The Susquehanna River (;
Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major
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 w ...
located in the
Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower
Northeast and the
Upland South
The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...
. At long, it is the longest river on the
East Coast of the United States. By
watershed area, it is the 16th-largest river in the United States,
[Susquehanna River Trail](_blank)
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, accessed March 25, 2010.[Susquehanna River](_blank)
, Green Works Radio, accessed March 25, 2010. and also the longest river in the early 21st-century
continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
without commercial boat traffic.
The Susquehanna River forms from two main branches: the
North Branch, which rises in
Cooperstown, New York, and is regarded by federal mapmakers as the main branch or headwaters,
and the
West Branch, which rises in western
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 joins the main branch near
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
in central Pennsylvania.
The river drains , including nearly half of the land area of Pennsylvania. The
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
includes portions of the
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 (state), New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Oh ...
region of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, cutting through a succession of
water gap
A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...
s in a broad
zigzag
A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as ...
course to flow across the rural heartland of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in the lateral near-parallel array of mountain ridges. The river empties into the northern end of the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
at
Perryville and
Havre de Grace, Maryland, providing half of the Bay's freshwater inflow. The bay lies in the flooded valley, or ''
ria
A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
'', of the Susquehanna.
Geology
The Susquehanna River is one of the
oldest existing rivers in the world, being dated as 320–340
Myr, older than the mountain ridges through which it flows. These ridges resulted from the
Alleghenian orogeny
The Alleghanian orogeny or Appalachian orogeny is one of the geological mountain-forming events that formed the Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Mountains. The term and spelling Alleghany orogeny was originally proposed by H.P. Woodward in 195 ...
uplift events, when Africa (as part of
Gondwana) slammed into the Northern part of
Euramerica. The Susquehanna basin reaches its ultimate outflow in the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
. It was well established in the
flat tidelands of eastern North America during the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
era
about 252 to 66 million years ago. This is the same period when the
Hudson,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and
Potomac rivers were established.
Course
Both branches and the lower Susquehanna were part of important regional transportation corridors. The river was extensively used for
muscle-powered ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
,
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
s, and
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
boat shipping of bulk goods in the brief decades before the
Pennsylvania Canal System
The Pennsylvania Canal (or sometimes Pennsylvania Canal system) was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements including canals, dams, locks, tow paths, aqueducts, and viaducts. The Canal and Works were constructed and assemb ...
was eclipsed by the coming of age of
steam-powered
railways. While the railroad industry has been less prevalent since the closures and mergers of the 1950s–1960s, a wide-ranging rail transportation infrastructure still operates along the river's shores.
North Branch Susquehanna
Also called the Main Branch Susquehanna, the longer branch of the river rises at the outlet of
Otsego Lake in
Cooperstown, New York. From there, the north branch of the river runs west-southwest through rural farmland and dairy country, receiving the
Unadilla River at
Sidney. It dips south into
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, ...
briefly to turn sharply 90 degrees west at
Susquehanna and again 90 degrees north at
Great Bend hooking back into
New York. It receives the
Chenango in downtown
Binghamton
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
. After meandering westwards, it turns south crossing the line again through the twin towns of
Waverly, New York, and
Sayre, Pennsylvania
Sayre is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is the principal city in the Sayre, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. It lies 18 miles southeast of Elmira, New York, and 30 miles southwest of Bingh ...
, and their large
right bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...
railyard, once briefly holding the largest structure in the United States devoted to the maintenance and construction of railroad locomotives.
A couple of miles south, in
Athens Township, Pennsylvania, it receives the
Chemung from the northwest. It makes a right-angle curve between Sayre and
Towanda to cut through the
Endless Mountains
The Endless Mountains are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Endless Mountains region includes Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties. The highest peak in the region is the North Kn ...
in the Allegheny Plateau of Pennsylvania. It receives the
Lackawanna River
The Lackawanna River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It flows through a region of th ...
southwest of
Scranton
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
and turns sharply to the southwest, flowing through the former
anthracite industrial heartland in the mountain ridges of northeastern Pennsylvania, past
Pittston City (
Greater Pittston),
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...
,
Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to:
* Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States
* Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language
* Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey
Place names Canada
* Nanticoke, Ontario
** Nanticoke Generating S ...
,
Shickshinny,
Berwick,
Bloomsburg, and
Danville, before receiving the West Branch at Northumberland.
West Branch Susquehanna
The origin of the official West Branch is near
Elmora, Pennsylvania, in northern
Cambria County
Cambria County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,472. Its county seat is Ebensburg. The county was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset Cou ...
near the contemporary and
US Route 219
U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a spur of U.S. Route 19, US 19. It runs for from West Seneca, New York, at an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90) to Rich Creek, Virginia, intersecting at U.S. Route 460, US 460. US 219 is found (from north to south ...
(locally Plank Road). It travels northeasterly through the towns of
Northern Cambria,
Cherry Tree,
Burnside,
Mahaffey and
Curwensville (where the river is dammed to form a lake), into and through
Clearfield, where it receives
Clearfield Creek
Clearfield Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cambria and Clearfield counties, Pennsylvania, in ...
.
The West Branch turns to the southeast and passes
Karthaus (at Mosquito Creek),
Keating (at Sinnemahoning Creek),
Renovo and
Lock Haven
Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
, where it receives
Bald Eagle Creek. It passes
Williamsport, where both Lycoming Creek and Loyalsock Creek empty into it, then turns south, passing
Lewisburg, before joining the North Branch flowing from the northwest at Northumberland.
Main Susquehanna flow
Downstream from the confluence of its branches in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, the river flows south past
Selinsgrove, where it is joined by its
Penns Creek
Penns Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keyst ...
tributary, and cuts through a
water gap
A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...
at the western end of
Mahantongo Mountain. It receives the
Juniata River from the northwest at
Duncannon
Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village.
Pr ...
, then passes through its last water gap, the
Susquehanna Gap through the
Blue Mountain Ridge, just northwest of
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
.
Downtown Harrisburg developed on the east side of the river, which is nearly a mile wide here. Harrisburg is the largest city located on the lower river, which flows southeast across
South Central Pennsylvania
South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of w ...
, forming the border between
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Lancaster counties, and receiving
Swatara Creek
Swatara Creek (nicknamed the Swatty) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in the United Sta ...
from the northeast. It crosses into northern Maryland approximately northeast of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and is joined by
Octoraro Creek from the northeast and
Deer Creek from the northwest. The river enters the northern end of the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
at
Havre de Grace.
Concord Point Light was built here in 1827 to accommodate the increasing navigational traffic.
Etymology
"Susquehanna" may come from the
Lenape (Delaware) word ''siskëwahane'' meaning "Muddy River". Alternatively, it may come from the
Len'api term ''Sisa'we'hak'hanna'', which means "Oyster River". Oyster beds were widespread in the bay near the mouth of the river, which the Lenape farmed. They left oyster shell
middens
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
at their villages. A third account translates "Susquehanna" from
Susquehannock language
Susquehannock, also known as Conestoga, is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Native American people variously known as the Susquehannock or Conestoga.
Information about Susquehannock is scant. Almost all known words and phrases come from the ...
as "the stream that falls toward the south" or "long-crooked-river".
The Len'api were an
Algonquian-speaking Native American people who had communities ranging from coastal Connecticut through New York and Long Island, and further south into New Jersey and Delaware in the mid-Atlantic area. Their settlements in Pennsylvania included ''Con'esto'ga'' ("Roof-place" or "town", modern
Washington Boro, Lancaster County), also called ''Ka'ot'sch'ie'ra'' ("Place-crawfish", modern Chickisalunga, Lancaster County), or ''Gasch'guch'sa'' ("Great-fall-in-river", modern
Conewago Falls, Lancaster County). They were called ''Minquas'' ("quite different"), or ''Sisa'we'hak'hanna'lenno'wak'' ("Oyster-river-people") by others. The ''Len'api'' also called the area ''Sisa'we'hak'hanna'unk'' ("Oyster-river-place").
Peoples of the mid-Atlantic Coast included coastal peoples who spoke
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...
, such as the Len'api (whose bands spoke three dialects of Lenape), and
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
-speaking peoples of the interior, such as the
Eroni and the
Five Nations of the Iroquois League, or ''
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
''.
The English of Pennsylvania referred to the Eroni people of Conestoga as "Susquehannocks" or "Susquehannock Indians", a name derived from the Lenape term.
[Zeisberger, David. ''Indian Dictionary: English, German, Iroquois—The Onondaga and Algonquin—The Delaware''. Harvard University Press, 1887. , p. 141.] In addition,
John Smith of Jamestown
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
, Virginia, labeled their settlement as ''"Sasquesahanough"'' on his 1612 map when he explored the upper
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
area.
In Virginia and other southern colonies,
Siouan
Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east.
Name
Authors who call the enti ...
-speaking tribes constituted a third major language family, with their peoples occupying much of the middle areas of the interior.
Iroquoian speakers, such as the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and
Tuscarora people
The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They c ...
s, generally occupied areas to the interior near the Piedmont and foothills.
History
In 1615, the river was traversed by the French explorer
Étienne Brûlé
Étienne Brûlé (; – c. June 1633) was the first European explorer to journey beyond the St. Lawrence River into what is now known as Canada. He spent much of his early adult life among the Hurons, and mastered their language and learne ...
. In the 1670s the Conestoga, or
Susquehannock people, succumbed to
Iroquois conquest by the powerful
Five Nations of the Iroquois League based in present-day New York, who wanted to control the
fur trade with Europeans. The Susquehannock assimilated with the Iroquois. In the aftermath, the Iroquois resettled some of the semi-tributary
Lenape in this area, as it was near the western boundary of the Lenape's former territory, known as
Lenapehoking.
The Susquehanna River has continued to play an important role throughout the
history of the United States. In the 18th century,
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, the founder of the
Pennsylvania Colony
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
, negotiated with the Lenape to allow white settlement in the area between the
Delaware River and the Susquehanna, which was part of Lenape territory. In late colonial times, the river became an increasingly important transportation corridor, used to ship
anthracite coal, discovered by
Necho Allen, from its upper reaches in the mountains to the markets downriver.
In 1779 during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, General
James Clinton
Major General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was an American Revolutionary War officer who, with John Sullivan, led in 1779 the Sullivan Expedition in what is now western New York to attack British-allied Seneca and ...
led an expedition down the Susquehanna from its headwaters. His party had made the upper portion navigable by damming the river's source at
Otsego Lake, allowing the lake's level to rise, and then destroying the dam and flooding the river in order for his flotilla to travel for miles downstream. James Fenimore Cooper described this event in the introduction to his historical novel, ''The Pioneers (novel), The Pioneers'' (1823).
At Athens, Pennsylvania, then known as Tioga or "Tioga Point", Clinton met with General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan and his forces, who had marched from Easton, Pennsylvania. Together on August 29, they defeated the Loyalist (American Revolution), Tories and warriors of allied Iroquois bands at the Battle of Newtown (near present-day Elmira, New York). This was part of what was known as the "Sullivan-Clinton Campaign" or the "Sullivan Expedition". They swept through western New York, dominated by the Seneca people, destroying more than 40 Seneca villages, as well as the stores of crops the people had set aside for winter. Many of the Iroquois left New York and went to Canada as refugees; casualties from exposure and starvation were high that winter.
Following the United States gaining independence in the Revolutionary War, in 1790 Colonel Timothy Matlack, Samuel Maclay and John Adlum were commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to survey the headwaters of the Susquehanna river. They were to explore a route for a passage to connect the
West Branch with the waters of the Allegheny River, which flowed to Pittsburgh and the Ohio River. In 1792, the Union Canal (Pennsylvania), Union Canal was proposed in order to link the Susquehanna and the Delaware rivers in Pennsylvania along Swatara Creek, Swatara and Tulpehocken Creek (Pennsylvania), Tulpehocken creeks. In the 19th century, many industrial centers developed along the Susquehanna, using its Hydropower, water power to drive mills and coal machinery, to cool machines, and as a waterway for the transport of raw and manufactured goods.
Based on colonial charters, both Pennsylvania and Connecticut claimed land in the Wyoming Valley along the Susquehanna. Connecticut founded Westmoreland County, Connecticut, Westmoreland County here and defended its claim in the Pennamite Wars. Under federal arbitration, eventually the state ceded this territory to Pennsylvania.
In the 1790s English Lake Poets Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Lovell formulated the "Pantisocracy Plan" to marry three sisters and move to the banks of the Susquehanna River to start a socialist experiment. They made the marriages but Southey moved to Lisbon, Portugal, to visit an uncle, and they abandoned the plan to move to the United States.
In 1833 John B. Jervis began a canal system to extend the Chenango Canal, Chenango River and connect the waters of the Susquehanna from Chenango Point to the Erie Canal, which ran through the Mohawk Valley region, Mohawk Valley of New York, ultimately connecting with Lake Erie through the Wood Canal. In October 1836, water from the Susquehanna was connected to the Erie Canal at Utica, New York. Water travel was the main form of transportation during that era. The Erie Canal dramatically expanded trade between communities around the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and markets in New York and Pennsylvania. With the expansion of construction of railroad lines, canal-transport became unprofitable, as it could not compete in speed or flexibility.
[Chenango, Whitford. http://www.mikalac.com/tech/tra/chenango.html ] Boats had to climb a net height of between basins, requiring the use of more than 100 Lock (water transport), water locks, which were too expensive to be maintained under the new competition.
The Susquehanna River figures in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It holds that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the priesthood from heavenly beings at a site along the Susquehanna and performed their first baptisms of Latter Day Saints in the North Branch of the river. Smith and Cowdery said that they were visited on May 15, 1829, by the resurrected John the Baptist and given the Aaronic priesthood (Latter Day Saints), Aaronic priesthood. Following his visit, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other in the river. Later that year, they said they were visited near the river by the apostles Saint Peter, Peter, James, son of Zebedee, James and John the Apostle, John. Both events took place in unspecified locations near the river's shore in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
During the American Civil War, Civil War's 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, Union Army, Union Major General Darius N. Couch, commander of the Department of the Susquehanna, resolved that Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army, Confederate Army of Northern Virginia would not cross the Susquehanna. He positioned militia units under Maj. Granville Haller to protect key bridges in Harrisburg and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, Wrightsville, as well as nearby fords. Confederate forces reached the river at several locations in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Cumberland and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
counties.
In 1972 the remnants of Hurricane Agnes stalled over the New York-Pennsylvania border, dropping as much as of rain on the hilly lands. Much of that precipitation was received into the Susquehanna from its western tributaries, and the valley suffered disastrous flooding. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was among the hardest-hit communities and the capital Harrisburg was flooded. The
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
received so much fresh water that it altered the ecosystem, killing much of the marine life that depended on saltwater.
The Mid-Atlantic Flood of June 2006, caused by a stalled jet stream-driven storm system, affected portions of the river system. The worst affected area was Binghamton, New York, where record-setting flood levels forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.
In September 2011 the Susquehanna River and its communities were hit by Tropical Storm Lee (2011), Tropical Storm Lee, which caused the worst flooding since Agnes in 1972.
Bridges, ferries, canals and dams
The Susquehanna River is important in the Transportation in the United States, transportation history of the United States. Before the Port Deposit Bridge opened in 1818, the river formed a barrier between the northern and southern states, as it could be crossed only by ferry. The earliest dams were constructed to support ferry operations in low water. The presence of many rapids in the river meant that while commercial traffic could navigate down the river in the high waters of the spring thaws, nothing could move up.
The Susquehanna was improved by navigations throughout the 1820s and 1830s as the Pennsylvania Canal. Together with facilities of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, loaded barges were transferred from the canal and hoisted across the ridge, mountain ridge into the Pittsburgh area with access to the Monongahela River, Monongahela, Allegheny Rivers and their confluence into the Ohio River flowing southwest towards the Mississippi River. The Union Canal (Pennsylvania), Union Canal was completed in 1828 to connect the Schuylkill River (flowing southeast towards the
Delaware River at Philadelphia) at Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading westwards to the Susquehanna River above the state capital of
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
. Competition from faster transport via the rail freight transport, railroad industry by the 1850s resulted in reducing the reliance on the river for transport.
[Paddle the Susquehanna](_blank)
, accessed September 10, 2011.Two canal systems were constructed on the lower Susquehanna to bypass the rapids. The first was the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal#Susquehanna Canal, Susquehanna Canal, also called the Conowingo Canal or the Port Deposit Canal, completed in 1802 by a Maryland company known as the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal. The second was the much longer and more successful Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. The canals required dams to provide canal water and navigation pools.
As the industrial age progressed, bridges replaced Ferry, ferries, and railroads replaced canals. The railroads were often constructed on top of the canal right-of-way along the river. Many canal remnants can be seen; for example, in
Havre de Grace, Maryland, along US Route 15 in Pennsylvania, and in upstate New York at various locations. These latter remnants are parts of the upstream divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal, of privately funded canals, and of canals in the New York system.
Today 200 bridges cross the Susquehanna. The Rockville Bridge, which crosses the river from
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
to Marysville, Pennsylvania, is the longest stone masonry arch bridge in the world. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1902, replacing an earlier iron bridge. Two seasonal ferries operate across the Susquehanna. The Millersburg Ferry at Millersburg, Pennsylvania, is a practical ferry for up to four vehicles and 50 passengers, while the ''Pride of the Susquehanna'', based at Harrisburg, provides a passenger-only pleasure cruise.
Most of the canals have been filled in or are partially preserved as a part of historical parks. Dams generally are used to generate power or to provide lakes for recreation.
Environmental threats
The environmental group American Rivers named the Susquehanna "America's Most Endangered River for 2005" because of the excessive water pollution, pollution it receives. Most of the pollution in the river is caused by excess animal manure from farming, agricultural surface runoff, runoff, urban runoff, urban and suburban stormwater runoff, and raw or inadequately treated sanitary sewer overflow, sewage. In 2003 the river contributed 50% of the freshwater, 44% of the nitrogen, 21% of the phosphorus, and 21% of the sediment flowing into the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
.
It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997. The designation provides for technical assistance from federal agencies to state and local governments working in the Susquehanna watershed.
Another environmental concern is radioactivity released during the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. However, extensive radionuclide studies over a 25-year period from 1979 through 2003, confirm that the Three Mile Island accident has not resulted in any harmful radiation effects. The areas in and along a 262-km length of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania were monitored for the presence of radioactive materials. This study began two months after the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) partial reactor meltdown; it spanned the next 25 years. Monitoring points included stations at the PPL Susquehanna and TMI nuclear power plants. Monthly gamma measurements documented concentrations of radionuclides from natural and anthropogenic sources. During this study, various series of gamma-emitting radionuclide concentration measurements were made in many general categories of animals, plants, and other inorganic matter, both within and near the river. Sampling began in 1979 before the first start-up of the PPL Susquehanna power plant. Although all species were not continuously monitored for the entire period, an extensive database was compiled. In 1986, the ongoing measurements detected fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, Chernobyl nuclear accident. These data may be used in support of dose or environmental transport calculations. The remaining reactor at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in 2019.
In 2015, a smallmouth bass with a rare, cancerous tumor was caught from the river, raising renewed concerns about toxic materials and water pollution.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Protection Agency reported, "we do not have sufficient data at this time to scientifically support listing the main stem of the Susquehanna as Total maximum daily load#State inventories, impaired."
Recreation
The Susquehanna River has attracted boaters who watch or fish for its migratory species. Many tourists and local residents use the Susquehanna in the summer for recreation purposes such as kayaking, canoeing, and motor-boating. Due to the high volume of smallmouth bass in the river, it is the host of numerous bass fishing tournaments each year and is regarded by many as one of the premier bass fishing rivers in North America. Canoe races are held annually on various sections of the river, such as the amateur race held in Oneonta, New York.
Susquehanna rowing and paddling have a long history. Starting in 1874, rowers from Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, raced men from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Sunbury. The General Clinton Canoe Regatta, a flat-water race, takes place each year in Bainbridge, New York, on Memorial Day weekend. Binghamton University Crew and Hiawatha Island Boat Club are also located on the river, in the Southern Tier of New York.
The Appalachian Trail passes through Duncannon, Pennsylvania, and crosses the Susquehanna on the Clarks Ferry Bridge.
See also
References
Further reading
*
External links
U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stationsSusquehanna River Basin CommissionAmerican Rivers article: ''Susquehanna River "Most Endangered"''Hiawatha Island Boat Club – Owego, New YorkBinghamton University Crew – Binghamton, New York
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