Talk:Delaware River

Tidal

Spikebrennan 7 July 2005 21:58 (UTC) comments: The fact that the New Jersey-Delaware border is generally the tidal line on the Jersey side of the river/bay rather than down the middle has a few interesting consequences. For one thing, piers constructed from the New Jersey shore of the river/bay extend into Delaware territory. For another, the Delaware coastal zone (as defined in the Coastal Zone Management Act essentially applies to the entire width of the river and bay, which means that the Delaware law can affect New Jersey industrial land use.

I'm glad I didn't dream that up. I was reading through Wikis pages on the Delaware and wondering why it wasn't mentioned... Thanx 68.39.174.91 10:38, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Bulega Whale

Did anyone hear about the Beluga Whale in the Delaware River? Their was a news article about the whale. Could someone add some information about the Beluga Whale spotting in the Delaware River? I thought it was a interesting fact so if anyone can add anything about the Beluga Whale go for it. --Contrib 16:21, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I just read on Yahoo! News that Helis the Bulega Whale may have exited the Delaware River. If anyone adds anything about the bulega whale please let me know on my talk page. --Contrib 16:24, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Name

What is the origin of the name? If the Dutch named it the South River, when did the name change? EdC 02:25, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

The names origin comes from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, also the state takes it name from the river, as it was not really know as Delaware until 1776 (prior it was know as the Lower Counties of the Delaware River, Lower Counties of Pennsylvania (from the fact that it was once considered part of Pennsylvania), or just simply the Lower Counties. As for when it received it's name, i don't know but I would guess that it would have been after the English gained control of the SE Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey Region, and Delaware, from the Swedes, Dutch and Finns. --Boothy443 | trácht ar 05:20, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Could someone please clarify this sentence?

At the end of the third paragraph: "William Penn delegated defence responsibilites of predominantly Quaker Pennsylvania to Delaware by setting the New Jersey border to the mean low tide line on the Jersey side of the river."

I'd do it myself, but I really have no idea what it means :). SB_Johnny | ^talk 00:28, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

I found it especially odd reading knowing that the later state of Deleware was part of Pennsylvania. Also implies that Penn could dictate terms to New Jersey.--J Clear 17:19, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

So this is nonsense? --SB_Johnny | ^talk 17:29, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it's total nonsense, but it definately needs clarification. Some more information on the topic in the Delaware and The Twelve-Mile Circle article. Which leads me to believe the statement here is misleading. Unless perhaps Penn asked the Duke of York to word the deed for those reasons. Be nice to have a reference on it. --J Clear 17:42, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

It seems to me that it is too doubtful to let stand until/unless it can be clarified and/or sourced. It was added by an anon who was pretty active through June 29, but has done nothing since (or maybe he's since gotten an account)? I'll try leaving a note for him in case he's still around. -- Mwanner | Talk 18:12, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Few more things: In William Penn it states he was initially given West New Jersey, so potentially he could have set that boundary. The bit about the boundary being along the Jersey shore is verifiable, and is a disctinct feature of the River, so I'm going to put the latter half back in the article and reference the Twelve-Mile Circle article.--J Clear 19:10, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Verifiable or verified? I'll add a ((fact)) tag if there is no reference. SB_Johnny | ^talk 20:15, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

J Clear, please don't use the term "selective revert" when you really mean "rephrase deleted sentence". SB_Johnny | ^talk 20:20, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

No, I changed (or had changed) my IP addr, and have returned! 68.39.174.238 21:48, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

For future reference: at mean low tide, more land is exposed. this would be the maximum land area and benefit both states/colonies because the river and bay at their tidal minimums would make a more accurate line along the river's channel (the river would be divided in half). Further, Penn wasn't given the western division of NJ, he bought into it.--ColonelHenry (talk) 20:10, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

Better Map

The current map of this river is hard to navigate; it doesn't clearly show the course of the river, as ones in other articles (such as the Hudson_River and the James_River). I'm certain everybody would appreciate it if a better and more standardized map were added. HoCkEy PUCK 02:18, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

I've had multiple requests to give the Delaware the same treatment, it'll be up before too long.Kmusser 15:13, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Unsigned requests as of September 2009

Please show a picture of PA with the Delaware river going through.

Show a picture of all the rivers and details!PLEASE

11 million gallons?

The figure of 11 million gallons for the Corinthos seems implausibly high. That would make it comparable to the Exxon-Valdez spill. Binarybits (talk) 11:03, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

It should be in the same general league as Exxon-Valdez, I did a quick search, but estimates I found vary wildly so I'm not sure what's right - if I get a chance I'll do a little more in depth research. Kmusser (talk) 13:36, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

This article says the tanker has 12 million gallons on it, but that "they are letting the ship burn itself out because the fire will consume the ship's oil cargo that otherwise would seep into the Delaware River." So presumably a large fraction of the ship's oil did not go into the harbor. Binarybits (talk) 17:46, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Lack of a delta

Why doesn't the Delaware have a proper delta? 68.36.120.7 (talk) 16:31, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Good question. Possible theft? If I come across this I'll add something.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 14:13, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

No delta because the Delaware empties into a deep estuary channel, because of the geology, and because of the speed of the river's flow (the Delaware is a rather slow river, compared to the Mississippi). Deltas tend form in softer geological formations and when the river enters a shallow body of water (like the Mississippi or Nile). This is largely because the sediments pushed downstream by the river end up accumulating/depositing in the river's mouth--when the sediment chokes the river, the water pushes forward to create multiple egresses through the sediment. Most of the rivers in the northeastern US don't have deltas because they empty into an estuary, or a deeper canyon in the continental shelf (sediment doesn't build up).--ColonelHenry (talk) 20:03, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

Poetic take on the Delaware

Hey check this out: Poet talking about "feel the flow" If I visit this river I'll try to take pictures FYI. --Tomwsulcer (talk) 14:11, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

Lenape name in lede

This seems to be a translation of "Lenape river" from English back into Lenape as if the words were cherry-picked from the dictionary. Historically, the Lenape called it Kit-hanne, Lenapewhittuck, Mascker-kitton (and variants), Zukinoway, Lemaepose, at different times in the last 400 years and in different places along the river. None of these use "sipu."--ColonelHenry (talk) 19:57, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

I found this parenthetical content confusing. Now I see it's not very meaningful either. I will remove it. Jojalozzo 20:25, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

• Being quite familiar with the language and the history, I can say "Lenapi sipu" has no basis in history or even in the language. I think sipu is from another algonquin language and not from any of the dialects of Lenape (Unami, Munsee). I think its Neo-Lenape...that version of the language created by people claiming to be indians with a culture cherry-picked from other nations. It's as fake as claims of "Lenapehoking" as the name for NJ...funny no one mentioned it before 1984.--ColonelHenry (talk) 21:15, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Removal of Maryland

An anonymous user has on a few occasions recently removed the state of Maryland from the lede sentence "Its watershed drains an area of 14,119 square miles (36,570 km2) in five U.S. states—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

A very small sliver in Maryland's Cecil County is located in the Delaware River's drainage basin (watershed) through the inclusion of the White Clay Creek watershed.[1] [2] and the watershed of the Christina River [3].

Continued attempts to remove the state of Maryland from the series in the sentence above will be reverted, with a note to refer to this discussion.--ColonelHenry (talk) 02:09, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

To infobox or not to infobox?

Template:Geobox Currently the geobox template (seen on right) is used on this article. As an infobox, it is big and unwieldy, disrupts a better arrangement of the information and images in the article, and it is my opinion that the information is best discussed in the article. I'd keep the image of the river at Walpack Bend in the lede, move the map down to the course section, and discuss the statistics in the course section.

• WP:RIVER only advises that the infobox and geobox is available and "can be used"...it does not require it.
• Per WP:IBX: The use of infoboxes is neither required nor prohibited for any article. Whether to include an infobox, which infobox to include, and which parts of the infobox to use, is determined through discussion and consensus among the editors at each individual article.
• Per the remarks at WP:DIB.

I am inclined because of its huge size on the page, and for ease of editing the lede, that it needs to be removed and appropriate insertion of the material into the appropriate sections of article content would be preferable and advisable.--ColonelHenry (talk) 22:46, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Per WP:BOLD, I am removing the geobox/infobox.--ColonelHenry (talk) 22:52, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

I shrank it some, does that help? Personally I like the geobox, but I'm not committed to it. Kmusser (talk) 22:55, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Your edit to shrink the box conflicted with my edit where I intended to remove it. Nevertheless, it does help a bit. I do like it more in its shrunken form. I proceded to shrink it a bit more by excising the map and placing that in the course section. Typically, I have nothing against infoboxes, just this one was too big.--ColonelHenry (talk) 23:01, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

The more I think about this infobox, I am tempted to remove it.--ColonelHenry (talk) 12:34, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

• I'm opposed to removing the infobox, in particular the numeric data such as geographic coordinates, flow rate etc., which I feel are easier to read and visually make sense of in a tabular form than in the body of the article. I agree that it *seems* large and unwieldy; but I think this is because it usefully summarizes a large amount of information, and that the size and unwieldiness are worth the space it occupies. --Malepheasant (talk) 14:30, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

• I think the numeric data is the sole reason I haven't pulled the trigger on it. The size of it makes me wish I could get rid of it, but the question is "ok, then what?" If I could find a way to better incorporate that into the article in a more efficient way, that infobox would be gone. I'll give that some thought going forward (appropriate table formats, other templates, etc.) and run it by you when I do think of something (no guarantees, though...this is one quite sticky wicket).--ColonelHenry (talk) 15:28, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Idea

• Should we create a List of Delaware River tributaries? Since by my count, there are over 40 major watersheds, each with a half-dozen or dozen tributaries, it could be a rather long list likely divided by state, and then by watershed/major tributary, to tributaries of tributaries. For comparison, List of tributaries of Larrys Creek is a featured list and has an excellent table. --ColonelHenry (talk) 12:34, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Expired footnote

The intro paragraph mentions a Great Waters Coalition; the substantive footnote throws a 404. .Absolution. (talk) 00:55, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Weird. It worked for me just now. DMacks (talk) 05:20, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

• Works for me as well...just like it worked for me several weeks ago when I revised the lede. --ColonelHenry (talk) 05:01, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Footnote 28 is linked to a missing page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.180.253.147 (talk) 23:55, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

Resources

Sources to incorporate into the article.

Watershed

• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Delaware River Basin Waterbody Inventory/Priority Waterbodies List Report (December 2002).
• Delaware Riverkeeper Network. River Facts.
• Philadelphia Water Department. Office of Watersheds. Watershed Information Center: Delaware Watershed.
• The Nature Conservancy. New Jersey Delaware River Basin.

Economics & Commerce

• Gerald Kauffman, Andrew Homsey, Sarah Chatterson, Erin McVey, and Stacy Mack (Water Resources Agency, Institute for Public Administration, School of Public Policy & Adinistration, University of Delaware) for Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc. Economic Value of the Delaware Estuary Watershed (May 2011)

Flora & Fauna

• Atlantic Sturgeon: Kahn, Desmond M. and Fisher, Matthew (Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife). Atlantic Sturgeon in the Delaware River Require Higher Standards for Dissolved Oxygen (4 June 2012)

Marcellus Formation / Gas Drilling

• Philadelphia Water Department. Marcellus Shale Drilling In The Delaware River Basin (links to additional Marcellus documents/findings).
• Gerken, James. Delaware River Basin Fracking Decision Delayed The Huffington Post. (23 November 2011)
• Associated Press (staff). Gas drilling debate rages in Delaware River watershed (18 April 2010).
• Major Sub-Basins of the Delaware River
• Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2011 introduced by late Sen. Lautenberg (D-NJ), cosponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-DE), Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-NY), and Robert Casey (D-PA). Aimed at Marcellus drillers, bill would establish the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, give jurisdiction over preserving water quality. Press Release from US Senate (24 June 2011). Also H.R.644 - Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2013 113th Congress (2013-2014) at Congress.Gov United States Legislative Information.

Oil Spills and Pollution

• River Network. Delaware River Watershed Oil Spill Monitoring Report
• Totten LA, Panangadan M, Eisenreich SJ, Cavallo GJ, Fikslin TJ. "Direct and indirect atmospheric deposition of PCBs to the Delaware River watershed" in Environmental Science & Technology (1 April 2006), 40(7):2171-6. Also at: [4] (full text)

Flooding

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Upper Delaware River Watershed, NY Fact Sheet (study discussing river flooding) (april 2013)

Coordinate error

{{geodata-check}}

The following coordinate fixes are needed for —116.58.205.240 (talk) 12:00, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

 Not done. No specific problem stated, primary coordinates appear to be correct. Please feel free to refile with a specific explanation of what you believe the problem to be. — TransporterMan (TALK) 15:45, 19 August 2014 (UTC)

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