In An Unexpected Twist, The Delaware River Was Recently Recognized As America’s River Of The Year
For years, Delawareans have dealt with jokes about our tiny state, and we’ve dealt with every other neighboring state trying to steal our name. There’s Delaware County in Pennsylvania, Delaware State Park in New York, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area – that’s about 120 miles from our border. Now, however, the one thing we all have in common – the Delaware River – is something we can all agree deserves a little recognition. The longstanding environmentalist group, American Rivers, has named the Delaware River the best river in the country for the year 2020. You can read their enlightening report right here!
The Delaware River is much more than a waterway that flows through the First State. It's the highest traffic river in the country and one of the longest, too!
The mighty Delaware flows nearly 400 miles, starting in the Catskill Mountains and ending somewhere between New Jersey and Delaware, when it flows into the Delaware Bay. It's the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi!
Over the past 75 years, though, conservationists and environmentalists have rallied up politicians and philanthropists to help restore this beautiful and enormous waterway.
Up and down the coastline of Delaware, evidence of wildlife and plant life is evident in marshes and rocky shorelines where shorebirds, turtles, and thousands of horseshoe crabs make their homes.
Next time you find yourself walking the banks of the Delaware River, take some time to appreciate the river of the year and all the beauty it brings to the First State.
Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. Contact: kmagaraci@onlyinyourstate.com
