Conewago Falls in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

, was a historic river barrier below and south of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (abbreviated as TMI), is a shut-down nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, US, on the Susquehanna River just south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It has two separate un ...

at a wide spot (), where the river drops in along the lower

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

along either side of Three Mile Island. The falls between the west bank and the west side of the island were inundated-by-design years ago by construction of the York Haven Dam which, when it was completed in 1904, for a time became the third largest in the world. Today the Falls hides inside the Frederic Lake reservoir along the west side of the island. The falls would often be portaged around by Native Americans with their elm bark canoes transiting between

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

(and later,

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

) Amerindian towns at points upriver to the oyster beds in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

or vice versa. The Falls blocked riverine navigation on the Susquehanna River, and were one of the factors preventing barge or ship water transport from Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay.

References

Map of York Haven Dam area
{{coord, 40.120425, -76.713568, type:waterbody_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Landforms of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Waterfalls of Pennsylvania Susquehanna River Dams completed in 1904 Energy infrastructure completed in 1904 Dams in Pennsylvania United States power company dams Crossings of the Susquehanna River Hydroelectric power plants in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in York County, Pennsylvania Run-of-the-river power stations Dams on the Susquehanna River

See also

References