The Indian River is a river and

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 enviro ...

, approximately long, in Sussex County in southern

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The river is named after a Native American reservation that was located on its upper reaches. The Indian River rises approximately southwest of Georgetown and flows east, past Millsboro, its

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship b ...

. It enters

Indian River Bay Indian River Bay is a body of water in Sussex County, Delaware. It is part of Delaware's inland bay system, along with Little Assawoman Bay and Rehoboth Bay. Fed by the Indian River at its western end, the bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocea ...

, an inlet of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

south of

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two ...

. The lower of the river form a navigable tidal estuary stretching westward from Indian River Bay, which is protected from the open ocean by two sand bar peninsulas. East of the bay is its mouth, the Indian River Inlet. Until 1928, the Indian River Inlet was a natural waterway that shifted up and down a two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the coast.

Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

kept the inlet open in its current location between 1928 and 1937. In 1938 the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

built

jetties A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signif ...

that hold it in place to improve operations for river users. Indian River Inlet Bridge DE1

Roads cross the river in three places, at

U.S. Route 113 U.S. Route 113 (US 113) is a U.S. Highway that is a spur of US 13 in the U.S. states of Maryland and Delaware. The route runs from US 13 in Pocomoke City, Maryland, north to Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) in ...

(in Millsboro),

Delaware Route 24 Delaware Route 24 (DE 24) is a state highway located in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware. The route runs from Maryland Route 348 (MD 348) at the Maryland border east of Sharptown, Maryland, east to an inters ...

Delaware Route 30 Delaware Route 30 (DE 30) is a state highway in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware. The route runs from an intersection with Delaware Route 24, DE 24 in Millsboro, Delaware, Millsboro north to Delaware Route 1 Busi ...

(also in Millsboro), and

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Delaware, Fenwick Island, Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, where the ...

(at Indian River Inlet in the Delaware Seashore State Park). With the Indian River Inlet in a fixed place beginning in 1928, it became possible to build a bridge to span it. In 1933 Ocean Highway was completed (the present-day Delaware Route 1 and now known as Coastal Highway) between Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach. Following that, Delaware built a span to connect the northern and southern segments of the highway. Since 1934, six bridges have spanned the inlet, all known informally as the

Indian River Inlet Bridge The Indian River Inlet Bridge (officially the Charles W. Cullen Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge located in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. It carries four lanes of Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) over the India ...

. All but the first officially were named the Charles W. Cullen Bridge. The current Indian River Inlet Bridge opened in 2012.

References

External links

Univ. of Maryland: Indian River ecology
* ttp://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/indian_river_bridge/index.shtml Information about the Indian River Bridge replacement project {{coord, 38.59163, -75.15972, type:river_globe:earth_region:US-DE, display=title Rivers of Delaware Rivers of Sussex County, Delaware

See also

References

External links