The Cohansey River, also called Cohansey Creek, is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...
.. The river drains approximately of rural agricultural and forested lowlands on the north shore of
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean.
The bay is bordered inlan ...
.
It rises in central
Salem County
Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...
approximately southeast of
Woodstown
Woodstown ( ga, Baile na Coille, IPA: ˆbË alʲəˈnË aˈkÉ›l̪ʲə is home to a historic settlement measuring 1.5 km by 0.5 km, located on the southern bank of the River Suir, about 5.5 km west of Waterford City in the southeast ...
, and flows south through rural
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberla ...
. It flows through
Sunset Lake, which is also fed from
Mary Elmer Lake, both of which are located in the park system of the city of
Bridgeton. At Bridgeton the river becomes navigable, although very shallow at low tide: one-foot to a few inches coming through downtown Bridgeton. The city boat ramp downtown is unusable during low tide due to about of mud between the channel and the ramp. The river widens into a tidal
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
, approximately long, that flows south, then west, entering Cohansey Cove on Delaware Bay, approximately southwest of Bridgeton. The mouth of the estuary is surrounded by extensive
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
and
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
es.
In colonial times the river provided an anchorage for vessels approaching
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. In 1774, the small port village of
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
on the river near its mouth was the scene of an incident similar to the more famous
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
in which imported
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
was burned as a protest against taxation. The river was also known as the Cesaria River in colonial times.
Navigation and Coast pilot
The Cohansey River is in Region 3 of the US Coast Guard and NOAA Mapping system. The following information is reproduced from the US government coast pilot information. This is from the 39th edition and may be out of data, so please do not use this for navigation: Cohansey River, which empties into the northeast side of Delaware Bay 31 miles northwestward of Cape May Light, is used mostly by pleasure craft, although some petroleum is transported to Bridgeton. Cohansey Light (39°20'30"N., 75°21'41"W.), 42 feet above the water, is shown from a black skeleton tower with a white daymark on the south side near the natural entrance. A dredged cut through the narrow neck of land on which
the light stands gives a more direct approach to the river; the cut, 0.3 mile northwest of Cohansey Light, is marked on its west side by lights at the inner and outer ends. The river is unmarked above the dredged cut. In April 1990, the controlling depths were 5 feet to Fairton; thence in 1990-September 2003, shoaling to less than 1 foot to Bridgeton. The usual approach to Cohansey River is along the
axis of the dredged cut, but the natural channel eastward of Cohansey Light is sometimes used; the latter has a controlling depth of about 7 feet, and unmarked shoals with depths of 4 to 6 feet must be avoided on either side. Local knowledge is advised when using this approach and in the dredged channel in the upper part of the river off Bridgeton.
[US Coast Pilot, 3rd District, 39th ed. (US Coast Guard/ NOAA publication]
See also
*
Bridgeton, New Jersey Flood of 1934
*
List of New Jersey rivers
This is a list of streams and rivers of the U.S. state of New Jersey.
List of New Jersey rivers includes streams formally designated as rivers. There are also smaller streams (''i.e.,'' branches, creeks, drains, forks, licks, runs, etc.) in the ...
*
Mahlon Williamson (barque)
References
External links
"Jersey Tea Party" on Cohansey CreekU.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
{{authority control
Rivers of Cumberland County, New Jersey
Rivers of New Jersey
Rivers of Salem County, New Jersey
Tributaries of Delaware Bay