Rockaway River
Encyclopedia
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
, approximately 35 mi (56 km) long, in northern New Jersey
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 upper course of the river flows through a wooded mountainous valley, whereas the lower course flows through the populated New Jersey suburbs and former industrial area west of New York City. It drains an area of approximately 130 sq mi (340 km²).
It rises in northwestern Morris County
Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....
, in the Highlands, along the northwestern slope of Green Pond Mountain south of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, New Jersey
Oak Ridge is an unincorporated area within West Milford in Passaic County and Jefferson Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07438....
. It flows SSW, in a direct course between in the valley between the mountain ridges. Northeast of Wharton
Wharton, New Jersey
Wharton is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 6,298.What is now Wharton was originally incorporated as the borough of Port Oram by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 26, 1895, from portions of Randolph...
it emerges from the mountains and flows generally east in a meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
ing course, past Wharton, Dover
Dover, New Jersey
Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:...
(where it enters a concrete channel), Rockaway
Rockaway, New Jersey
Rockaway is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 6,438.Rockaway was formed as a borough on June 19, 1894, from portions of Rockaway Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous...
, Denville
Denville, New Jersey
Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county...
and Boonton
Boonton, New Jersey
Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in 1867. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 8,347. The town was originally called "Boone-Towne" in 1761 in honor of the Colonial Governor Thomas Boone....
, where it passes through the Boonton Gorge
Boonton Gorge
The Boonton Gorge is a river gorge in Boonton, New Jersey, where the Rockaway River drops over several waterfalls, and travels for slightly over a mile before emptying into the Jersey City Reservoir.-Geology:...
. The gorge begins with the impressive 25 foot Boonton Falls. It continues for a little over 1 mile (1.6 km) dropping around 120 ft/mi through nearly continuous class 3 and 4 whitewater. On the south side of Boonton it is impounded to form the Boonton Reservoir. Downstream from the reservoir dam it flows south, through Lake Hiawatha, where the river splits and joins again. It then flows through Parsippany and into Hatfield Swamp
Hatfield Swamp
Hatfield Swamp is a fresh water wetland area in the US state of New Jersey, forming what might be considered the "second bank" of the Passaic River between Morris and Essex counties.-Geology:...
, where it is joined by the Whippany River
Whippany River
The Whippany River is a tributary of the Rockaway River, approximately 20 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States....
and then merges with the Passaic River.
Beaver brook is a stream that flows through a swamp and enters the Rockaway River in Denville.
In the 19th century the river connected to the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
near Wharton and served as an industrial transportation link for shipping coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
ore between Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New York City. The communities of Wharton, Dover, and Boonton were important iron processing towns in the early 19th century, with a large concentration of forges and mills. The significant pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
problem in the lower course of the river has been somewhat alleviated by legislation and by the nearly complete abandonment of heavy industry in the area.
The isolated upper course of the river is a popular region site for smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
fishing.
The New Jersey Fish and Game stocks the river in many sections with rainbow and brown trout. Many fisherman find enjoyment in fishing the river.
The river is shown in the movie, The Station Agent
The Station Agent
The Station Agent is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy's script about a man who seeks solitude in an abandoned train station in Newfoundland, New Jersey won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.-Plot:Finbar McBride, a quiet,...
and also appears in one episode of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
.
Flooding
After heavy rainfalls, the Rockaway River causes flooding in the area of Denville that is north of the central business district, including residential areas along the river.External links
- Mouth of the river