The Canisteo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 8, 2011

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Tioga River in western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It drains a

dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, me ...

, a portion of the northern

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...

southwest of the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

region, in the far northwestern reaches of the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

. It rises in the hills of northern

Allegany County, New York Allegany County is a County (United States), county in the Southern Tier of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont, New York, Belmont. ...

approximately southwest of Dansville, New York. It flows east into northern

Steuben County, New York Steuben County (stu-BEN) is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,584. Its county seat is Bath. Its name is in honor of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian general who fought on the American ...

, then generally southeast past

Hornell, New York Hornell is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early set ...

and

Canisteo, New York Canisteo () is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 3,294 at the 2020 census. The name was taken from a former Native American village located there, and is Iroquoian in origin. The Town of Canisteo is in the ...

. It joins the Tioga from the west in southeastern Steuben County, approximately north of the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

state line and southwest of

Corning, New York Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,551 at the 2020 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company t ...

. The origin of the name of the river is obscure, likely from the

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic languages, Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language f ...

subfamily of American indigenous languages meaning either " pickerel" or "head of water".

History

The Canisteo River empties via the Tioga into the

Chemung River The Chemung River ( ) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 in south central New York and northern ...

, and it into the

. This allowed goods transported on the Canisteo River to reach the Atlantic via the ports of Havre de Grace and

Perryville, Maryland Perryville is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,361 at the 2010 census. The town is located near an access for Interstate 95, on the north side of the outlet of the Susquehanna River. History Perryville was fir ...

, midway between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Prior to the opening of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

in 1825, this was western New York State's most direct route for products going to market. As on other rivers in the Susquehanna basin, transportation on the Canisteo before the middle of the 19th century was often accomplished by

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

s up to long.

Arkport, New York Arkport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 844 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the barges used to ship products through the village. The postal code is 14807. The Village of Arkport is in the Tow ...

, on the Canisteo River, was the highest navigable point in the Susquehanna watershed. Since the upper headwaters went through virgin forest, an early

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry developed. Logs were floated down the river after being cut. Livestock and crops soon followed. In the floods of 1936, the river overflowed and inundated parts of the Canisteo and Hornell, leading to the construction of flood control systems in both communities. The only flooding since then was from

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

of 1972, in which the river destroyed the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

line south of Hornell and New York Route 36 between Canisteo and Hornell, which was rebuilt further from the river.

References

External links

Canisteo River history
{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Tributaries of the Chemung River Rivers of Allegany County, New York Rivers of Steuben County, New York Allegheny Plateau Canisteo, New York

History

See also

References

External links