Hudson River

HUDSON RIVER, situated entirely within the State of New York, U.S.A., has its source in the Adirondack mountains near Newcomb, Essex county, in 14 small lakes, 2,000 ft. above tide water, and having an area of about 6,000 acres. The river flows generally south and empties into New York bay, distant about 25o m. in a straight line and about 315 m. measured along the course of the river. The principal tributary is the Mohawk river, which rises in Lewis county, N.Y., flows southward to Rome, and thence east to the Hudson at Cohoes. Above Troy, N.Y., the drainage basin is about 9,90o sq.m., of which the drainage basin of the Mohawk constitutes about 4o%. The fall in the upper por tion of the river is very rapid. The discharge at Troy varies within wide limits; the low water discharge is generally assumed at about 2,000 cu.ft. per second, but discharges as low as 1,500 cu.ft. per second have been observed. The maximum observed flow was 240,000 cu.ft. per second. The Hudson is tidal from its mouth to the U.S. dam at Troy. The mean range of tide is 4-4 ft. at the Battery (New York city), 3.3 ft. at Albany, and slightly less at Troy. In its natural state the 21 m. section of the river below Troy was exceedingly tortuous and unstable with a minimum depth of 4 ft. at mean low water above Albany and 71 ft. below. Improvement for navigation was commenced by the State of New York in 1797. Between 1834 and 1890 the Federal Govern ment and the State of New York simultaneously improved the river, but since 1890 the Federal Government alone has continued the improvement. The controlling depth between Troy and Hud son is about 112 feet. Below Hudson, a natural depth of 27 ft.

or more exists except for a few shoals near New Germantown, on which there is a depth of 25 feet. The lower portion of the Hud son, called the North river, forms a part of New York harbour and has been improved to a depth of 4o ft. Fast river steamers with a maximum draught of I 1 ft. carry passengers and package freight between New York and Albany, stopping at intermediate ports. Bulk freight is largely carried in barges and canal boats, the greatest number of which draw 10 ft. or less. The New York State barge canal, entering the Hudson river via the Mohawk, provides a waterway for barge traffic between New York city and the Great Lakes with terminals at Oswego on Lake Ontario, and Tonawanda and Buffalo on Lake Erie. This canal carries a large and impor tant commerce. There is also a waterway for small boats and barges from the Hudson to the lower St. Lawrence by way of the Champlain canal, Lake Champlain, and the Richelieu river and Chamblay canal. This waterway is now little used. Pough keepsie, N.Y., which is the farthest port upstream on the Hudson river to which ocean-going vessels now go, is a very important dis tributing centre for Pacific coast lumber brought through the Panama canal. The commerce at Poughkeepsie was about 165,000 tons in 1926. The U.S. Congress has authorized the improvement of the river to provide a depth of 27 ft. from the upper limits of New York harbour to Albany, N.Y., and work on this project was being prosecuted vigorously in 1928. Albany, already a very im portant railroad centre, is expected to become one of the great inland ports and trans-shipment points in the country. The prin cipal ports and cities on the river above New York city are Yonk ers, Tarrytown, Nyack, Ossining, Haverstraw, Peekskill, West Point, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Catskill, Hudson, Al bany, Troy, Cohoes and Glens Falls. Above Troy there are numer ous falls and rapids which are used as a source of the power which serves many busy manufacturing centres. The New York Central and Hudson River railroad parallels the river on the east bank between New York and Albany, and the West Shore railroad on the west bank. Excursion boats and passenger steamers make reg ular trips between New York and Albany or Troy, stopping at intermediate points.

History.

Verrazano proceeded a short distance up the Hud son by boat in 1524; but the first European to demonstrate its extent and importance was Henry Hudson (q.v.), from whom the river derives its name. The Dutch later settled the valley. During the early days of colonization and settlement by the Dutch and later by the English, the valley of the Hudson provided a natural highway to Canada via the Lake George, Lake Champlain route, and to western New York via the Mohawk valley. During all of the early wars on the North American continent, the valley was a region of great strategic importance. It has been used in exploration, in war and in commerce. Water transportation on the river itself and later on via the Erie canal to the Great Lakes played a most important part in determining the location and building up of the great commercial, industrial and trans-shipment centres at the mouth in the New York city area.

The valley of the Hudson has been the scene of many impor tant historical events. During the Revolutionary War, an enor mous chain was stretched across the river between Gee's Point and Constitution island to prevent the passage of British ships. Benedict Arnold, while military commander of the forts in this locality, planned to surrender them to the British. He made his escape from his quarters on the east bank near the site of the village of Garrison to a British ship anchored in the river below. Fulton made his first successful experiments with steam naviga tion on the Hudson river. Washington Irving, who is buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, has memorialized the valley in his stories. A highway bridge crosses the river at Bear Mountain park located on the river just above the naval station at Iona island. This park is the summer playground of the people of New York city.

Above Cornwall the valley slopes gently away from the river and the scenery, though not tame, cannot compare with the gran deur of the lower river. The Catskill mountains are visible to the west. At Cornwall the river enters the northern portals of the highlands between a series of hills, whose precipitous sides often rise abruptly from the water's edge. For about 16 m. the river scenery is magnificent. Below Peekskill the view from the river continues beautiful, but the banks are less precipitous. Beginning at Piermont on the west bank are the famous Palisades which ex tend some 13 m. along the river to the south. These rock cliffs rise precipitously to a height of over Soo ft. above the water. New York city, with its teeming millions and its enormous sky-scrapers is situated at the mouth of the river. A suspension bridge con necting New York city and Fort Lee on the New Jersey side was begun in 1928. Tunnels or tubes for the trains of the Pennsyl vania railroad, inter-urban electric lines, and vehicles have been constructed under the North river connecting New York city with the New Jersey side. (E. JA.)