The below is lifted verbatim from an information sign posted in a nearby park:

“The river before you is in no hurry to reach the Atlantic Ocean.  The Native Americans knew that.  They called it Muhheakantuk—‘river that flows two ways’.  Today we refer to the Hudson as a ‘tidal estuary’.

“The Hudson’s current changes direction four times every day as ocean tides pulse upriver to the Troy dam.  Drop a stick in at Troy.  Drifting back and forth, it will take several months to reach the ocean.

“An estuary is a place where salt and fresh water mingle.  Seawater entering the Hudson meets fresh water flowing from the upper river and tributaries.  In the summer, you might taste a bit of salt in Newburgh, 60 miles north of New York City.

“Estuaries are among the earth’s most productive ecosytems.  Swimming below the Hudson’s surface are 200 kinds of fish.  Feasting on its riches from above are bald eagles, ducks, and herons.

“Sewage discharges and destruction of wetlands once threatened this wealth of life.   Anti-pollution and habitat protection measures have since turned the tide.  Today the Hudson is the healthiest, most inspiring estuary on the Atlantic Coast.

“The Hudson’s width ranges from about 500 feet at Troy to three and a half miles at Haverstraw.  It is deepest near West Point-  216 feet according to a 1934 survey.  Depths change with the tides;  water levels at high tide are three to five feet above low tide levels.”

There you go!  Just got started and already the river is cleaning up!!

Photo and text from email, 7/5/07 - Quentin 

Tributaries

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