| Raritan River Rariton | |
|---|---|
 Raritan River as seen fromBridgewater Township, New Jersey | |
 | |
| Etymology | Raritan Indian tribe |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| Counties | Hunterdon,Mercer,Middlesex,Monmouth,Morris,Somerset,Union |
| Municipalities | Raritan,Clinton,Bridgewater Township,Somerville,Bound Brook,South Bound Brook,Piscataway,Franklin Township,New Brunswick,Highland Park,Edison,East Brunswick,Sayreville,Woodbridge,Perth Amboy,South Amboy |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Confluence ofSouth Branch Raritan River andNorth Branch Raritan River |
| • coordinates | 40°33′20″N74°41′14″W / 40.55556°N 74.68722°W /40.55556; -74.68722[1] |
| • elevation | 47.7 ft (14.5 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Raritan Bay |
• coordinates | 40°29′41″N74°16′17″W / 40.49472°N 74.27139°W /40.49472; -74.27139[1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 69.6 mi (112.0 km) |
| Basin size | 1,100 sq mi (700,000 acres; 2,800 km2) |
| Width | |
| • average | 200 ft (61 m) |
| Depth | |
| • minimum | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| • maximum | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Bound Brook |
| • average | 1,070 cu ft/s (30 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 100 cu ft/s (2.8 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 10,800 cu ft/s (310 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Population | ~1.2 million |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Peters Brook,Cuckles Brook,Middle Brook,Green Brook,Mill Brook,Red Root Creek,Crows Mill Creek |
| • right | Dukes Brook,Millstone River,Fox Creek,Mile Run,Lawrence Brook,South River |
| Bridges | Victory Bridge,Edison Bridge,Driscoll Bridge, New Jersey Turnpike, U.S. Highway No. 1 Bridge, highway bridge over South River at the town of South River |
TheRaritan River is a river of theU.S. state ofNew Jersey. Itswatershed drains much of the mountainous areas in thenorthern andcentral sections of the state, emptying into theRaritan Bay nearStaten Island on theAtlantic Ocean.
Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of theHudson River[2] approximately 6,000 years ago. Following the end of the lastice age,the Narrows had not yet been formed and the Hudson flowed along theWatchung Mountains to present-dayBound Brook, then followed the course of the Raritan eastward intoLower New York Bay.[3][page needed]
The nameRaritan possibly derives from a branch of theLenape people called the Nariticongs, the first people known to settle the Raritan Valley.[4][5]
Following conflict with the arrivingDutch colonists, the native people of the region, especially theSanhican, were forced to sell their territory near theRaritan Bay and move further inland along the river valley.[6] AsEnglish colonists took over the region, they took advantage of the river's location between New York and Philadelphia as well as a road network developed by the Lenape to turn the region into a transportation and commercial hub.[7] As a result, the Raritan River became an important waterway for colonial travel and trade,[8] allowing for the development of trade centers likeRaritan Landing andNew Brunswick, where agricultural and raw material goods could be sold.[7]
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, the river was the site of guerilla warfare by American militiamen against British patrols, culminating in theBattle of Bound Brook where a large British force attacked an American outpost south of the river.[9][self-published source?]
The success of theErie Canal (completed in 1825) sparked a "canal fever" in the United States, catalyzing the construction of theDelaware and Raritan Canal (D&R) between New Brunswick on the Raritan andBordentown on theDelaware River. The D&R was completed in 1834 and provided a critical link betweenPhiladelphia (and the rest of the greaterMid-Atlantic region, at large) andNew York (and the rest of the greaterNew England region, at large), as these cities were situated along the crucial rivers of the Delaware and theHudson, respectively.[10] The vast majority of traffic along the canal wasPennsylvaniaanthracite coal with the rest consisting mostly of agricultural and textile goods. At its peak in 1866 the D&R transported more cargo than the Erie Canal.[11] In 1932 the D&R canal shut down for commercial use. In 1974 the canal was developed as a state park for recreational use and remains in use as a water supply for central New Jersey.[12] Variousmill towns were formed along the canal and the aforementioned river (and tributaries), most notably (from south to north / west to east) beingTrenton,Kingston,Blackwells Mills,Griggstown,Hillsborough,Manville,Chester,Bernards,Clinton,Raritan,Milltown, andWoodbridge.[13][14][15]
The mainRaritan River forms at the confluence of theNorth Branch Raritan River and theSouth Branch Raritan River, just west ofSomerville at the border ofBridgewater,Branchburg, andHillsborough Townships.
The North Branch Raritan River'sheadwaters are located inMendham Borough and it flows from out ofMorris County southward intoSomerset County, to the southern end of theWatchung Mountains.[16] The South Branch Raritan River's headwaters are located atBudd Lake (a glacial remnant a few miles northeast ofHackettstown), and it flows out of Morris County, through the heart ofHunterdon County, and along the western edge of Somerset County.[16]
After the confluence of the North and South branches, the Raritan River flows for approximately 16 mi (26 km), before slowing in tidewater atNew Brunswick. Itsestuary extends 14 mi (23 km) more, entering the western end ofRaritan Bay atSouth Amboy.[17]
Comprehensive measures have been taken to reduce the pollution and increase the water quality. These actions have benefited the fish population which include (but are not limited to)largemouth bass,smallmouth bass,sunfish,catfish,trout,chain pickerel,american eels,carp andyellow perch.Pike can be found in relative abundance in some portions of the river like Clinton and Califon. An occasionalMusky has been taken out of the Raritan as well. The tidal portions of the river host migratory salt water species such asstriped bass,fluke,winter flounder,weakfish andbluefish. Recently, efforts to restore anadromous fish populations have been made, done by removing many of the obsolete dams and the constructing dam bypass infrastructure. Hopefully this will result in restoringshad, striped bass, andsturgeon populations in the river. Manysongbirds,wading birds, andwaterfowl make their homes in and along the length of the river, such asmallards,canadian geese,great blue herons,double-crested cormorants, andcommon mergansers. Common songbirds include theamerican robin,song sparrow,northern mockingbird,common grackle, and theRed-winged blackbird. Crustaceans such asblue claw crab,fiddler crabs andgreen crabs are also found in the tidal sections of the river.Crayfish can be found farther upstream.[18]
The river is also used for recreational boating, including use by the rowing team ofRutgers University in New Brunswick. The river is featured in the title of Rutgers'alma mater,On the Banks of the Old Raritan, and its flooding is mentioned in the song.[19]
Near its mouth, the river is spanned by theRaritan Bay Drawbridge, aNew Jersey Transit railroad bridge which carries theNorth Jersey Coast Line;[20] theVictory Bridge which carriesRoute 35 (connectingPerth Amboy andSayreville, New Jersey);[21] theEdison Bridge, which carriesU.S. Route 9 (connecting Woodbridge Township andSayreville); and theDriscoll Bridge, which carries theGarden State Parkway (connectingWoodbridge Township and Sayreville).[22]
The Raritan River is an important source of drinking water for the central portion of New Jersey. Awater filtration plant operated byNew Jersey American Water is located inSomerset and draws its water at the confluence of the Raritan River and its largest tributary (theMillstone River), providing an average of 132,000,000 US gallons (500,000 m3) of water per day.[23]
The New Jersey Water Supply Authority operates two reservoirs off of the Raritan river, theSpruce Run Reservoir andRound Valley Reservoir, and controls releases of water to ensure the “minimum passing flow rates” enforced by theNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.[24] Additionally, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, managed by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, serves as a water supply that pumps over 100,000,000 US gallons (380,000 m3) of water per day from the Delaware to the Raritan river and serves over 1 million customers along the way[25]
The Raritan River has persistent flooding problems when excessive rain from storms affects the river basin. The flooding problems mainly affect the town ofBound Brook, which is partially built on a natural floodplain at the junction of several tributaries, andManville, which has a large neighborhood known as Lost Valley that lies on the floodplain between the Raritan River and its largest tributary river, which is known as theMillstone River. Other towns in the Raritan River basin also experience flooding to a lesser degree.[citation needed]
Record flooding in the aftermath ofHurricane Floyd in September 1999 (42.13 ft (12.84 m)) flood crest, 14 ft (4.3 m) above flood stage) caused renewed interest in a flood control project called theGreen Brook Flood Control Project, which is designed to protect Bound Brook from a 150-year flood. In August 2011, record flooding occurred once again afterHurricane Irene swept through the area. This problem was exacerbated by well-above average rainfall that fell in the weeks before the storm hit, and spurred completion of the Army Corps of Engineers flood control project.[26] As of 2015, the current status of this project is:
(In alphabetical order with 2020 population)
The Raritan river is formed by the confluence of:
Its main tributaries are:
Others are:
Lakes that are located within the Raritan Basin include:
| International | |
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| Other | |
