LIFEBLOOD OF THE NORTHEASTAny yet, the river offers so much more than a drinking water supply to the 42 counties and five states it passes through on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
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The river flows into Delaware Bay at Liston Point, 48 miles (77 km) upstream of the bay's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean between Cape May and Cape Henlopen.
While the entire tidal river is part of the estuary, salinity levels vary from the Delaware Bay (saltwater) to Wilmington, Del.(brackish) to Philadelphia, Pa.and Trenton, N.J. (mostly freshwater).
The Port of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River in Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Generally the term applies to the publicly owned marine terminals located within Philadelphia city limits along west bank of the river.
However, the most famous fact about the Delaware River is the famous crossing of it by George Washington in 1776 which helped him successfully surprise Hessian troops in New Jersey during the American Revolution.
The chemicals released into the Delaware River include butyl acrylate, a flammable liquid used to manufacture paints, coatings, caulks, sealants, and adhesives. The same chemical was also released into a river in East Palestine, Ohio as a result of the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
Delaware sits on an east coast peninsula called the Delmarva. It's bordered by Pennsylvania in the north; the Delaware River, the Delaware Bay, New Jersey, and Atlantic Ocean in the east; and Maryland in the south and west.
The Delaware River is known for freshwater populations of striped bass, muskellunge, brown trout, yellow perch, and American shad. When you visit New Jersey, be sure to plan a Delaware River fishing trip.
On March 24, 2023, the Trinseo Altuglas chemical plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania in the United States had an equipment failure that resulted in a leak of between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and methyl methacrylate into Otter Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River.
No contaminants from the Bristol Township spill have been detected in the Delaware River water: tap water continues to be safe. Residents should continue to use tap water as they normally would.
Enjoy a scenic, fun and refreshing 3 - 4 hour tube, raft, canoe or kayak ride down the Delaware River, which is the nation's most historic river and perfect for outdoor water sport activities.
There are bull shark occasionally in the Delaware river. One was caught in a net in 1908 basically across the river from where the Philly Airport is today.
Resident species like smallmouth bass, channel catfish, hybrid muskellunge, bullhead, white perch, and walleye pike thrive in the river. The river's tributaries maintain stocked trout.
For much of the last century, parts of the Delaware River were a foul mess, full of sewage, chemical waste and other putrid byproducts of a rapidly urbanizing watershed. There were fish kills and disease outbreaks.