The Raritan River is a river of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the northern and central sections of the state, emptying into the

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west b ...

near

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

History

Geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

s assert that the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

approximately 6,000 years ago. Following the end of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, the Narrows had not yet been formed and the Hudson flowed along the Watchung Mountains to present-day Bound Brook, then followed the course of the Raritan eastward into Lower New York Bay. The name ''Raritan'' possibly derives from a branch of the

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 ...

people called the Nariticongs, the first people known to settle the Raritan Valley. Following conflict with the arriving Dutch colonists, the native people of the region, especially the Sanhican, were forced to sell their territory near the

and move further inland along the river valley. As English colonists took over the region, they took advantage of the river's location between New York and Philadelphia as well as a road network developed by the Lenape to turn the region into a transportation and commercial hub. As a result, the Raritan River became an important waterway for colonial travel and trade, allowing for the development of trade centers like Raritan Landing and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, where agricultural and raw material goods could be sold. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the river was the site of guerilla warfare by American militiamen against British patrols, culminating in the Battle of Bound Brook where a large British force attacked an American outpost south of the river. The success of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

(completed in 1825) sparked a "canal fever" in the United States, catalyzing the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R) between New Brunswick on the Raritan and Bordentown on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. The D&R was completed in 1834 and provided a critical link between

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(and the rest of the greater Mid-Atlantic region, at large) and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

(and the rest of the greater New England region, at large), as these cities were situated along the crucial rivers of the Delaware and the

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

, respectively. The vast majority of traffic along the canal was

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...

with the rest consisting mostly of agricultural and textile goods. At its peak in 1866 the D&R transported more cargo than the Erie Canal. In 1932 the D&R canal shut down for commercial use. In 1974 the canal was developed as a state park for recreational use and remains in use as a water supply for central New Jersey. Various

mill towns A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

were formed along the canal and the aforementioned river (and tributaries), most notably (from south to north / west to east) being Trenton, Kingston, Blackwells Mills, Griggstown, Hillsborough, Manville,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, Bernards, Clinton, Raritan, Milltown, and Woodbridge.

Description

The main Raritan River forms at the confluence of the North Branch Raritan River and the South Branch Raritan River, just west of Somerville at the border of Bridgewater, Branchburg, and Hillsborough Townships. The North Branch Raritan River's

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

are located in Mendham Borough and it flows from out of Morris County southward into Somerset County, to the southern end of the Watchung Mountains.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The South Branch Raritan River's headwaters are located at Budd Lake (a glacial remnant a few miles northeast of Hackettstown), and it flows out of Morris County, through the heart of Hunterdon County, and along the western edge of Somerset County. After the confluence of the North and South branches, the Raritan River flows for approximately , before slowing in tidewater at

. Its

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

extends more, entering the western end of

at South Amboy. Comprehensive measures have been taken to reduce the pollution and increase the water quality. These actions have benefited the fish population which include (but are not limited to)

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

, sunfish,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (biology), family (family Esocidae) of order (biology), order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox ...

american eel The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous eel found on the eastern coast of North America. Anguillidae, Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the Elopomorpha, elopomorph superorder, a group of Phylogenetics, phylogen ...

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

and

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

. Pike can be found in relative abundance in some portions of the river like Clinton and Califon. An occasional Musky has been taken out of the Raritan as well. The tidal portions of the river host migratory salt water species such as

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

, fluke,

winter flounder The winter flounder (''Pseudopleuronectes americanus''), also known as the black back, is a right-eyed ("Sinistral and dextral, dextral") flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western north Atlantic Ocean, A ...

weakfish ''Cynoscion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in ...

and bluefish. Recently, efforts to restore anadromous fish populations have been made, done by removing many of the obsolete dams and the constructing dam bypass infrastructure. Hopefully this will result in restoring

shad The Alosidae, or the shads, are a family (biology), family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species. The shads are Pelagic fish, pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadr ...

, striped bass, and

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

populations in the river. Many

songbirds A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passerine, Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes co ...

, wading birds, and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

make their homes in and along the length of the river, such as mallards, canadian geese, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, and common mergansers. Common songbirds include the

american robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not clos ...

, song sparrow,

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America, of the family Mimidae. The species is also found in some parts of the Caribbean, as well as on the Hawaiian Islands. It is typically a permanent B ...

, common grackle, and the Red-winged blackbird. Crustaceans such as blue claw crab, fiddler crabs and green crabs are also found in the tidal sections of the river.

Crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

can be found farther upstream. The river is also used for recreational boating, including use by the rowing team of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in New Brunswick. The river is featured in the title of Rutgers'

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, '' On the Banks of the Old Raritan'', and its flooding is mentioned in the song. Near its mouth, the river is spanned by the Raritan Bay Drawbridge, a

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...

railroad bridge which carries the

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter rail line running from Rahway, New Jersey, Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electr ...

; the Victory Bridge which carries Route 35 (connecting Perth Amboy and Sayreville, New Jersey); the Edison Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 9 (connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville); and the

Driscoll Bridge The Governor Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge, (Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as the Driscoll Bridge) is a bridge on the Garden State Parkway in the U.S. state of New Jersey, spanning the Raritan River near its mouth in Raritan Bay. The bridg ...

, which carries the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

(connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville).

Water supply

The Raritan River is an important source of drinking water for the central portion of New Jersey. A

water filtration A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation, ...

plant operated by New Jersey American Water is located in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and draws its water at the confluence of the Raritan River and its largest tributary (the Millstone River), providing an average of of water per day. The New Jersey Water Supply Authority operates two reservoirs off of the Raritan river, the Spruce Run Reservoir and Round Valley Reservoir, and controls releases of water to ensure the “minimum passing flow rates” enforced by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staf ...

. Additionally, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, managed by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, serves as a water supply that pumps over of water per day from the Delaware to the Raritan river and serves over 1 million customers along the way

Flooding

The Raritan River has persistent flooding problems when excessive rain from storms affects the river basin. The flooding problems mainly affect the town of Bound Brook, which is partially built on a natural floodplain at the junction of several tributaries, and Manville, which has a large neighborhood known as Lost Valley that lies on the floodplain between the Raritan River and its largest tributary river, which is known as the Millstone River. Other towns in the Raritan River basin also experience flooding to a lesser degree. Record flooding in the aftermath of

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...

in September 1999 () flood crest, above flood stage) caused renewed interest in a flood control project called the Green Brook Flood Control Project, which is designed to protect Bound Brook from a 150-year flood. In August 2011, record flooding occurred once again after

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...

swept through the area. This problem was exacerbated by well-above average rainfall that fell in the weeks before the storm hit, and spurred completion of the Army Corps of Engineers flood control project. As of 2015, the current status of this project is: # The R2 levee system is functionally complete – The R2 Levee System is designed to provide Bound Brook with protection from a 150-year flood level. The levee is built to the height of the raised Talmage Avenue Bridge. # Closure gates along Raritan are functionally complete – The gate closures across the New Jersey Transit railroad tracks on the western side of Bound Brook and at the South Main Street railroad underpass that leads to Queens Bridge have been completed and are used to keep flood waters out of Bound Brook. # The new Talmadge Avenue Bridge that connects Bound Brook and

Bridgewater, New Jersey Bridgewater Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. Situated within Central Jersey, Cen ...

is functionally complete. The replacement bridge was built to the height of the R2 Levee to prevent Middle Brook and Raritan River waters from entering Bound Brook from the west. # To improve water flow through Bound Brook, the former Conrail bridge over the Raritan River and its associated railroad embankment that were located east of Bound Brook were removed during 2007. The bridge and embankment, when they were in place, acted to block the river flow through the Bound Brook area. To build the main Bound Brook R2 levee, the bridge and embankment needed to be removed.Valinski, Robin Blackstone, "Green Brook Flood Control Project: Saving Bound Brook" (2012). Master of Environmental Studies Capstone Projects. 48. https://repository.upenn.edu/mes_capstones/48

Gallery

File:Raritan River, NJ - South Branch and North Branch confluence.jpg, Confluence of the South Branch and the North Branch with the Raritan River in Branchburg File:Raritay River viewed from Queens Bridge in Bound Brook.jpg, Raritan River viewed from Queens Bridge in Bound Brook File:Raritan River in Rutgers.jpg, Raritan River at the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

, as seen from Highland Park File:GoodkindBridges.jpg, The Donald and Morris Goodkind Bridges over the Raritan River, connects

with Edison File:Driscoll-Viesser-Edison Bridges - August 30, 2020.jpg, The

, with a total of 15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes, is one of the world's widest and busiest motor vehicle bridges, as it crosses the Raritan River, connecting Sayreville and Woodbridge File:Victory Bridge from US 9.JPG, The Victory Bridge over the Raritan River, as seen from the Edison Bridge, it connects Sayreville with Perth Amboy File:Raritan_Bay_Bridge.jpg, Raritan Bay Drawbridge in its open position, between Perth Amboy and South Amboy, right before the Raritan River drains out into the

File:RartianRiverfromEdisonBoatBasin.jpg, View of the Raritan River from the Edison Boat Basin File:Raritan Flooding from Irene.jpg, Flooding damage from Tropical Storm Irene in New Brunswick File:Boundbrook041607.jpg, The Raritan River flooding Bound Brook, Spring Nor'easter, April 16, 2007 File:RaritanRiver1948.PNG, A gauge inspector and the Manville gage house built into Van Veghten's Bridge abutment during the flood of December 31, 1948

Communities on the Raritan

(In alphabetical order with 2020 population) * Bound Brook (11,988) * Bridgewater (45,977) * East Brunswick (49,715) * Edison (107,588) * Franklin Township (68,364) * Highland Park (15,072) * Hillsborough (43,276) * Manville (10,953) *

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

(14,636) *

(55,266) * Perth Amboy (55,436) * Piscataway (60,804) * Raritan (7,835) * Sayreville (45,345) * Somerville (12,346) * South Amboy (9,411) * South Bound Brook (4,863) * Woodbridge (103,639)

Tributaries

The Raritan river is formed by the confluence of: * North Branch Raritan River * South Branch Raritan River Its main tributaries are: * Green Brook *

Lawrence Brook Lawrence Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the United States. Course Originally a stream, its course now includes man-made lakes created by dams built in the 19th and 20th centuries: Deans Pond ( S ...

* Millstone River * South River Others are: * Arrarat Creek * Crows Mill Creek * Cuckels Brook * Dukes Brook * Garron Creek * Manalapan Brook * Middle Brook *

Mile Run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

* Buell Brook * Mill Brook * Padilla Creek * Peters Brook * Pine Creek * Randolph Brook * Red Root Creek

Lakes

Lakes that are located within the Raritan Basin include: * Budd Lake * Dismal Swamp * Duhernal Lake * Lake Manalapan *

Lake Carnegie Lake Carnegie is a reservoir that straddles the borders of the towns of Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, West Windsor, New Jersey, West Windsor, Plainsboro, New Jersey, Plainsboro and South Brunswick, New Jersey, South Brunswick in Mercer County ...

* Lake Surprise * Lake Topanemus * Manasquan Reservoir * Round Valley Reservoir * Spruce Run Reservoir * Westons Mill Pond

References

External links

Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park

Duke Island Park

Raritan Basin Watershed Alliance

U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations

* ttp://www.raritanmillstone.org/ The Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance
Green Brook Flood Commission

Rutgers Gardens

Scenic Lawrence Brook
pictures)
Rutgers Cooperative Extension: Video Series on the Restoration of Manalapan BrookRaritan Bay Waterfront ParkVisit New Jersey Bayshore
{{authority control Rivers of Middlesex County, New Jersey Rivers of Somerset County, New Jersey Rivers of New Jersey Bodies of water in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey