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Hudson River Watershed
wa·ter·shed n.
- A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different
river systems. Also called water parting.
- The region draining into a river, river system, or other body of
water.
- A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a
turning point: “a watershed in modern American history, a time that ...
forever changed American social attitudes” Robert Reinhold.
A watershed is a defined area of land from which water drains into a
common water body by way of creeks, streams, soil, groundwater aquifers,
etc. A series of small watersheds that drain into smaller streams, or
tributaries, comprise a larger watershed that drains into a mainstream,
or parent river. All main streams eventually flow into the ocean as
they descend in elevation.
Atlas
Management Plans
IMAs
Local Watershed Groups
Watershed Map
Facts About The Hudson River Watershed
- The Hudson River flows from Lake Tear of the Clouds in the
Adirondacks, (from Lake -Feldspar Brook feeds into Opalescent River
which feeds into Hudson River) through New York Harbor to the mouth of
the estuary in New Jersey.
- The Hudson River is over 325 miles long and from Troy to New York
Harbor is a tidal estuary, approximately 153 miles long. The Hudson
River Estuary is a drowned river valley which was also partially
glacially excised.
- The Mahican originally called the river the Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, which
means “great waters in constant motion” or, more loosely, “river that
flows two ways”.
- The Hudson River is as deep as 200 feet in some places and can be as
wide as 3.5 miles.
- More than 206 species of fish live in the river.
- The Hudson River watershed drains approximately 13,400 square miles
and encompasses 11 major sub-watersheds.
- More than 65 major tributaries flow into the Hudson River, with the
Mohawk River as the largest tributary.
- The Hudson River watershed is home to almost 5 million people, and
encompasses 5 states: New York, Vermont, Massachussetts, Connecticut,
and New Jersey.
- Ninety-three percent of the Hudson River watershed lies in New York
State.
- Twenty-five percent of the Hudson River basin is used for
agriculture, 60% is forested, and 8% is urban.
- Almost 60% of the water in the watershed is used for commercial or
industrial purposes.
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