The Rockaway River 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 drainage ...

of the

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

, approximately 35 mi (56 km) long, in northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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 ...

. The upper course of the river flows through a wooded mountainous valley, whereas the lower course flows through the populated New Jersey suburbs and former industrial area west of New York City. It drains an area of approximately 130 sq mi (340 km²). It rises in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson Township. It flows SSW, in a direct course between in the valley between the mountain ridges. Northeast of

Wharton Wharton may refer to: Academic institutions * Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania * Wharton County Junior College * Paul R. Wharton High School * Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University Places * Wharton, Ch ...

it emerges from the mountains and flows generally east in a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

ing course, past Wharton,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

(where it enters a concrete channel), Rockaway,

Denville Denville Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 16,635, reflecting ...

and

Boonton Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline of 149 (− ...

, where it passes through the

Boonton Gorge The Boonton Gorge is a river gorge in Boonton, New Jersey where the Rockaway River drops over several waterfalls, and travels for slightly over a mile before emptying into the Jersey City Reservoir. Geology The Rockaway River flows through flat ...

. The gorge begins with the impressive 25 foot Boonton Falls. It continues for a little over 1 mile (1.6 km) dropping around through nearly continuous class 3 and 4 whitewater. On the south side of Boonton it is impounded to form the

Boonton Reservoir The Boonton Reservoir is a reservoir located between Boonton, New Jersey, Boonton and Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey, Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey. Boonton, along with nearby Splitrock Reservoir, provides water for Jersey City, New ...

. Downstream from the reservoir dam it flows south, through Lake Hiawatha, where the river splits and joins again. It then flows through Parsippany and into Hatfield Swamp, where it is joined by the

Whippany River The Whippany River is a tributary of the Rockaway River, approximately 20 mi (30 km) long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. It rises in Morris County, in Mendham Township west of Morristown, and flows generally ENE in a ...

and then merges with the Passaic River. Beaver brook is a stream that flows through a swamp and enters the Rockaway River in Denville. In the 19th century the river connected to the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

near Wharton and served as an industrial transportation link for shipping

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

ore between

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, ...

and New York City. The communities of Wharton, Dover, and Boonton were important iron processing towns in the early 19th century, with a large concentration of forges and mills. The significant

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 ...

problem in the lower course of the river has been somewhat alleviated by legislation and by the nearly complete abandonment of

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

in the area. The isolated upper course of the river is a popular region site for smallmouth bass fishing. The New Jersey Fish and Game stocks the river in many sections with rainbow and brown trout. Many fisherman find enjoyment in fishing the river. The river is shown in the movie, ''

The Station Agent ''The Station Agent'' is a 2003 American independent psychological comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom McCarthy in his directorial debut. It stars Peter Dinklage as a man who seeks solitude in an abandoned train station in the Newfoun ...

'', and also appears in one episode of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''.

Flooding

The Rockaway River has the potential to cause flooding in the area of Denville that is north of the central business district, including residential areas along the river. During the massive flooding following Hurricane Irene in August 2011, the Rockaway River crested approx. 6 feet above its previous record flood level. The flooding was considered to be a 500-year event. The downtown Denville business district and surrounding residential areas were flooded, by in some places up to 8 feet of water. As silt has accumulated in the river basin, the average depth of the river has steadily decreased. Since the flooding of Irene there have been no problems reported with the river overreaching its banks. Discussions are ongoing with the Township of Denville and the Army Corps of Engineers as to a solution, including the control of dams upstream which may have contributed to the downtown flooding.

Tributaries

* Den Brook *

External links

New Jersey Skylands: The Rockaway River

U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
* – Mouth of the river {{authority control Rivers of Morris County, New Jersey Tributaries of the Passaic River Rivers of New Jersey

Flooding

Tributaries

See also

External links