Rahway River
Encyclopedia
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
, the river empties into the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...
. In its upper reaches, the river is lined with several urban parks. The mouth of the river serves an industrial access channel.
It rises in Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
, beginning as two separate branches. The West Branch begins in Verona
Verona, New Jersey
Verona is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 13,332.In 2008, New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Verona #1 in Essex County and #3 in New Jersey as "Top Places to Live in New Jersey".-History:Verona and several...
and flows south through the South Mountain Reservation
South Mountain Reservation
South Mountain Reservation covers 2,047.14 acres in central Essex County, New Jersey, in portions of Maplewood, and Millburn and West Orange, bordering South Orange, between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains....
in the valley between Watchung Mountains
Watchung Mountains
The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 ft. and 500 ft. high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States...
No. 1 and No. 2. It runs directly through downtown Millburn
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
. The East Branch begins somewhere between West Orange
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 46,207...
and Montclair
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
, and travels through the towns of South Orange
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
and Maplewood
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
. The two branches meet at Hobart Gap
Hobart Gap
The Hobart Gap is a strategic pass and road through the Watchung Mountains in Northern New Jersey. The confluence of the two branches of the Rahway River is located here...
near Interstate 78
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
, continuing south through the Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
communities of Springfield
Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey
Township of Springfield is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population increased to a record high of 15,817....
, Union, Cranford
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...
and Clark
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
. In Rahway
Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island...
the river receives the Robinson's Branch and South Branch, which are approximately 10 mi (16 km) long. The river's mouth is at Arthur Kill between Carteret
Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 22,844.Carteret was created as the borough of Roosevelt on 11 April 1906, incorporating Woodbridge Township, and was a result of a referendum on 22 May 1906...
(on the south) and Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
(on the north) and opposite Port Mobil on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
.
The river is the source of drinking water for the City of Rahway. Each Spring, the river is stocked with approximately 6,000 trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
.
The river is also the source of the name for the Rahway Valley Railroad
Rahway Valley Railroad
The Rahway Valley Railroad was a shortline railroad in the Northeastern United States which connected the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Roselle Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Cranford with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western in Summit...
which has a bridge over it on the Springfield
Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey
Township of Springfield is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population increased to a record high of 15,817....
/Union
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
border.
External links
- Rahway River Association
- Rahway River Greenway Project
- U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Rahway River Flood Protection and Ecosystem Restoration Study
- Photo and brief narrated history of river carnivals along the Rahway in Cranford – Mouth of the Rahway River
