Rancocas Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of 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 ...

in southwestern

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in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The creek's main stem is long, with a North Branch of and a South Branch flowing .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 The creek system drains a rural agricultural and forested area on the western edge of the Pinelands north and northeast of Camden and the New Jersey suburbs of

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 ...

Overview

Rancocas Creek rises as two main branches in the Pinelands National Reserve. The North Branch rises in northern Burlington County, in Mirror Lake, just south of Fort Dix. It flows west-northwest past Mount Holly. The South Branch rises in central Burlington County near Chatsworth and flows generally northwest. It receives the Southwest Branch from the south approximately south of Mount Holly. The North and South branches join near Rancocas State Park, approximately west of Mount Holly, near the crossing of the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

and Interstate 295. A few hundred yards downstream of the Interstate 295 and

bridges, Burlington County Route 635 passed over the Creek on a bridge built less than over the average water level; this bridge had been closed for several years, and was physically removed in its entirety in 2020/2021. This bridge had the capability for the center section of the bridge to swivel from the perpendicular to the river to parallel, to allow small boat traffic through. After rehabilitation of the bridge in the 1980s, the powered mechanism was removed due to the near-lack of creek barge traffic and the expense of maintenance. The bridge could be opened in case of emergency, but required manual labor to be swiveled open. The creek is navigable for approximately upstream from its mouth on the Delaware.

Tributaries

* North Branch Rancocas Creek * South Branch Rancocas Creek * Southwest Branch Rancocas Creek

Accidents

On April 23, 1853, the engineer of Camden & Amboy's 2 p.m. train out of Philadelphia missed stop signals and ran his train off an open drawspan between modern-day Riverside and Delanco on Rancocas Creek. There were no fatalities.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Burlington County, New Jersey Tributaries of the Delaware River Rivers of New Jersey

Overview

Tributaries

Accidents

See also

References