Mispillion River | |
---|---|
![]() The Mispillion River in Milford in 2006 | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Delaware |
Counties | Kent Sussex |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | confluence of Beaverdam and Tantrough Branches at Blairs Pond |
• location | near Milford |
• coordinates | 38°52′53″N 75°30′00″W / 38.88139°N 75.50000°W[1] |
• elevation | 29 ft (8.8 m)[2] |
Mouth | Delaware Bay |
• location | near Mispillion Light |
• coordinates | 38°57′05″N 75°18′48″W / 38.95139°N 75.31333°W[1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[1] |
Length | 15 mi (24 km)approximately[3] |
Basin size | 76 sq mi (200 km2)[4] |
Discharge | |
• average | 91.77 cu ft/s (2.599 m3/s) at mouth with Delaware Bay[5] |
Basin features | |
Progression | Delaware Bay → Atlantic Ocean |
River system | Delaware Bay |
Tributaries | |
• left | Beaverdam Branch Lednum Branch Mullet Run Swan Creek Fishing Branch Beaverdam Branch Kings Causeway Branch Crooked Gut |
• right | Tantrough Branch Johnson Branch Bowman Branch Deep Branch |
Waterbodies | Blairs Pond Griffith Lake Haven Lake Silver Lake |
The Mispillion River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) long and drains an area of 76 square miles (200 km2) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
It rises in northern Sussex County, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Milford, and flows generally east-northeastwardly, defining the boundary between Sussex and Kent counties; it passes through the center of Milford on its course to its mouth at Delaware Bay, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Cape Henlopen.[3][6] The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the river are considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be navigable.[7]
A boardwalk known as the Mispillion Riverwalk follows the river in Milford. As of 2003[update], an effort was underway to preserve a greenway along the river upstream and downstream of Milford.[8]
Variant names and spellings[edit]
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Mispillion River has also been known historically as:[1]
|
|
Name origin[edit]
"The first occurrence of this name (of the river) is in the form Mispening on a map of 1664, tentatively analyzed as meaning "as the great tuber (stream);" (Dunlap and Weslager, 1950)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. "GNIS entry for Mispillion River (Feature ID #214330)". Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^ "Mispillion River Topo Map, Sussex County DE (Mispillion River Area)". TopoZone. Locality, LLC. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry for Mispillion River". 2000. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (2005). "Decision Rationale: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) for Bacteria and Nutrient Impairments on the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek Watershed, Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware". pp. pp.1–2. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^ "Mispillion River Watershed Report". Waters Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ DeLorme (2004). Maryland Delaware Atlas & Gazetteer. pp.52-53. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-279-X.
- ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. "Navigable waterways of the Philadelphia District". Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^ Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation. "Greenways & Trails". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-02-05.