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What is the deepest river in New York?

The Hudson River, which flows 301 miles from Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondacks to New York Harbor, is the longest river completely in New York State. It is also the deepest, reaching depths of over 200 feet in spots.



The Hudson River is the deepest river in New York State and, in fact, one of the deepest rivers in the entire United States. While its average depth is about 30 feet, it reaches its maximum depth of approximately 216 feet (66 meters) at a point known as World's End, located near Constitution Island and West Point. This extreme depth is due to the river's geological nature as a "tidal estuary" or a "fjord"—a valley carved out by glaciers during the last ice age. The Hudson is so deep and wide in this section that it can accommodate large ocean-going vessels far inland, which is why the Port of Albany is a significant maritime hub despite being 150 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Other deep rivers in New York, such as the Niagara or the St. Lawrence, do not reach the sheer vertical depths found in the glacial "trench" of the Highlands section of the Hudson.

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Geology. The Hudson is sometimes called, in geological terms, a drowned river. The rising sea levels after the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation, the most recent ice age, have resulted in a marine incursion that drowned the coastal plain and brought salt water well above the mouth of the river.

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Saving the River's Fish. For schools of migratory shad, sturgeon, river herring, blue crab, menhaden and striped bass, the Hudson is an unimpeded corridor from the Atlantic to their ancestral spawning grounds.

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Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest glacial lake entirely within the state. It is promoted as being the lake trout capital of the world, and is host of the National Lake Trout Derby.



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Holland Tunnel, twin-tube vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River connecting Canal Street in Manhattan, New York, with 12th and 14th streets in Jersey City, New Jersey.

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Women under 50 and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, including striped bass. Women who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may have an increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Some contaminants may be passed on to infants in mother's milk.

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Crabs, turtles and many types of fish can be found along the whole length of the river. Near the sea, even starfish, lobsters and sea horses can be found!

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An estimated 100,000 people in the Hudson Valley rely on the Hudson for their drinking water.

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