Below: neighbors gather on the dike in Morrisville, PA to watch the river rise, June 2006. In the background, skyline of the NJ State Capitol Complex, Trenton.
The Delaware River was named for "Lord De La Warr" (Thomas West, b. 1577, d. 1618), first colonial governor of Virginia.
River Basin/Watershed
A river basin or watershed is the area of land that supplies water to a river and its tributaries. The Delaware River Basin contains 12,755 square miles, draining parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Pennsylvania contains 6,422 square miles, or 50.3% of the basin's total land area; New Jersey contributes 2,969 square miles, or 23.3%; 2,362 square miles, or 18.5% is in New York; and the river's namesake, Delaware, contains only 1,002 square miles, or 7.9% of the river's drainage area. The river flows through two major geological formations: the Delaware Water Gap, and the Trenton Fall Line.
Headwaters to the Bay
The headwaters of the Delaware are in New York's Catskill Mountains.
The west branch of the river (also referred to as the Mohawk branch) rises in Schoharie County, New York. The east branch rises in the town of Roxbury, Delaware County, New York. The confluence is just south of the Village of Hancock, also in Delaware County NY. The trip from the Catskill Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean covers approximately 280 miles.
River Towns
No fewer than 4-dozen historic cities and towns border the river. From cosmopolitan Philadelphia to quiet little Deposit Village, the riverside is rich in "living places," – all styles, all prices, all accommodating.
