Overpeck Creek is a

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 drai ...

of the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

, approximately long, in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The lower broad mouth of the creek is part of the extended 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 environm ...

of the lower Hackensack and of the adjacent

wetland 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 waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

region known as the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of ...

. The upper creek flows through suburban communities west of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The creek rises in

Tenafly Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,

, on the west side of the Palisades, approximately from the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

. It flows south-southwest through Englewood, past

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

, Leonia, and Palisades Park, where it flows past the Overpeck County Park. It joins the Hackensack on the south side of Ridgefield Park and the east side of Little Ferry. In colonial times, the creek was called "Tantaqua" and was the site of a Hackensack village. An attempted European settlement, Achter Col, in 1642 was aborted after

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

retaliations for the Pavonia Massacre. Later 17th and 18th century settlements were collectively known as the English Neighborhood. The creek lay along the main land route west of the Hudson and provided a consistently difficult barrier for transportation in the area until the construction of modern roads and bridges in the 19th century. Development of the region was facilitated by the

New Jersey Midland Railway The New Jersey Midland Railway was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York. Formation and construction The New Jersey Midland Railway c ...

, the

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor ...

, and the Erie Railroad's Northern Branch, the latter of which partially runs parallel to the creek. Restoration of rail service is the object of the

Northern Branch Corridor Project The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposed extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) from its northern terminus into eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, initially proposed in 2001. If built, the new service would use the right-of-w ...

and the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project. Although the creek is theoretically

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

, the mouth of the creek is blocked by the two bridges of the CSX River Line and NYS&W railroads. Federal law requires that these bridges be opened to water traffic on 24 hours' notice. The NYS&W bridge can still be opened manually, but the CSX bridge has been inoperable since being rebuilt in 2002, rendering the owning railroad liable to a fine of $25,000 per incident. Work to replace the bridge was funded in 2017 and work was scheduled to begin in 2018. The bridge collapsed under a train in August 2018. Like the other tributaries of the Hackensack in the Meadowlands, the creek has suffered from severe

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

in the 20th century during the era of heavy industrialization. During the 1950s, tide gates were installed on the creek that largely cut off the tidal flow into the surrounding wetlands. The restoration of the surrounding wetlands has been an ongoing project of several state and private agencies.

References

External links

History of Teaneck
{{authority control Rivers of Bergen County, New Jersey Hackensack River Rivers of New Jersey

See also

References

External links