The tidal portions of the river host migratory salt water species such as striped bass, fluke, winter flounder, weakfish and bluefish. ![]() An occasional Musky has been taken out of the Raritan as well. Pike can be found in relative abundance in some portions of the river like Clinton and Califon. These actions have benefited the fish population which include (but are not limited to) largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish, catfish, trout, chain pickerel, american eels, carp and yellow perch. Ĭomprehensive measures have been taken to reduce the pollution and increase the water quality. It flows for approximately 16 mi (26 km) before slowing in tidewater at New Brunswick, and its estuary extends 14 mi (23 km) more entering the western end of Raritan Bay at South Amboy. The river forms at the confluence of the North and South Branches just west of Somerville at the border of Bridgewater, Branchburg, and Hillsborough Townships. Various mill towns 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, Bernards, Clinton, Raritan, Milltown, and Woodbridge. In 1932 the canal shut down for commercial use, though in 1974 it was turned into a state park for recreational use and remains used as a water supply for Central New Jersey. The vast majority of traffic along the canal was Pennsylvania anthracite coal with the rest consisting mostly of agricultural and textile goods, at its peak in 1866 it actually transported more cargo than the Erie Canal. This provided a critical link between Philadelphia (and the rest of the greater Mid-Atlantic region, at large) and New York (and the rest of the greater New England region, at large), as these cities were situated along the crucial rivers of the Delaware and Hudson, respectively. The success of the Erie Canal sparked a "canal fever" in the United States, catalyzing the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal between New Brunswick on the Raritan and Bordentown on the Delaware. ĭuring the American Revolutionary War, 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. 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 where agricultural and raw material goods could be sold. 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. įollowing conflict with the arriving Dutch colonists, the native people of the region were forced to sell their territory near the Raritan Bay and move further inland along the river valley. The name Raritan possibly derives from a branch of the Lenape people called the Nariticongs, the first people known to settle the Raritan Valley. Following the end of the last ice age, 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. ![]() Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of the Hudson River approximately 6,000 years ago. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. 1 Bridge, highway bridge over South River at the town of South River ![]() Victory Bridge, Edison Bridge, Driscoll Bridge, New Jersey Turnpike, U.S. Peters Brook, Cuckles Brook, Middle Brook, Green Brook, Mill Brook, Red Root Creek, Crows Mill Creekĭukes Brook, Millstone River, Fox Creek, Mile Run, Lawrence Brook, South River
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