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A river rising in the Adirondack Mountains of northeast New York and flowing about 507 km (315 mi) generally southward to Upper New York Bay at New York City. Giovanni da Verrazano sighted the river in 1524, but it was not explored by Europeans until Henry Hudson's 1609 voyage.
For more information on Hudson River, visit Britannica.com.
From its Adirondack origin in Lake Tear of the Clouds to its southern terminus in upper New York Bay, the Hudson River, 306 miles in length, drains an area of about 13,370 square miles. While its waters were long traveled and fished by Indians, the first European to see the Hudson was probably Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian sailing for the French, who explored the area in 1524. Although other Europeans reached the Hudson during the sixteenth century, settlement occurred only after Henry Hudson's September 1609 voyage of exploration. Hudson, an Englishman in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, was seeking a northwest passage to the Far East. On his ship, the Half Moon, he sailed about 150 miles up the river that now bears his name.
After Hudson reported on the availability of furs along the river, Amsterdam fur traders established a Dutch trading post at Fort Nassau (near present-day Albany) in 1613. In 1623, the newly created West India Company took over the fort, renaming it Fort Orange, while the vast territory claimed by the Dutch was called New Netherland, with its principal settlement, New Amsterdam, at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Much of the settlement of New Netherland was concentrated on the Hudson River, with a few large patroonships established along its banks. The river and the territory remained in Dutch hands until 1664, when Sir Richard
Nicolls led a force of Englishmen who seized the territory and renamed it New York.
The Hudson played a significant role during the American Revolution, with both the British and the Americans seeking to maintain control of the waterway. On 12 July 1776, Admiral Lord Richard Howe sent two British warships, the Phoenix and the Rose, thirty miles up the Hudson to Tarrytown. To prevent the British from moving further north, logs were used to float an iron chain across the river from the fort at West Point to Constitution Island.
New York's most dramatic growth followed the end of the Revolution, when the Six Nations of the Iroquois ceded most of their territory to the state, permitting settlers to move up the Hudson and then west. Growth was further accelerated with the 1807 invention of the steamboat. Steamboats sparked the state's economic development and eventually fostered a tourist industry by attracting wealthy city residents north to the Catskills and Adirondacks. Even more rapid economic growth followed the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, as goods from Lake Erie ports were moved through New York State and then down the Hudson to shipping facilities in New York City. The completion of the Hudson River Railroad in 1851 further spurred trade and encouraged wealthy New Yorkers to build homes along the Hudson.
The beauty of the Hudson River valley sparked a revolution in American art with the development of the Hudson River School of painters. By the early nineteenth century, artists such as Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, John Kensett, Thomas Doughty, Jasper Cropsey, George Inness, and John Casilear created American landscapes that celebrated the natural beauty of the area. The river and its mountains also served as a favored locale in the literary works of such American writers as Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper.
The river has paid a price for progress and development. By the twentieth century, the Hudson had become a polluted waterway. The river was the focal point for conservationists when, in 1962, Con Edison made a proposal to build a hydroelectric plant on the river at Storm King Mountain. Opposition to the plant prompted the U.S. Court of Appeals to insist that the planners consider the effects of the plant on the environment. In the ensuing battle, the pressure brought by environmental groups led Con Edison to drop the Storm King project in 1980. A later environmental battle concerned the dumping of over one million pounds of the carcinogenic substance polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in the Hudson by major corporations situated on its banks. In 2001, the Environ-mental Protection Agency ordered General Electric to begin a $500 million dredging operation of the Hudson River to remove the PCBs.
Bibliography
Carmer, Carl. The Hudson. New York: Fordham University Press, 1992.
Dunwell, Frances F. Hudson River Highlands. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
Lossing, Benson J. The Hudson. Hensonville, N.Y.: Black Dome Press, 2000.
The Hudson is tidal to Troy (c.150 mi/240 km upstream); this section is considered to be an estuary. The upper course of the river has many waterfalls and rapids. The middle course, between Albany and Newburgh, is noted for the Catskill and Shawangunk mts. on the west and by the large estates (the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park is the most famous) on the east bank. From Newburgh to Peekskill the river crosses the mountainous and forested Hudson Highlands in a deep, scenic gorge. The United States Military Academy at West Point overlooks the river there, and Bear Mt. Bridge spans this section. Near Tarrytown the river widens to form Tappan Zee, which is crossed by the Tappan Zee Bridge; from there to its mouth the Hudson is flanked on the west by the sheer cliffs of the Palisades. At the mouth are the ports of New York and New Jersey. The Hudson forms part of the New York–New Jersey border, and the two states are linked by the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln vehicular tunnels, and railway tubes.
First sighted by Verrazano in 1524, the river was explored by Henry Hudson in 1609. It was a major route for Native Americans and later for the Dutch and English traders and settlers. During the American Revolution both sides fought for control of the Hudson; many battles were fought along its banks. In 1825 the Erie Canal (now part of the state canal system) linked the river with the Great Lakes, providing the first all-water trans-Appalachian route. Many industries are located on the Hudson's banks, and pollution by raw sewage and industrial wastes became a serious problem in the 1900s; antipollution legislation passed in 1965 has sought to protect the river from further contamination. Although pollution continued throughout the 1970s and 80s, the state and municipal governments in addition to environmental groups have contributed a significant clean-up effort, complete with antipollution regulation. The Hudson is featured in the legend of Rip Van Winkle and other stories of Washington Irving.
Bibliography
See R. Van Zandt, comp., Chronicles of the Hudson (1971); A. R. Talbot, Power along the Hudson (1972); A. G. Adams, The Hudson Through the Years (1983).
River that runs north to south in New York state.
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| Hudson River (Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk or Muhheakantuck) | |
|---|---|
 Looking upriver from the Bear Mountain Bridge
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| Country | |
| States | New York, New Jersey |
| Major cities | Glens Falls, Troy, Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Peekskill, Yonkers, New York City, Jersey City, NJ |
| Length | mi ( km) |
| Watershed | mi² ( km²) |
| Discharge at | Lower New York Bay |
| - average | ft³/s ( m³/s) |
| Discharge elsewhere | |
| - Troy | ft³/s ( m³/s) |
| Source | Lake Tear of the Clouds |
| - location | |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | ft ( m) |
| Mouth | Upper New York Bay |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | ft ( m) |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Hoosic River |
| - right | Mohawk River, Rondout Creek/Wallkill River |
 Hudson and Mohawk watersheds
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The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and, along its southern terminus, demarcates the border between the states of New York and New Jersey. It is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609. The Hudson River was originally named the Mauritius River, which is claimed to be the name given by Hudson in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau. Alternatively, it is said to be the name given by Sixteenth century European adventurers, explorers, and fishermen who knew the river as River Mauritius, 'The River of Mountains'.
Early European settlement of the area clustered around the river. The area inspired the Hudson River school of painting, a sort of early American pastoral idyll.
The official source of the Hudson is Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondack Mountains. However, the waterway from the lake is known as Feldspar Brook and the Opalescent River, feeding into the Hudson at Tahawus. The actual Hudson River begins several miles north of Tahawus at Henderson Lake. The Hudson is joined at Troy (north of Albany) by the Mohawk River, its major tributary, just south of which the Federal Dam separates the Upper Hudson River Valley from the Lower Hudson River Valley or simply the Hudson River Valley. South of Troy, the Hudson is tidal and widens and flows south into the Atlantic Ocean between Manhattan Island and the New Jersey Palisades, forming New York Harbor, at New York Bay, an arm of the Ocean. The Hudson was originally named the "North River" by the Dutch, who named the Delaware River the "South River." This name persists to this day in radio communication among commercial shipping traffic, as well as place names such as the North River Sewage Treatment Plant.[1] It was the English who originated the Hudson name, even though Hudson had found the river while exploring for the Dutch.
The lower Hudson is actually a tidal estuary, with tidal influence extending as far as the Federal Dam at Troy. [1] Strong tides make parts of New York Harbor difficult and dangerous to navigate. During the winter, ice floes drift south or north, depending upon the tides. The Mahican name of the river, Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, means "the river that flows both ways." The Hudson is often mistaken for one of the largest rivers in the United States, but it is an estuary throughout most of its length below Troy and thus only a small fraction of water, about 15,000 cubic feet (425 m³/s) per second, is present. The mean freshwater discharge at the river's mouth in New York is approximately 21,400 cubic feet (606 m³) per second.
The Hudson and its tributaries—notably the Mohawk River—drain a large area. Parts of the Hudson river form coves, such as Weehawken Cove in Hoboken and Weehawken.
The Hudson is sometimes called 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. The deeply-eroded old riverbed beyond the current shoreline, Hudson Canyon, is a rich fishing area. The former riverbed is clearly delineated beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, extending to the edge of the continental shelf.
Notable landmarks on the Hudson include West Point, the Culinary Institute of America, Marist College, Bard College, the Thayer Hotel at West Point, Bannerman's Castle, Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line (formerly part of the New York Central Railroad system), The Tappan Zee, the New Jersey Palisades, Hudson River Islands State Park, Hudson Highlands State Park, New York Military Academy, Fort Tryon Park with The Cloisters, Liberty State Park, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Cities and towns on the New Jersey side include Tenafly, Fort Lee, Weehawken, Hoboken, and Jersey City. Cities and towns on the New York side include Troy, Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie,Glens Falls, Beacon, Haverstraw, Yonkers, and New York City (Manhattan, The Bronx).
The natural beauty of the Hudson Valley earned the Hudson River the nickname "America's Rhine", being compared to that of the famous 40 mile (65 km) stretch of Germany's Rhine River valley between the cities of Bingen and Koblenz. It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997.
The Narrows, a tidal strait between the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn, connects the upper and lower sections of New York Bay. It has long been considered the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been the most important entrance into the harbor.
The Narrows were most likely formed about 6,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Previously, Staten Island and Long Island were connected, preventing the Hudson River from terminating via The Narrows. At that time, the Hudson River emptied into the Atlantic Ocean through the present course of the lower Raritan River, by taking a more westerly course through parts of present day northern New Jersey, along the eastern side of the Watchung Mountains to Bound Brook, New Jersey and then on into the Atlantic Ocean via Raritan Bay. A build up of water in the Upper Bay eventually allowed the Hudson River to break through previous land mass that was connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn to form The Narrows as it exists today. This allowed the Hudson River to find a shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean via its present course between New Jersey and New York City (Waldman, 2000).
Haverstraw Bay, just north of the Tappan Zee (the widest part of the river), is located between Croton Point in the Southeast and the town of Haverstraw in the Northwest. Haverstraw Bay is a popular destination for recreational boaters, and is home to many Yacht clubs and marinas including Croton Yacht Club, Croton Sailing School, and Haverstraw Marina.
The Hudson River is navigable for a great distance above mile 0 (at 40°42.1'N., 74°01.5'W.) off of The Battery. The original Erie Canal, opened in 1825 to connect the Hudson with Lake Erie, emptied into the Hudson at the city of Albany's basin, just three miles south of the Federal Dam in Troy (at mile 134). The canal enabled shipping between cities on the Great Lakes and Europe via the Atlantic Ocean. The New York State Canal System, the successor to the Erie Canal, runs into the Hudson River north of Troy and uses the Federal Dam as the Lock 1 and natural waterways whenever possible. The first railroad in New York, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, opened in 1831 between Albany and Schenectady on the Mohawk River, enabling passengers to bypass the slowest part of the Erie Canal.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal ended at the Hudson at Kingston, running southwest to the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania.
In northern Troy, the Champlain Canal split from the Erie Canal and continued north along the west side of the Hudson to Thomson, where it crossed to the east side. At Fort Edward the canal left the Hudson, heading northeast to Lake Champlain. A barge canal now splits from the Hudson at that point, taking roughly the same route (also parallel to the Delaware and Hudson Railway's Saratoga and Whitehall Railroad) to Lake Champlain at Whitehall. From Lake Champlain, boats can continue north into Canada to the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
The Hudson Valley also proved attractive for railroads, once technology progressed to the point where it was feasible to construct the required bridges over tributaries. The Troy and Greenbush Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened that same year, running a short distance on the east side between Troy and Greenbush (east of Albany). The Hudson River Railroad was chartered the next year as a continuation of the Troy and Greenbush south to New York City, and was completed in 1851. In 1866 the Hudson River Bridge opened over the river between Greenbush and Albany, enabling through traffic between the Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central Railroad west to Buffalo.
The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway ran up the west shore of the Hudson as a competitor to the merged New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Construction was slow, and was finally completed in 1884; the New York Central purchased the line the next year.
The Hudson is crossed at numerous points by bridges, tunnels, and ferries. The width of the Lower Hudson River required major feats of engineering to cross, the results today visible in the Verrazano-Narrows and George Washington Bridges, as well as the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels and the PATH and Pennsylvania Railroad tubes. The Troy-Waterford Bridge at Waterford was the first bridge over the Hudson, opened in 1809. The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad was chartered in 1832 and opened in 1835, including the Green Island Bridge, the first bridge over the Hudson south of the Federal Dam. [2]
The Upper Hudson River Valley was also useful for railroads. Sections of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, Troy and Boston Railroad and Albany Northern Railroad ran next to the Hudson between Troy and Mechanicville. North of Mechanicville the shore was bare until Glens Falls, where the short Glens Falls Railroad ran along the east shore. At Glens Falls the Hudson turns west to Corinth before continuing north; at Corinth the Adirondack Railway begins to run along the Hudson's west bank. The original Adirondack Railway opened by 1871, ending at North Creek along the river. In World War II an extension opened to Tahawus, the site of valuable iron and titanium mines. The extension continued along the Hudson River into Hamilton County, and then continued north where the Hudson makes a turn to the west, crossing the Hudson and running along the west shore of the Boreas River. South of Tahawus the route returned to the east shore of the Hudson the rest of the way to its terminus.
The Hudson River serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York, and further north between New York counties. The northernmost place with this convention is in southwestern Essex County.
| Hamilton | Essex | |
| Warren | river runs along municipal boundaries |
|
| Saratoga | Warren | |
| Saratoga | Washington | |
| Saratoga | Rensselaer | |
| Albany | Rensselaer | |
| Greene | Columbia | |
| Ulster | Columbia | |
| Ulster | Dutchess | |
| Orange | Dutchess | |
| Orange | Putnam | |
| Rockland | Westchester | |
| Bergen (NJ) | Westchester | |
| Bergen (NJ) | Bronx | |
| Bergen (NJ) | New York | |
| Hudson (NJ) | New York |
From north to south, moving downriver
On September 14, 1901, then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was at Lake Tear of the Clouds after returning from a hike to the Mount Marcy summit when he received a message informing him that President William McKinley, who had been shot two weeks earlier but was expected to survive, had taken a turn for the worse.
Roosevelt hiked down 10 miles (16 km) on the southwest side of the mountain to the closest stage station at Long Lake, New York. He then took a 40 mile (64 km) midnight stage coach ride through the twisting Adirondack Roads to the Adirondack Railway station at North Creek, where he discovered that McKinley had died. Roosevelt took the train to Buffalo, New York where he was officially sworn in as President.
The 40 mile (64 km) route is now designated the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail.
General Electric Corporation has been involved in a long lasting battle over the cleanup of Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of the Hudson. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "The General Electric Company discharged between 209,000 and 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the river from two capacitor manufacturing plants located in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward." [3]
In 1983, the EPA declared a 200 mile (322 km) stretch of the river, from Hudson Falls to New York City, to be a Superfund site. GE will soon commence dredging operations at its own expense to clean up the PCBs. [4] Inspired by Earth Day advocates, this action anchored the Riverkeeper program that grew into a global umbrella organization, the Waterkeeper Alliance. The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater is an environmental education organization that promotes awareness of the river and its history.
Other pollution issues affecting the river include: Accidental sewage discharges, urban runoff, heavy metals, furans, dioxin, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). [5]
The Hudson River estuary system is part of The National Estuarine Research Reserve System.[2]
In 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River.
The New Jersey Devils/New York Rangers rivalry is known as the Hudson River Rivalry, due to the fact that the Devils play in Newark and the Rangers play in Manhattan which are across the Hudson River.
Mouth or other endpoint (Upper New York Bay)
Source (Lake Tear of the Clouds)
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hudson River". Read more |
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