remains locally known as the North River to this day.
The lower Hudson is actually a tidal estuary, with tidal influence extending as far as the Federal Dam at Troy. [1] Strong tides make parts of New York Harbor difficult and dangerous to navigate. During the winter, ice floes drift south or north, depending upon the tides. The Mahican name of the river, Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, means "the river that flows both ways." The Hudson is often mistaken for one of the largest rivers in the United States, but it is an estuary throughout most of its length below Troy and thus only a small fraction of water, about 15,000 cubic feet per second, is present.
The Hudson and its tributaries—notably the Mohawk River—drain a large area. Parts of the Hudson river form coves, such as Weehawken Cove in Hoboken and Weehawken.
The Hudson is sometimes called a "drowned" river. The rising sea levels after the retreat of the Wisconsinan glaciation, the most recent ice age, have resulted in a marine incursion that drowned the coastal plain and brought salt water well above 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. Image:Hudson River From New York VGA.jpg
Notable landmarks on the Hudson include West Point, Bard College, the Thayer Hotel at West Point, Bannerman's Castle, Metro-North Railroad's Hudson River Line (formerly part of the New York Central system), The Tappan Zee, the New Jersey Palisades, Hudson River Islands State Park, Hudson Highlands State Park, Fort Tryon Park with The Cloisters, Liberty State Park, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Cities and towns on the New Jersey side include Fort Lee, Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City. Cities and towns on the New York side include Troy, Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie,Glens Falls, Beacon, Yonkers, and New York City (Manhattan, The Bronx).
The natural beauty of the Hudson Valley earned the Hudson River the nickname "America's Rhine", being compared to that of the famous 40-mile (65 km) stretch of Germany's Rhine River valley between the cities of Bingen and Koblenz. It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997.
The Narrows
The Narrows form the mouth of the Hudson River which empties the river waters into the Atlantic Ocean via a tidal strait (narrows) between Staten Island and Brooklyn. The Narrows connects the upper and lower sections of New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been the most important entrance into the harbor.
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 the Hudson River from terminating via The Narrows. At that time, the Hudson River emptied into the Atlantic Ocean through the present course of the lower Raritan River, by taking 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 build up of water in the Upper Bay eventually allowed the Hudson River to break through previous land mass that was connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn to form The Narrows as it exists today. Thus allowing the Hudson River to find a shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean via its present course between New Jersey and New York City (Waldman, 2000).
Transportation
The Hudson River is navigable for a great distance. The original Erie Canal, opened in 1825 to connect the Hudson with Lake Erie, emptied into the Hudson just south of the Federal Dam in Troy. The canal enabled shipping between cities on the Great Lakes and Europe via the Atlantic Ocean. The New York State Barge Canal, the successor to the Erie Canal, runs into the Hudson River north of Troy, and uses natural waterways whenever possible. The first railroad in New York, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, opened in 1831 between Albany and Schenectady on the Mohawk River, enabling passengers to bypass the slowest part of the Erie Canal.
Image:HudsonRiverJavitsCenter.agr.JPGThe Delaware and Hudson Canal ended at the Hudson at Kingston, running southwest to the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania.
In northern Troy, the Champlain Canal split from the Erie Canal and continued north along the west side of the Hudson to Thomson, where it crossed to the east side. At Fort Edward the canal left the Hudson, heading northeast to Lake Champlain. A barge canal now splits from the Hudson at that point, taking roughly the same route (also parallel to the Delaware and Hudson Railway's Saratoga and Whitehall Railroad) to Lake Champlain at Whitehall. From Lake Champlain, boats can continue north into Canada to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The Hudson Valley also proved attractive for railroads, once technology progressed to the point where it was feasible to construct the required bridges over tributaries. The Troy and Greenbush Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened that same year, running a short distance on the east side between Troy and Greenbush (east of Albany). The Hudson River Railroad was chartered the next year as a continuation of the Troy and Greenbush south to New York City, and was completed in 1851. In 1866 the Hudson River Bridge opened over the river between Greenbush and Albany, enabling through traffic between the Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central Railroad west to Buffalo.
The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway ran up the west shore of the Hudson as a competitor to the merged New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Construction was slow, and was finally completed in 1884; the next year the New York Central bought it.
The Hudson is crossed at numerous points by bridges and tunnels. The width of the Lower Hudson River required major feats of engineering to cross, the results today visible in the Verrazano Narrows and George Washington Bridges, as well as the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels and the PATH and Pennsylvania Railroad tubes. The Troy-Waterford Bridge at Waterford was the first bridge over the Hudson, opened in 1809. The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad was chartered in 1832 and opened in 1835, including the Green Island Bridge, the first bridge over the Hudson south of the Federal Dam. [2]
The Upper Hudson River's valley was also useful for railroads. Sections of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, Troy and Boston Railroad and Albany Northern Railroad ran next to the Hudson between Troy and Mechanicville. North of Mechanicville the shore was bare until Glens Falls, where the short Glens Falls Railroad ran along the east shore. At Glens Falls the Hudson turns west to Corinth before continuing north; at Corinth the Adirondack Railway begins to run along the Hudson's west bank. The original Adirondack Railway opened by 1871, ending at North Creek along the river. In World War II an extension opened to Tahawus, the site of valuable iron and titanium mines. The extension continued along the Hudson River into Hamilton County, and then continued north where the Hudson makes a turn to the west, crossing the Hudson and running along the west shore of the Boreas River. South of Tahawus the route returned to the east shore of the Hudson the rest of the way to its terminus. Image:Hudson River NASA.jpg
Political boundaries
The Hudson River serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York, and further north between counties in New York. The northernmost place with this convention is in southwestern Essex County, New York.
| Hamilton | Essex | |
| Warren | river runs along municipal boundaries | |
| Saratoga | Warren | |
| Saratoga | Washington | |
| Saratoga | Rensselaer | |
| Albany | Rensselaer | |
| Greene | Columbia | |
| Ulster | Columbia | |
| Ulster | Dutchess | |
| Orange | Dutchess | |
| Orange | Putnam | |
| Rockland | Westchester | |
| Bergen (NJ) | Westchester | |
| Bergen (NJ) | Bronx | |
| Bergen (NJ) | New York | |
| Hudson (NJ) | New York |
Tributaries
From north to south, moving downriver
- Opalescent Brook
- Battenkill Creek
- Mohawk River
- Catskill Creek
- Kaaterskill Creek
- Sawkill Creek
- Esopus Creek
- Rondout Creek
- Moodna Creek
- Croton River
- Sparkill Creek
Crossings
From south to north: Image:Tappan Zee Bridge from below.jpg
New Jersey-New York
- Downtown Hudson Tubes PATH (c. 1907)
- Holland Tunnel carrying I-78 (1927)
- Uptown Hudson Tubes PATH (c. 1911)
- North River Tunnel of the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad to New York Penn Station (now Amtrak and NJ Transit) (c. 1908)
- Lincoln Tunnel (1937)
- George Washington Bridge carrying I-95 (1931)
New York
- Tappan Zee Bridge carrying the Thruway, I-87, and I-287(1955)
- Bear Mountain Bridge carrying US 6 US 202 (1924) (originally planned as the Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge for a railroad)
- Newburgh-Beacon Bridge carrying I-84 from Newburgh to Beacon (1963)
- Mid-Hudson Bridge near Poughkeepsie (1930)
- Poughkeepsie Bridge (railroad) near Poughkeepsie (1888; was deemed unsafe after a fire in 1974)
- Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge (1957)
- Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill (1935)
- Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge (railroad) in Castleton-on-Hudson (1924)
- Castleton Bridge on the Berkshire Thruway in Castleton-on-Hudson
- Former Albany and Greenbush Bridge between Albany and Rensselaer
- Dunn Memorial Bridge between Albany and Rensselaer (1969)
- Former Hudson River Bridge (railroad) between Albany and Rensselaer (1866)
- Livingston Avenue Bridge (railroad) between Albany and Rensselaer
- Patroon Island Bridge on Interstate 90 between Albany and Rensselaer
- Menands Bridge in Troy
- Congress Street Bridge in Troy (formerly the Troy and West Troy Bridge), carrying New York State Route 2, connecting Watervliet and Troy
- Green Island Bridge in Troy, replaced a collapsed railroad bridge (1982)
- Collar City Bridge in Troy carrying New York State Route 7
- 112th Street Bridge in Troy
- Troy-Waterford Bridge connecting northern Troy to Waterford
- Former Albany Northern Railroad bridge north of Waterford
- Mechanicville Bridge in Mechanicville carrying New York State Highway 67
- Railroad bridge in Mechanicville
- Stillwater Bridge in Stillwater
- Schuylerville Bridge in Schuylerville carrying New York State Highway 29
- Dix Bridge in Schuylerville
- Former Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway bridge in Schuylerville
- Northumberland Bridge in Thomson carrying U.S. Highway 4, formerly the Fort Miller Bridge carrying the Champlain Canal towpath
- Railroad bridge in Fort Edward
- New York State Highway 197 bridge in Fort Edward
- Bridge in Hudson Falls
- Cooper's Cave Bridge in Glens Falls carrying U.S. Highway 9 and New York State Highway 32
- Interstate 87 bridge near West Glens Falls
- Bridge in Corinth
- New York State Highway 9N bridge near Lake Luzerne
- Hadley Bridge in Hadley and Lake Luzerne
- Former railroad bridge in Warrensburg and Thurman
- Thurman Station Bridge in Warrensburg and Thurman
- The Glen Bridge at The Glen
- Riparius Bridge at Riparius
- North Creek Bridge at North Creek
- Former bridge at North River
- Adirondack Railway bridge
- Footbridge south of Newcomb
- Newcomb Bridge at Newcomb
- Bridge at Newcomb
- Bridge at Tahawus
- Bridge north of Tahawus
- Bridge north of Tahawus
Theodore Roosevelt's famous trip to the headwaters
On September 14, 1901, then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was at Lake Tear of the Clouds after returning from a hike to the Mount Marcy summit when he received a message informing him that President William McKinley who had been shot two weeks earlier but expected to survive had taken a turn for the worse.
Roosevelt hiked down 10 miles on the southwest side of the mountain to the closest stage station at Long Lake, New York. He then took a 40-mile midnight stage coach ride through the twisting Adirondack Roads to the Adironack Railway station at North Creek, New York where he discovered that McKinley had died. Roosevelt took the train to Buffalo, New York where he was officially sworn in as President.
The 40-mile route is now designated the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail.
Trivia
Interstate 87 and U.S. Route 9 are the only highways to cross the Hudson River twice.
See also
- Hudson Valley
- List of New Jersey rivers
- List of New York rivers
- Upper Hudson River Valley
- Hudson Canyon - Underwater canyon extending hundreds of miles into the Atlantic Ocean that allows the Hudson River to flow into ocean.
External links
- Hudson Riverkeeper
- Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
- Hudson River Valley Greenway
- Hudson River Watertrail Association
- NY/NJ Baykeeper
- Bannerman Castle Trust
- Hudson River.com
- The River Project
- Beczak Environmental Education Center
- Chelsea Piers
- Downtown Boathouse
- Hoboken Cove Boathouse
- Hudson River Museum
- Hudson River Maritime Museum
References
de:Hudson River
es:Río Hudson fr:Hudson (fleuve) ko:허드슨 강 it:Hudson he:נהר האדסון nl:Hudson (rivier) ja:ハドソン川 no:Hudson River pl:Hudson (rzeka) pt:Rio Hudson sq:Hudson River sv:Hudsonfloden zh:哈德遜河