119-592: Esopus Creek / ɪ ˈ s oʊ p ə s / is a 65.4-mile-long (105.3 km) tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York . From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain , the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties . Many tributaries extend its watershed into neighboring Greene County and
238-470: A pitch pine - scrub oak barren, is found on the summits of Hallihan and Jockey hills in the town of Kingston , just northwest of the Saw Kill confluence. While there is some development clustered along Route 28 next to the stream, there is no significant agricultural use. Among the mountains within it or on its boundaries are 21 peaks over 3,000 ft (910 m) in elevation, including all or part of 16 of
357-429: A busy local tubing industry in the summer months. The lower Esopus is mainly an aesthetic and ecological resource, although the estuary at Saugerties is a popular bass fishery . The Esopus's role in the state and regional economy has led to a concentrated effort to protect and manage it, particularly on the upper stretch. The interests of the various stakeholders have not always converged, particularly where it concerns
476-559: A community feeling", said one. "People were just stopping and talking on the sidewalk." Flooding overwhelmed a number of local sewage treatment plants, since many of them collect and process storm runoff as well as wastewater . The state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reported on September 6 that at least 52 municipalities in the Hudson Valley had reported raw-sewage spills into local waters. "The collection plants were just overwhelmed" said one DEC engineer. However,
595-483: A flooded grand jury room at the Orange County Government Center , which was closed for the week after the storm, might have to be renovated due to mold growth. A day after it was reopened, rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee flooded it again, and it was closed indefinitely. County Executive Edward A. Diana pressed legislators to reach a decision soon on whether to repair the building or replace it,
714-509: A foot of flooding the subway system and road tunnels. The police reported 30 arrests during the storm, some in domestic violence cases resulting from couples forced to remain inside. By 10:45, almost all of FDR Drive was closed. One man drowned at a marina in City Island in the Bronx , New York City while checking on his boat during the storm, while just north of New York City, one person
833-521: A half-mile with an apartment complex and strip mall on the south side and woodlands on the north of the 180-foot-wide (55 m) channel, Tannery Brook empties into the Esopus from a buried culvert just below where Route 28, now concurrent with Interstate 587 , crosses the creek for the last time. A half-mile past I-587, amid woodlands on both sides, the Esopus meanders parallel to the Thruway. Three-quarters of
952-410: A higher fault density in the bedrock on the Esopus, in the late 20th century. Later, the crater began to fill in with silt and became a crater lake . As the delta uplifted into a single plateau , the stream bed began to form along the heavily jointed and weaker shale and sandstone above the buried rim of the crater wall. As with the Catskills as a whole the newly forming streams began dissecting
1071-595: A large bend that takes it below 600 feet (180 m) in elevation, the Esopus enters Ashokan Reservoir , 12 miles (19 km) below Allaben, the end of the creek's 26-mile (42 km) upper section. Four miles (6.4 km) from where it widens into the reservoir, just before Travers Hollow Brook and the Bush Kill drain into it, the main stem of the Esopus flows out of the reservoir's spillway . The reservoir continues for 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to its spillway near Olive Bridge . The reservoir's eastern section, slightly to
1190-574: A long curve to the north and back southeastward over its next half-mile to where it crosses under the New York State Thruway just south of Exit 19, where the Catskill Park Blue Line leaves the stream to run along the west edge of the highway property. Another half-mile further downstream, Washington Avenue crosses; a state-owned public-access area with boat launch is located on the north bank along Sandy Road 500 feet downstream. After
1309-669: A mile downstream on a meandering course with a narrow channel, the Kingston city line leaves the stream on the east. The meandering creek draws near to the Thruway in a mile and begins to run parallel to it. Just past a turn to the northeast the Town of Ulster maintains another public access area near the ballparks on Buckley Street on the south side of the 145-foot (44 m) channel. The Esopus crosses under Route 209 near Lake Katrine 1.1 mi (1.8 km) north of that point. A half-mile past that bridge, it receives another significant tributary,
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#17328443302821428-400: A new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already known to the people who live upon its banks. Conversely, explorers approaching a new land from the sea encounter its rivers at their mouths, where they name them on their charts, then, following a river upstream, encounter each tributary as a forking of the stream to the right and to the left, which then appear on their charts as such; or
1547-507: A section with retaining walls on either side of the channel. Another 500 ft (150 m) to the north, the similarly named tributary, carrying water from the steep slopes of Haynes and Balsam mountains to the west, joins the Esopus from the west as the stream's main stem turns northwest, further away from the road, then curving northeast with more bars and braiding marking a wider channel. After 1.6 mi (2.6 km) of this gently curving course, Hatchery Hollow Brook flows in from
1666-422: A series of five cascades that drop 68 feet (21 m) over the course of the next 2,000 ft (610 m) of stream, Below Glenerie Falls, the Esopus, now below a hundred feet (30 m) in elevation, again turns north, paralleling U.S. Route 9W for a mile through a narrow, steep valley. After Glasco Turnpike (Ulster County Route 32) crosses the 100-foot channel, Route 9W veers off to the northeast, away from
1785-511: A small hole in the parking lot of a funeral home downtown found over the course of the following week that the underlying collapse extended to several other nearby properties and two streets. They attributed it to a burst drainage pipe and estimated it could cost $ 1 million to repair. In Spring Valley , a man suffered electrocution from downed wires. A woman drowned in a flooded creek while evacuating her home in New Scotland , just southwest of
1904-490: A small portion of Delaware County . Midway along its length, it is impounded at Olive Bridge to create Ashokan Reservoir , the first of several built in the Catskills as part of New York City 's water supply system . Its own flow is supplemented 13 miles (21 km) above the reservoir by the Shandaken Tunnel , which carries water from the city's Schoharie Reservoir into the creek. The creek, originally known by
2023-833: A state of emergency on August 25, urging the Office of Emergency Management to prepare for a possible landfall or direct hit from Irene. Cuomo ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops and oversaw their departure from the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, and stated that the Guard would assist police, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Port Authority in New York and Long Island. A mandatory evacuation order for low-lying areas of New York City
2142-400: A thousand feet downstream. It bends to the northeast again, and after another 2,000 feet (610 m) reaches the western corner of the city of Kingston , the largest settlement along the creek, after which it becomes the city's northern boundary. Another 1,500 feet (460 m) downstream, a bridge along the abandoned Ulster & Delaware right-of-way crosses the Esopus. The stream takes
2261-429: A topic long under consideration in county government. In the interim, the county's courts scrambled for space. The county's 170-year-old original courthouse , which had not been used for that purpose in 40 years, temporarily hosted civil cases. Elsewhere in the county, parts the village of Washingtonville were under 8 feet (2.4 m) of water during the storm due to the flash flood of Moodna Creek . Some homes near
2380-567: A valley floor with more frequent cleared areas amid forested mountains, meandering gently along the circular route around Panther Mountain, paralleled by Creek Side Drive on its north. Another thousand feet downstream, Fire House Road (County Route 47) crosses, after which the Esopus turns sharply to the north, then northeast at a large gravel bar, for its next mile. At the Millbrook Hollow Brook confluence, it bends eastward, with another northern tributary, Seneca Hollow Brook emptying into
2499-570: A visit to Tuxedo, she claimed she had been misquoted by a local newspaper. In mid-September, farmers reported a smaller-than-average harvest of pumpkins in the northeastern United States. The scope of damage to agriculture in New York was also becoming clearer by that time. Many farmers in the Black Dirt Region were near bankruptcy by that point, and fundraisers were being held to tide them over pending federal disaster relief. Orange County's Cornell Cooperative Extension estimates that half of
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#17328443302822618-560: A wide braided bend, Wynkoop Road (Ulster County Route 29A) crosses the 120-foot (37 m) channel just east of the hamlet of Hurley and the Hurley Mountain Inn . North of that crossing, the Esopus bends away from Route 209 through fields, with some braiding and diversions, to the Ulster town line a mile downstream. Here its north bank becomes part of the Catskill Park Blue Line as well, bending east southeast and crossing under Route 209
2737-861: Is the Kaaterskill Creek basin, with the West Kill draining the Spruceton Valley to the northwest into Schoharie Creek , a long tributary of the Mohawk River , itself the Hudson's longest tributary. On the western boundary, water drains into the East Branch of the Delaware River ; the two upper branches of the Neversink , the Delaware's largest left tributary, rise along the Esopus basin's southwest boundary, with
2856-448: The 2011 US Open . Many New Yorkers likewise canceled their evening plans and spent the night at their own residences or with friends, having informal parties. Supermarkets did heavy business; there were jokes later about gaining "the Irene 15 ". Since they had to walk, drive or take taxicabs to go long distances due to the transit shutdown, city life took on a more relaxed character. "There was
2975-613: The Adirondack Mountains , farther upstate. A section of NY 73 was washed out, isolating the hamlets of Keene and St. Huberts in the High Peaks region of Essex County . DEC reported that " landslides too numerous to count" had taken place on many of the High Peaks themselves, all of which are located on state Forest Preserve land. It closed the Dix and Giant wilderness areas and
3094-763: The Catskill Park in Greene and Ulster counties. The MTA initially replaced the trains with bus service to the Ramsey Route 17 station in New Jersey and the Beacon stations on the Hudson Line ; some passengers complained that trains departing from the former station were too slow and that the latter was impractical for some commuters. Officials said that they would be refining those arrangements, and were exploring ways to get stock from
3213-627: The Department of Homeland Security to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Beginning at 0900 UTC on August 26, a hurricane watch was issued from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to the mouth of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts ; this encompassed Long Island and the southeastern coast of the state. Later that day at 2100 UTC, a previously issued hurricane warning was modified to include
3332-565: The Devil's Path range and its southeastern corner. A very small portion overlaps the Delaware County line west of Pine Hill . The upper Esopus basin, above the reservoir, is 256 square miles (660 km) with the lower basin accounting for the other 169 square miles (440 km). To the south it is bordered by the combined watershed of the Rondout Creek and Wallkill River . On the northeast
3451-573: The Elk Bushkill , which drains Fir and Big Indian mountains to the southeast, just south of the Burnham Hollow Road bridge. The Esopus then bends back in a northward direction. Short braided sections return during the next mile, along with gravel bars along the banks. Bending past more braided sections and bars, the Esopus reaches the small former hamlet of Oliverea 0.6 mi (1 km) further north. Here McKenley Hollow Road crosses, in
3570-517: The Lenape band that inhabited its banks, some of whom entertained Henry Hudson on his voyage up the river in 1609 after possible earlier contact with fur traders. European traders began plying the river in greater numbers, eventually establishing permanent settlements for the purpose. Dutch settlers established Wiltwyck, today's Kingston , on the high ground between the Esopus and the Rondout in 1649. After
3689-505: The Native Americans in the area as Atkarkaton or Atkankarten and by Dutch settlers as the "Esopus Kill ", takes its name from the Esopus tribe of the Lenape , who were living around the lower Esopus when the Dutch first explored and settled the Hudson Valley in the early 17th century. The creek's wide valley made it an ideal trading route for the Esopus and other Lenape who harvested
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3808-450: The Native Americans used the flat flood plains of the lower Esopus for cornfields, and there are accounts of the area around Olive, today inundated by the reservoir, planted as an apple orchard . The Natives did not settle the area permanently, and only ventured into the higher reaches of the valley to hunt as there was less arable land there. The Esopus would be important to the area's early European colonization . It took its name from
3927-512: The New York Thruway was closed from Westchester County to Albany . Two weak EF0 tornadoes touched down in Queens and West Islip as well. Upon making landfall on Coney Island , the storm produced a storm surge of 4.36 feet (1.33 m) and a storm tide of 9.5 feet (2.9 m) at Battery Park . Winds were lighter than the intensity of the storm in New York City. However, two locations in
4046-624: The Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 85 mph (137 km/h) on August 27. It slowly weakened over land and re-emerged into the Atlantic on the following day. Later on August 28, Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm and made two additional landfalls, one in New Jersey and another in New York. The storm quickly began to lose tropical characteristics and became extratropical in Vermont . Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo declared
4165-419: The Rondout , which he calls the "Groot Esopus". In some other accounts, the es prefix is read as a diminutive , making the name mean "little river". Another interpretation is that Esopus means "high banks", referring to the stream's history of heavy floods. The Esopus is usually discussed as an upper and lower stream divided by the reservoir. The upper portion, where most recreational use takes place, has
4284-502: The Saw Kill . The riverside is more developed here, with homes and docks on the east bank. The channel narrows to 60 ft (18 m). A mile north of the Saw Kill, the Esopus bends northeast again and Leggs Mill Road (County Route 31) crosses as the stream descends slightly over a weir and some exposed bedrock. Backyards and docks line both banks over the next half-mile, where the channel widens again to 250 ft (76 m), after which
4403-542: The Shawangunk Ridge , an area popular with rock climbers as well as hikers, two popular recreational areas, the privately owned Mohonk Preserve and the public Minnewaska State Park Preserve , closed some trails and parking lots and allowed only foot use of those that remained open. The annual Survival of the Shawangunks triathlon route had to be shortened by 7 miles (11 km). Irene also did significant damage in
4522-504: The beaver pelts the European traders desired. Later, under the English , it became the beginning point for contentious land claims in the mountains. After independence , the Esopus corridor became the main route into the Catskills, first by road then later by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad , for forest-product industries like logging, tanning and charcoal making . Those industries declined in
4641-409: The 35 Catskill High Peaks exceeding 3,500 ft (1,100 m). Slide Mountain , the highest peak in the range, is also the highest peak in the Esopus watershed at about 4,180 ft (1,270 m). It has the highest average elevation of any of the watersheds that feed New York City's reservoirs. Tributaries, named and unnamed, add another 330 miles (530 km) of streams to the watershed. From
4760-722: The Catskills. Record flooding along the Schoharie Creek , destroyed the Old Blenheim Bridge , a 156-year-old covered bridge that had been designated a National Historic Landmark . In Windham , WRIP disk jockey Jay Fink stayed on the air for 13 hours, taking calls from trapped residents, disseminating information about shelters that had been opened and playing reassuring music. Prattsville 's Main Street has been described as "a total loss" by its town supervisor . Some other protected areas experienced considerable damage. Along
4879-483: The Esopus Valley than anywhere else in the Catskills. Bluestone for city sidewalks and buildings was also quarried out of the hills, and in some cases from the stream bed itself. 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
Esopus Creek - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-518: The Esopus and Stony Clove Creek , where flooding was also severe, some residents, along with Assemblyman Kevin Cahill , have questioned whether buildings on the flood plain should be rebuilt as they have been in the past, at least not without improving building codes. Disastrous flash floods occurred in the northwestern Catskill Mountains , particularly in the town of Margaretville . An elderly woman drowned in creek flooding at Fleischmanns , also in
5117-466: The Esopus drove them out of the settlement in two wars , colonial governor Peter Stuyvesant ordered that it be enclosed in a stockade so it would be safer from raids by Indians and the other contending colonial power in the area, the English . The latter took over the New Netherland colony in 1664, taking a more nuanced approach to the native peoples of the area. The settlement's location above
5236-532: The Esopus from the north, increasing its flow. This point on the stream is known as the Shandaken Portal or just the Portal. South of the Portal, what is now the "big" portion of the upper Esopus turns southeast after Broadstreet Hollow Creek, with one smaller northern channel remaining closer to the road while the larger southern one bends closer to the base of Garfield Mountain , forming another one-mile portion of
5355-490: The Esopus near Kingston and going out to the Delaware River , taking not only all of Ulster County to the west but much of today's Delaware and Sullivan counties as well. The Hardenbugh Patent, as it became known, is the source of many of the land titles in the Catskills today, although its legitimacy was contested from the beginning, a dispute which continued until after the Revolution , aggravated by inadequate surveys of
5474-479: The Esopus reaches Phoenicia , the first major settlement along its course. Route 28 crosses again just west of where the stream receives Stony Clove Creek from the north, where it drains southern Greene County . The creek widens but remains shallow; the Catskill Mountain Railroad parallels its banks. The stream bends into a southerly course between Mount Tremper to the east and Romer Mountain to
5593-641: The Esopus receives its first left tributary, Hanging Birds Nest Brook, which drains the north face of Spruce and Hemlock mountains to the south. From there the Esopus flows due northwest for its next mile, as the valley floor of Big Indian Hollow opens up and some cleared land begins to abut the stream. After the Maben Hollow Brook confluence, it turns west and braids into several smaller channels for 1,200 feet (370 m), reuniting just before crossing under Eagle Mountain Road. It receives, another eastern tributary,
5712-509: The Esopus, planned to offer shorter rides at a reduced price during leaf peeping season, its busiest time of year. Flood victims and officials in Tuxedo blamed the Thruway Authority for filling a drainage ditch nearby in order to construct an earthen berm as a noise barrier . "I've been here seven years, and I've never seen water on this side of the road" said one. The influx of water into
5831-555: The Indians as they migrated north. Most of the chestnuts died in the chestnut blight of the early 20th century. Catskill forest historian Michael Kudish found that other southern hardwood species can be found in the Esopus valley all the way to Oliverea, a mile or so below the creek's source. Human habitation or use of the stream's lower reaches has been recorded as far back as 4,000 years ago. As with many other streams in Ulster County,
5950-541: The Neversink's East Branch headwaters flowing a thousand feet from the Esopus' source at Winnisook Lake. The upper Esopus watershed is rugged and 95 percent forested, with 58.5 percent part of the "forever wild" Forest Preserve and protected from almost all harvest or clearing. Three different types of forest predominate: montane spruce-fir boreal forest on the higher mountain summits, beech-birch-maple northern hardwood forest with some Eastern hemlock groves that survived
6069-471: The Saw Kill and Plattekill Creek subwatersheds, much of which remain within the forests of the Catskill Park . The history of the Esopus, like the creek itself, has several distinct eras, starting with a meteor falling on the future Catskill Mountains. The Esopus's upper course was set 375 million years ago in the Devonian period, when the Catskills were still a river delta of low sedimentary beaches and
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#17328443302826188-582: The Slide Mountain Wilderness boundary; the two converge at a public parking lot used to put in canoes and kayaks. Three miles (4.8 km) downstream, the creek turns to the south for another mile before turning east where Woodland Creek , the largest right tributary of the Esopus, flows in from the south following the east side of the former Panther crater wall, from its headwaters on Wittenberg Mountain , just east of where Woodland Valley Road crosses. Another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) in that direction,
6307-515: The Ulster, Delaware and Dutchess Turnpike, was improved from an old colonial path that led up the valley and then into Delaware County past Highmount . By the middle of the century it was paralleled by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad . Timber was not the only product taken from the mountainsides and sent down the valley. Tanners brought up cowhides via those routes to treat in water boiled in hemlock bark, and charcoal kilns were more numerous in
6426-828: The Veterans Administration Hospital began evacuating patients on August 26; sixteen nursing homes and adult care facilities were also evacuated. Possible rising seawater levels from storm surge and a predicted high tide led to a complete shutdown of the MTA, the nation's largest mass transit system. All subway , bus, and commuter rail service in New York City was halted at noon on August 27, with John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport also closing. The New York International Fringe Festival cancelled all performances for August 27, and 28, as did all Broadway shows for those days. The United States Tennis Association cancelled special events planned for
6545-536: The area. From the mid-17th century Esopus , sometimes Sopers , was in common use. It was believed to have been derived from seepus , meaning river, in the Delaware languages . The name was not always applied to today's Esopus. Alphonso T. Clearwater's 1907 history of Ulster County recounts that in 1677 the local Native tribes deeded to the English the land between the Esopus, which he identifies as Saugerties Creek, and
6664-511: The area. Local officials were incredulous, noting the dam's proximity to the New York State Thruway , which had to be closed through there for two days as a result. In Goshen , the Orange County seat , residents reported sewage backing up into their homes, and in some cases the streets. Vaccinations against tetanus and hepatitis were offered to rescuers before entering houses in some areas. District Attorney Frank Phillips reported that
6783-457: The characteristics of a mountain stream — shallow, rocky and swift, with most of the stream's trout taken by anglers there. The upper portion is itself divided into a "small" and "big" stream by the outlet of the Shandaken Tunnel . Below the reservoir's spillway the stream begins again, becoming flatter, deeper and slower to its short estuary . The Esopus flows out of artificially created Winnisook Lake , at 2,660 feet (810 m) above sea level
6902-595: The city reported tropical storm force winds. A sustained wind speed of 45 and 50 mph (72 and 80 km/h) was reported at John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport , respectively. On Manhattan , sustained winds were significantly less, reaching 32 mph (51 km/h) at Central Park . Rainfall in the area was moderate, with John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Central Park reporting 5.02 inches (128 mm), 5.37 inches (136 mm), and 6.87 inches (174 mm), respectively. Floods from Irene contributed to August 2011 being
7021-513: The city's management of its water needs. Turbidity created by discharges from the Shandaken Tunnel after a 1996 flood led to a successful lawsuit against the city and a state regulation; downstream of the reservoir the city has been criticized for contributing to flooding problems by releasing too much water during heavy rainstorms since Hurricane Irene in 2011. Boaters and anglers have also clashed, and invasive species are beginning to enter
7140-596: The coast from the Little River Inlet in South Carolina to Sagamore Beach in Massachusetts. Shortly after moving inland over New York, the hurricane warning was downgraded to a tropical storm warning at 1500 UTC on August 28. Early on the following day, all watches and warnings were discontinued. The Staten Island University Hospital , Coney Island Hospital , New York University Hospitals Center, and
7259-546: The colonial frontier so that it might be better protected from the French to the north and west, but those officials dallied, only making such grants when they could enrich themselves and their friends in the process. The Catskills and the Esopus Valley, with little land that could be cleared for farming, were not suitable to that end. In 1704 a group of farmers in Hurley petitioned the colonial governor , Viscount Cornbury , for some of
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#17328443302827378-403: The county's 3,400 acres (1,400 ha) of cultivated land was damaged, along with $ 1.5 million in farm infrastructure such as field roads washed away, soil covered in silt and land eroded. In Ulster County, crop losses were estimated at $ 5 million. One farmer in Kerhonkson found his fields under 12 feet (3.7 m) of water from Rondout Creek , enough for him to use personal watercraft on
7497-401: The county's 3,400 acres (1,400 ha) of cultivated land was damaged, along with $ 1.5 million in farm infrastructure such as field roads washed away, soil covered in silt and land eroded. In Ulster County, crop losses were estimated at $ 5 million. One farmer in Kerhonkson found his fields under 12 feet (3.7 m) of water from Rondout Creek , enough for him to use personal watercraft on
7616-444: The creek again turns north, the channel narrowing to 150–200 feet (46–61 m), and the CSX River Subdivision 's freight tracks parallel the Esopus on its east. The stream flows north on a straight course, trending slightly east, for 1.75 miles (2.82 km) until it receives its last major tributary, Plattekill Creek , from the east at the Saugerties town line. At this point it bends eastward again and goes down Glenerie Falls ,
7735-492: The creek had to be condemned. Three weeks later, Moffat Library was closed down for repairs and cleaning from the 6 feet (1.8 m) of water in its basement. It would not reopen until late 2017. In Harriman State Park , the beach at Lake Sebago was washed away completely, and had to be closed for the upcoming holiday weekend. Seven Lakes Drive has been closed through the park due to extensive damage. Orange County's Cornell Cooperative Extension estimates that half of
7854-592: The creek into an upper stretch, mostly a wild mountain stream, and a lower stretch closer to the Hudson that gradually becomes more estuarine . Above the reservoir, its water quality is closely monitored, not only for its role in the city's water supply but to preserve its local economic importance as a recreational resource. As the upper Esopus is one of the most productive trout streams in the Northeast , fly fishermen come in great numbers to take trout from its relatively accessible banks. Canoeists and kayakers have been drawn to its whitewater , which has also spawned
7973-564: The earthen dam at 25-acre (10 ha) Echo Lake, on a private preserve owned by descendants of rail magnate Edward Harriman , Arden's founder, had collapsed during the storm, sending an alleged 100 million gallons (380,000 m ) into the river. Some residents reported an 8-foot (2.4 m) wall of water coming down the river; those with property along the river say it had never gotten that high in other storms. The dam had last been inspected in 1986 and found to be "low-hazard", meaning its failure would not severely impact any structures or roads in
8092-489: The east bank. At the end of this reach, just southeast of the village of Saugerties , the Esopus receives its last tributary, Tannery Brook , from the north, turns east and enters the village. A half-mile of meandering past some marshy flats on the south side, a bridge carries Route 9W and New York State Route 32 over the stream, its last crossing. Below the bridge it flows over 25-foot (7.6 m) Cantine Dam, creating Cantine Falls. It bends north, then south, and returns to
8211-438: The east, as docks and structures abound on either side. After 1.3 miles (2.1 km) the Esopus empties into the Hudson, 88.5 miles (142.4 km) north of its mouth in New York City at Saugerties Light , a few feet (1-2 m) above sea level. The Esopus' watershed covers 425 square miles (1,100 km). Most of it is in Ulster County, like the stream itself; the Greene County portion includes most of that county south of
8330-453: The east. With the valley floor widening, the Esopus flows more northward. It receives its last Big Indian Hollow tributary, Lost Clove Creek , from the west where it drains Balsam and Bellayre mountains, just below the Lost Clove Road bridge. At the mouth of the hollow, in the small hamlet of Big Indian , 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from its source, the Esopus turns east and crosses under New York State Route 28 , which it closely parallels all
8449-442: The eastern zone of the High Peaks Wilderness Area to the public due to the threat of additional landslides and damage to trail infrastructure. Marcy Dam was damaged by Irene and Marcy Dam Pond was partially drained. On September 8, DEC reopened some trails and trailheads in the High Peaks and Giant areas, warning hikers that there was still major damage in some areas. The same day, it closed all trails on property it managed in
8568-502: The first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary. Another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure , stored as a tree data structure . Effects of Hurricane Irene in New York The Effects of Hurricane Irene in New York were
8687-458: The forest. The stream's headwaters descend from there northward into Big Indian Hollow, dropping 169 feet (52 m) per mile (1.6 km) with an average slope of 13 percent, through its first three miles, a narrow and rocky mountains stream through this section. Along it there are three waterfalls—Otter Falls, and Parker and Blossom Falls below. At first trending westward, away from the road, a half-mile (800 m) below Winnisook Lake it returns to
8806-451: The handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream. For instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as
8925-588: The highest lake in the Catskills, on the northwest slopes of Slide Mountain , the Catskills' highest peak in the town of Shandaken , within 300 feet (100 m) of the West Branch of the Neversink River on the other side of the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds , amid expansive forest. At the source it is crossed by a small wooden footbridge, followed by Oliverea Road ( Ulster County Route 47 ), which it immediately begins to parallel through
9044-424: The joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary , a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. Distributaries are most often found in river deltas . Right tributary , or right-bank tributary , and left tributary , or left-bank tributary , describe the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from
9163-460: The late 19th century, shortly before the creation of the Forest Preserve and the Catskill Park made the region more attractive for resorts and recreation, particularly trout fishing. The renewed Esopus also attracted the attention of fast-growing New York City, which was able to acquire land and build the reservoir and tunnel after overcoming local political opposition. The reservoir divides
9282-501: The line were reassigned to New Jersey in the interim. On September 16 Metro-North announced it would restore service between Port Jervis and Harriman, so passengers could take the bus to Ramsey Route 17 from there. Service was restored on the entire line on November 28, 2011, using one track. Rep. Nan Hayworth , whose district includes much of the county, caused controversy when she reportedly said that federal funds for relief would have to be made up for by budget cuts elsewhere. On
9401-405: The lower Esopus as well, as the long glacial ridges closer to the Hudson channeled the stream north to Saugerties after they melted. As the glaciers melted slowly, they created ice dams and glacial lakes . The most significant of the latter along the Esopus's course left behind the large plain at Shokan. In the 20th century the original lake would be recreated as Ashokan Reservoir . The Esopus
9520-592: The main stem river into which they flow, drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater , leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m /s (1.1 million cu ft/s). A confluence , where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to
9639-532: The next mile of flow almost due south. Over the next 1.2 miles (1.9 km) the Esopus bends back and forth through similar terrain, paralleling New York State Route 213 for a thousand feet (305 m) below a steep bluff, to where its valley widens and cultivated fields become dominant in the surrounding landscape. Two miles (3.2 km) to the south, with the channel again widening to 150 ft (46 m), Hurley Mountain Road ( Ulster County Route 5 ) crosses. Another 1,500 feet (460 m) south of that bridge,
9758-482: The north, is not part of the creek's course. The Esopus drops below 500 ft (150 m) in elevation as it leaves the reservoir. A thousand feet (300 m) downstream the reborn stream crosses under Route 28A again, amid a wide, forested canyon. It turns south, then east again, through Cathedral Gorge past the Ashokan Center on the north, through channelized and widened sections. Narrowing again, after another bend,
9877-462: The opposite bank before approaching the confluence. An early tributary is a tributary that joins the main stem river closer to its source than its mouth, that is, before the river's midpoint ; a late tributary joins the main stem further downstream, closer to its mouth than to its source, that is, after the midpoint. In the United States, where tributaries sometimes have the same name as
9996-439: The park at Fording Place Road east of the hamlet of Lomontville, the Esopus starts paralleling U.S. Route 209 , meandering slightly as it widens, with farmland on its west, sometimes widening from 60 ft (18 m) into 500-foot-wide (150 m) pools. Two miles north of Fording Place Road, another tributary, Stony Creek , flows in from the west at the Hurley town line. Another 1.75 miles (2.82 km) downstream, just past
10115-476: The perspective of looking downstream, that is, facing the direction the water current of the main stem is going. In a navigational context, if one were floating on a raft or other vessel in the main stream, this would be the side the tributary enters from as one floats past; alternately, if one were floating down the tributary, the main stream meets it on the opposite bank of the tributary. This information may be used to avoid turbulent water by moving towards
10234-464: The plateau into mountains and valleys. This process led the Esopus, with its particularly deep and wide valley, to fill up its bed with the red clay that clouds the waters of the stream in high water and floods. More recently in geologic time, about 12,000 years ago, the Wisconsin glaciation filled the valley, carving the slopes on its sides more steeply and eroding more sediment into the river. It shaped
10353-568: The point where the Esopus came out of the Catskills made it an ideal trading post for Indians responding to the European demand for beaver pelts to make the beaver hats then in vogue. In the later 17th century, with European settlement well established around the eastern Catskills, land replaced fur as the Indian-held commodity most desired by the new arrivals. The English government in London charged local officials with granting large chunks of land on
10472-574: The region. Encumbrances remained on many properties into the 20th century. The complications with the land claim delayed an accurate survey of the Catskills until 1885. In the meantime, permanent settlement of the Esopus valley began in the mid-18th century and finished with the establishment of the Slide Mountain post office in 1805. Most of these communities were supported by local forest-products industries: loggers harvested trees for sawmill operators, and furniture makers set up shop nearby. A road,
10591-504: The reservoir to Marbletown, the lower Esopus is also surrounded by forest. Downstream of that point, its flood plain becomes heavily farmed, with 2,000 acres (810 ha) of worked agricultural land, mostly cornfields, abutting the stream between there and the Leggs Mills Road bridge at Lake Katrine. The mountains continue to influence the lower stream, with one High Peak, 3,573-foot (1,089 m) Indian Head Mountain , contributing to
10710-493: The resulting lake well into September. Farmers were worried that reports of the damage and crop loss would deter tourists from visiting farm country for traditional autumn activities and purchases, an economic setback which some said would exacerbate the damage from the storm. Many planned to remain open and offer what they could to visitors. The Catskill Mountain Railroad , which saw some of its narrow gauge tracks washed into
10829-486: The resulting lake well into September. Residents of the area around Frost Valley YMCA in the Ulster County town of Shandaken were stranded when washouts, including one that created a 50-foot–deep (15 m) ravine, cut off the road through the area in both directions. The electricity utility, NYSEG, estimates that most residents of Shandaken (about 2,000 customers) will be without power until September 7, 2011. By
10948-643: The river into which they feed, they are called forks . These are typically designated by compass direction. For example, the American River in California receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago River 's North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork; the South Branch has its South Fork, and used to have a West Fork as well (now filled in). Forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here,
11067-420: The river there led to a fuel oil spill from a company on the banks of the river in. By September 2 state officials said it had been contained. The town supervisor, along with Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt and state senator David Carlucci have jointly asked the authority to remove the berm; the agency says it is considering its options. Water rose over portions of the Hudson Line north of New York City, and
11186-510: The road's side and receives its unnamed first tributary from the east, draining another of Slide's hollows. Bending to the west northwest, the Esopus forms part of the boundary of the Big Indian Wilderness Area to its south as it receives Giant Ledge Stream from the north, draining the peak of that name and Panther Mountain , the former meteor crater whose walls determine the creek's upper course. Another half-mile further west,
11305-555: The shallow channels between them to a large inland sea that corresponds to the location today of the Allegheny Plateau . A meteor impact during this time left an approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) wide crater whose walls correspond to the courses of the upper Esopus and Woodland Creek today. Geologist Yngvar Isachsen of the New York State Geological Survey discovered the traces of the meteor impact, including
11424-1323: The sheer volume of water from the storm mitigated the pollution by heavily diluting it. The approximate number of power outages were reported in the following counties: 36,000 in Albany County , 6,000 in Columbia County , 25,000 in Dutchess County , 7,000 in Fulton County , 18,000 in Greene County , 7,200 in Hamilton County , 2,500 in Herkimer County , 7,000 in Montgomery County , 24,000 in Saratoga County , 26,000 in Schenectady County , 9,000 in Schoharie County , 23,000 in Warren County , 4,500 in Washington County , and 60,000 in Ulster County . At times,
11543-635: The slow pace of power restoration led Cuomo to call on the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to replace system operator National Grid , whose contract is up for renewal. Orient Beach State Park was closed for 3 days due to storm damage. Another fatality occurred on the south shore of Long Island , when a windsurfer drowned in Bellport Bay. In Albany County, numerous trees and power lines were reported down due to strong winds. This resulted in numerous power outages and road closures. There
11662-418: The smaller stream designated the little fork, the larger either retaining its name unmodified, or receives the designation big . Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river and ending with those nearest to the mouth of the river . The Strahler stream order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third and higher orders, with
11781-460: The south, just east of the Fox Hollow Road bridge, and Peck Hollow Brook from the north 500 feet to the east, opposite another gravel bar. At this point the Esopus drops below 1,000 ft (300 m) in elevation. The creek begins to bend southward, past Shandaken's town hall, over its next mile to where the 18-mile (29 km) Shandaken Tunnel brings water from Schoharie Reservoir into
11900-498: The stream a half-mile further along. The Esopus receives Bushnellsville Creek from the north after a mile, then crosses to the south side of Route 28 at the small former hamlet of Shandaken 1.25 mi (2.01 km) to the east. Its next half-mile serves as part of the northern boundary of the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area . At Allaben, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Big Indian, it receives Fox Hollow Brook from
12019-427: The stream bends again, reaching the southernmost point along its course at a Marbletown park just above its confluence with an unnamed tributary flowing in from the south. From there the Esopus begins flowing northeast, as portions of the stream are diverted into nearby ponds for the farms that surround it and its riparian buffer on the increasingly level terrain. After the old ford 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of
12138-522: The stream flows into the town of Marbletown another thousand feet east, also crossing the Blue Line and leaving the Catskill Park . From there the creek bends to the west northwest, through a narrow gorge, with few structures breaking the forest around it. One mile into Marbletown it widens suddenly and bends to the south as a result of receiving the reservoir's other outlet stream. Gravel bars and some cleared areas on either side, still sloped steeply, mark
12257-408: The stream, while the Esopus continues north through its narrow wooded gorge, for the next three miles (4.8 km), widening to 300 ft (91 m). Development around the stream is limited to a quarry on the east a mile downstream of the bridge, and then a dead-end residential street on the west bank during the last of the three miles; the 161-acre (65 ha) Esopus Bend Nature Preserve buffers
12376-432: The streams are seen to diverge by the cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west) in which they proceed upstream, sometimes a third stream entering between two others is designated the middle fork; or the streams are distinguished by the relative height of one to the other, as one stream descending over a cataract into another becomes the upper fork, and the one it descends into, the lower ; or by relative volume:
12495-427: The tanbarking area on the slopes, and an oak–hickory forest closer to the stream's banks. The summit of 3,090-foot (940 m) Ashokan High Point , overlooking the reservoir, offers an anomalous pine-oak heath barren. Downstream of the reservoir the forests become a mix of the lower two. The floodplain forests are a mix of silver maple and elm ; river birch clusters around the banks. Another unusual community,
12614-647: The tracks were blocked by mudslides in several places. Flooding of the Ramapo River led both Metro-North and NJ Transit to suspend service on the Port Jervis Line north of Suffern indefinitely; the line was later found to have more than a half-mile (1 km) of washouts. A sinkhole that began forming in Monticello , the seat of Sullivan County , during Irene did not become evident until three weeks later, following further flooding. Village officials called to
12733-419: The undeveloped land to their west along the creek to use as common pasture and firewood, since they were getting squeezed by Kingston to their east and Marbletown to the south. The petition was put off for several years while it was ostensibly being surveyed, and in 1706 a grant of 2 million acres (8,000 km) was made to Johannes Hardenbergh and a group of investors starting from the same point along
12852-408: The upper creek as well. Historians agree that the first Dutch settlers named the stream for the Lenape band that inhabited its banks. The Lenape themselves may have called it Atkarkarton or Atkankarten , meaning "smooth land" in their language, probably in reference to a meadow alongside the river near Kingston. Lenape use of that name is recorded in 1657; it later became the name of a hamlet in
12971-445: The way to Ashokan Reservoir, at 1,200 feet (370 m) in elevation. At the bridge, it receives Birch Creek , which drains from the small former village of Pine Hill to the west, opposite a large gravel bar, and then bends northward. The former channel of the Esopus cuts this corner, rejoining the main stem at the site of the two streams' former confluence a thousand feet (300 m) downstream. Through this section it widens through
13090-409: The weekend, local officials were also calling for the dam at Winnisook Lake , the source of Esopus Creek , to be shored up as it had begun to erode and another rainstorm might lead to a breach and another flash flood that could impact many of the town's other settled areas, already devastated. "If the water comes this way," said Shandaken's supervisor, "we're done." In Phoenicia , at the confluence of
13209-475: The west bank. The Esopus trends to the south southeast over its next mile and a half to the mouth of the Little Beaver Kill at Beechford, where it leaves Shandaken and enters the town of Olive . The shores get more developed over the next 0.8 miles (1.3 km) as the stream turns south and reaches Boiceville , its largest settlement since Phoenicia, where NY 28A crosses it at Five Arches Bridge. After
13328-487: The west. After two miles, more gravel bars and some islands in the channel mark a turn to the southeast. Another mile and a half (2.4 km) downstream, the Esopus receives the Beaver Kill at the hamlet of Mount Pleasant . It then crosses under Mount Pleasant Road and, 800 feet (240 m) downstream, Route 28, for the last time above the reservoir, near the hamlet of Mount Tremper . Here flood control measures stabilize
13447-635: The wettest month ever in New York City. In New York City , the Hudson River flooded, starting at approximately 8:50 a.m. on August 28, into Zone B as well as Zone A, mostly in the Meatpacking District along the Hudson River in Manhattan . At 9:15, the northern tube of the Holland Tunnel closed, but was soon re-opened. As of 9:20, the flooding was at about a foot deep. The water came within
13566-501: The worst from a hurricane since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Hurricane Irene formed from a tropical wave on August 21, 2011 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean . It moved west-northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters. Shortly before becoming a hurricane, Irene struck Puerto Rico as a tropical storm. Thereafter, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 120 mph (190 km/h) on August 24. Irene then gradually weakened and made landfall on
13685-729: The yard at the end of the line in Port Jervis to New Jersey so additional trains could be offered in the interim. Later, they announced bus service would be extended to all stations on the line. When it was clear the line between Port Jervis and Harriman had not been damaged as badly as the Ramapo Valley portion between the latter station and Suffern, officials also raised the possibility of restoring train service along that portion. They stressed that Federal Railroad Administration regulations required that all stock would have to be taken to New Jersey and inspected before that could happen. Workers on
13804-499: Was also extensive flooding along the Normanskill Creek that resulted in significant property damage to homes located near the creek. The Ramapo's flooding was believed by residents of an area of Tuxedo east of the river which flooded severely to have been exacerbated by the failure of a dam at Arden . Rainfall there was recorded at 11.48 inches (292 mm), the most of any location in the county. Later investigation found that
13923-497: Was issued at 2:00 p.m. on August 26. A day prior, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had announced that the city would prepare to create "an enormous shelter system" for residents without access to higher ground. President Barack Obama issued a state of emergency declaration for the New York metropolitan area, freeing federal disaster funds, and tasking the Federal Emergency Management Agency and
14042-582: Was killed when an inflatable boat capsized on the Croton River . Two baseball games between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves were postponed due to the effects of the storm. Extensive power outages occurred in both Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. Almost 350,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, mainly due to heavy winds knocking down trees, which in turn knocked out many power lines . Rising frustration among residents over
14161-562: Was one of three valleys that trees followed into the Catskills, as revegetation of the mountain slopes took place in the glaciers' wake. First to come were the boreal species, such as balsam fir , that today persist only on the summits of the range's higher peaks . Next were the northern hardwoods , primarily beech , birch and maple species, that dominate much of the Catskill forests today. Last were southern hardwood species, mostly oak , hickory and American chestnut , probably following
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