The West Branch Delaware River is one of two branches that form the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. It is approximately 90 mi (144 km) long, and flows through the

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of New York and

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, ...

. It winds through a mountainous area of New York in the western

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

for most of its course, before joining the East Branch along the northeast border of

with New York. Midway or so it is empounded by the Cannonsville Dam to form the

Cannonsville Reservoir The Cannonsville Reservoir is a reservoir in the New York City water supply system in Delaware County, New York. It was formed by construction of the Cannonsville Dam on its west end, which impounded over half of the West Branch of the Delaware ...

, both part of the

New York City water supply system A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems ( Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most exte ...

for delivering drinking water to the City.

Course

It rises in Schoharie County, New York and flows generally southwest, entering Delaware County and flowing past Stamford and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. In southwestern Delaware County it flows in an increasingly winding course through the mountains, generally southwest. At Stilesville it is impounded to form the

. At Deposit, on the border between Broome and Delaware counties, it turns sharply to the southeast and is paralleled by

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvania ...

. It joins the East Branch at

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

to form the Delaware. For the lower 6 mi (10 km) it forms part of the boundary between New York and Pennsylvania.

Hydrology

The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) maintains many stream gauges along the West Branch Delaware River. The station by the Village of

, in operation since 1937, but making daily measurements since November 1996, is located upstream from the bridge on Route 28, and upstream from the confluence of the

Little Delaware River Little Delaware River is a river in Delaware County, New York, Delaware County, New York (state), New York. It begins along the western slope of Plattekill Mountain, northeast of the Hamlet of Bovina (hamlet), New York, Bovina and flows generally ...

. This station had a maximum discharge of about and a gauge height of from floodmark on January 19, 1996 and a maximum gage height of on August 28, 2011 as Hurricane Irene passed through the area. It had minimum discharge of on September 25, 1964 and a minimum gauge height of on September 16–17, 2016. The Hobart station, in service since 2000, located upstream from Maple Street in the Hamlet of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. This station had a maximum discharge of about and a gauge height of on August 28, 2011 caused by Hurricane Irene. It had minimum discharge of on November 13, 2001 and November 19, 2001. The Walton station, in service since 1950, located downstream from West Brook in the Village of

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

. This station had a maximum discharge of about and a gauge height of on June 28, 2006 during the 2006 Mid-Atlantic United States flood. It had minimum discharge of on September 15 and November 22, 1964. The Hale Eddy station, in service since 1912, located upstream from the confluence of

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and West Branches. Since the construction of the Cannonsville Reseevoir this station had a maximum discharge of and a gauge height of on June 28, 2006 during the 2006 Mid-Atlantic United States flood. It had minimum discharge of on October 20, 1963. The maximum discharge, prior to construction of Cannonsville Reservoir in 1963, was on March 22, 1948. Outside the period of record: In the flood of October 10, 1903 this station reached a discharge of roughly

Fishing

The West Branch is

tailwater Tailwater refers to waters located immediately downstream from a hydraulic structure, such as a dam, spillway, bridge or culvert. Generally measured and reported as the average water depth downstream of a hydraulic structure, tailwater can vary ba ...

fishery. This means the same cold water releases that keep it cooler in the summer, keep the river a little warmer in the winter and early spring. The upper section can be cleaner than other rivers during periods of heavy runoff. During high water on the Cannonsville Reservoir, many bait fish spill over the dam. These factors all provide and excellent environment for trout to thrive in. The trout population in this river is naturally reproducing, during the warm months stocked trout from smaller and warmer tributaries will seek sanctuary in its cool water. The West Branch Delaware River was divided into two sections when the Cannonsville Reservoir was formed. Downstream of the Cannonsville Reservoir, there are large numbered wild populations of

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and an occasional brook trout can be caught although none are stocked. Seasonal

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

runs of american shad with reports of occasional

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

. This section is considered one of the best

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

streams in the United States, due to the cold water released from the reservoir.

Tributaries

Not including tributaries of

Right * Basset Brook * Lake Brook * McMurdy Brook * Betty Brook * Kiff Brook * Wright Brook * Kidd Brook * Elk Creek * Falls Creek * Steele Brook * Peaks Brook * Platner Brook * East Brook * West Brook * Pines Brook * Bobs Brook * Wakeman Brook * Cold Spring Creek * Butler Brook * Oquaga Creek * Sherman Creek * Faulkner Brook * Balls Creek Left * Town Brook * Rose Brook *

* Bagley Brook * Mallory Brook * Weeds Brook * Beers Brook * Chase Brook * Whitaker Brook *

Roods Creek Roods Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It begins just south of Cannonsville Reservoir and flows south into Crystal Lake. After exiting Crystal Lake it continues flowing south and then flows into Silver Lake. After exiting Silver Lak ...

* Travis Brook *

Sands Creek Sands Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It flows into the West Branch Delaware River by Hancock, New York Hancock is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The town contains a village, also named Hancock. The town is ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of Pennsylvania Catskill/Delaware watersheds Tributaries of the Delaware River Rivers of Wayne County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Schoharie County, New York Rivers of Delaware County, New York Rivers of Broome County, New York Borders of New York (state) Borders of Pennsylvania

Course

Hydrology

Fishing

Tributaries

See also

References