Broadkill River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Broadkill River
 The Broadkill River in Milton in 2006
The Broadkill River in Milton in 2006
Country United States
State Delaware
Length 13.3 mi (21 km) [1]
Watershed 110 mi² (285 km²) [1]
Source Wagamons Pond
 - location Milton
 - coordinates 38°46′37″N, 75°18′47″W [2]
Mouth Delaware Bay
 - location northwest of Lewes
 - coordinates 38°47′25″N, 75°09′44″W [2]
 - elevation ft (1 m) [2]

The Broadkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is 13.3 miles (21 km) long and drains an area of 110 square miles (285 km²) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The Broadkill flows for its entire length in eastern Sussex County. It issues from Wagamons Pond in the town of Milton; the pond is fed by two tributaries known as Ingram Branch[3] and Pemberton Branch.[4] From Milton, the Broadkill River flows generally eastwardly, passing through wetlands and salt marshes in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.[5] After approaching to within one quarter mile (0.5 km) of Delaware Bay, the river parallels the shoreline a short distance inland for approximately two miles (3 km) before flowing into the bay, approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Lewes. The United States Coast Guard maintains a station near the mouth of the Broadkill. The mouth is connected to Rehoboth Bay by the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, which forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.[6]

In the 19th century the river was the center of a regional shipbuilding industry, arising from the access it furnished to inland forests; the industry fell into decline in the 1890s.[7]

A footpath known as the Governors Walk follows the Broadkill in central Milton. The Nature Conservancy established a preserve along the river downstream of Milton in 1998.[8] As of 2005, an annual canoe and kayak race was being held on the river in Milton.[9]

The United States Board on Geographic Names issued an opinion clarifying "Broadkill River" as the stream's name in 1961. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as:[2]

  • Broad Creek
  • Broad Kill
  • Broad Kill Creek
  • Broadkill Creek
  • Broadkiln Creek
  • Lewis Creek

  1. ^ a b DeWitt, Piet; Daiber, Franklin C. (March 1973). The Hydrography of the Broadkill River Estuary, Delaware. Chesapeake Science, Vol. 14 No. 1. Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Broadkill River (Feature ID #213715). Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  3. ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Ingram Branch (Feature ID #214147). Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Geographic Names Information System. GNIS entry for Pemberton Branch (Feature ID #214434). Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  5. ^ United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  6. ^ DeLorme (2004). Maryland Delaware Atlas & Gazetteer. pp.44-45. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-279-X.
  7. ^ State of Delaware. Shipbuilding on the Broadkill. Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  8. ^ State of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Division of Parks and Recreation. Greenways & Trails. Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
  9. ^ Milton Fairs and Festivals. Retrieved on February 4, 2007.


Flag of Delaware
State of Delaware
Dover (capital)
Topics

Counties | Hundreds | Cities/Towns/Villages | Rivers | Transportation | Landmarks
Governors | Lt. Governors | General Assembly | Courts | U.S. Senators | U.S. Representatives
Government | History | Education | Religion | Communications | Business

Regions

Delaware Coast | Delaware Valley | Cape Region

Cities

Delaware City | Dover | Harrington | Lewes | Milford | Newark | New Castle | Rehoboth Beach | Seaford | Wilmington

Counties

Kent | New Castle | Sussex


Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.