Sparkill 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

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 N ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, New York and Bergen County,

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. It flows through the Sparkill Gap in the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

, which was created by a fault line which provided the only sea-level break in the Palisades."Piermont Pier and Marsh"
Rockland Aubudubon Society Sparkill Creek is long and drains of watershed. It begins from runoff from Clausland Mountain in Orangetown, New York. Small tributaries feed the creek as it flows through the hamlets of Blauvelt, Orangeburg, and

Tappan, New York Tappan ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York. It is located northwest of Alpine, New Jersey, north of Northvale, New Jersey and Rockleigh, New Jersey, northeast of Old Tappan, Ne ...

, the borough of Northvale, New Jersey, the hamlets of Palisades and Sparkill, and finally the village of

Piermont, New York Piermont is a village incorporated in 1847 in Rockland County, New York, United States. Piermont is in the town of Orangetown, located north of the hamlet of Palisades, east of Sparkill, and south of Grand View-on-Hudson, on the west bank of th ...

before emptying into the Hudson River at Piermont Marsh. The creek is spanned in its tidal section by the Sparkill Creek Drawbridge, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1985. The creek is rich in history, beauty and ecological significance, however its watershed has faced threats from Rockland County's population boom following the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge which have affected the health of the creek. The creek's flooding, as well as the pollution run off have caused problems for the areas through which it flows. Fear of damage to a number of important historic sites from flooding has prompted some state aid to address the problem. The same fault line which allows Sparkill Creek to flow through the Palisades, also enabled the

New York and 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 ...

to construct a line down to the river, where it built a long pier at Piermont. There, goods from its trains were offloaded onto barges and floated down the river to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Etymology

The name Sparkill comes from the Dutch ''

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

'' and the Middle Dutch '' kille'', which translates literally to “Spruce Creek”. In this sense, the name Sparkill Creek is technically redundant as it would mean “Spruce Creek Creek”. The Dutch naming is reflective of the New York-New Jersey region, which features similarly named waterways, such as the nearby

Dwars Kill The Dwars Kill (also known as Dwarskill or Dwarskill Creek) is a tributary of the Hackensack River (Oradell Reservoir) in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the United States. The name is taken from the Dutch language and can be translated as "Cross Cr ...

, and others such as the Arthur Kill, Kill Van Kull, Jan De Bakker's Kill, and Beaver Kill. It was also known historically as Tappan Creek.

Course

Sparkill Creek rises along the south border of Blauvelt State Park on the western flank of Clausland Mountain, part of the Hudson River Palisades. Coursing south, it enters the hamlets of Blauvelt and Orangeburg, flowing under NY 303 twice as it winds towards the hamlet of Tappan. Just north of the hamlet of Sparkill, the creek turns to the southwest and passes beneath the

Palisades Interstate Parkway The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New ...

and, again, NY 303. Turning south again, the creek passes through downtown Tappan and crosses the New York border, entering Northvale, New Jersey. The creek abruptly turns to the east in Northvale, flowing a short distance before crossing the state line again and reemerging back into New York. Between Tappan and the hamlet of Palisades, Sparkill Brook joins the Creek from the south as its turns to the northeast and enters the Sparkill Gap, a break in the ridge of the Hudson River Palisades.Topoquest (Map Center: N41.02360, W73.93973; overview of Sparkill Creek watershed)
Topoquest.com, 2008-2010. Retrieved 2011-09-03. Passing beneath US 9W and through the hamlet of Sparkill, the creek is impounded by a small dam forming Moore's Mill Pond. Below this dam it is impounded by a larger dam, forming Ferdon Mill Pond. Downstream of the large dam, part of a former mill complex in Piermont, the creek becomes tidal. This section of the creek was once navigable to commercial vessel traffic from the Hudson River, but it is now blocked by a low, fixed span, the Ferdon Ave Bridge, a quarter mile downstream of the former mill complex. Immediately before the Ferdon Ave Bridge is its predecessor, the Sparkill Creek Drawbridge, which when operational opened to allow Hudson River vessel traffic to travel upstream. The portion of Sparkill Creek downstream of the Ferdon Ave Bridge is navigable to motorized vessels, and homes along this section of the waterway have docks for their watercraft. NOAA nautical chart #12343 Hudson River to Wappinger Creek covers this section of the creek,NOAA Navigational Chart #12343, ''Hudson River to Wappinger Creek''. 19th Edition, corrected though Oct-05. Available as a NOAA Raster Navigational Chart at th
NOAA Office of Coast Survey RNC Downloads website
and the electronic navigation version of this chart shows the majority of water depths along the waterway to be 0.6 meter, or approximately two feet, with some deeper and shallower spots.NOAA Electronic Navigation Chart US5NY42M, ''Hudson River Yonkers to Piermont''

The final section of the creek meanders three quarters of a mile through the Piermont Marsh before terminating at the Hudson River just south of Piermont Pier.

Tributaries and diversions

Sparkill Brook

Sparkill Brook is the chief tributary of Sparkill Creek. It flows generally north through New Jersey, beginning in

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and coursing through Norwood and Rockleigh before crossing the New York State border and merging with Sparkill Creek between the hamlets of Tappan and Palisades. Confusingly,

GNIS The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

actually lists two entries for Sparkill Creek (IDs 880777 and 965946), one with the source just south of Blauvelt State Park (the head of Sparkill Creek proper), and one with the source in Alpine, New Jersey (the head of Sparkill Brook). This is consistent with historical works which show the source of Sparkill Creek to be either in New Jersey or New York, or both, with Sparkill Creek simply having a north and south branch.

Tappan Run Diversion

United Water Suez North America, founded as the Hackensack Water Company in 1869 and later named United Water, is an American water service company headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. It owns and operates 16 water and waste water utilities, and operates 9 ...

, a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, maintains a diversion system on Sparkill Creek in Northvale, New Jersey. The diversion allows water from Sparkill Creek (Hudson River Basin) to be released into Tappan Run ( Hackensack River Basin).USGS Water Data Report 2009 - 01376272 Sparkill Creek Diversion at Northvale, NJ. ''Summary of Annual Hydrologic Conditions - 2009''.
Available Online
Tappan Run flows into Dorotockey's Run and ultimately the

Oradell Reservoir The Oradell Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the Oradell Reservoir Dam on the Hackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Geography The Oradell Reservoir Dam is located primarily in the borough of Oradell, but the reservoir ...

, which is managed by United Water.

References

External links

* {{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of New Jersey Rivers of Rockland County, New York Rivers of Bergen County, New Jersey Tributaries of the Hudson River United Water