Facts about the Hudson River
- 10
Salinity levels in the Hudson River estuary fluctuate dramatically with the tides, allowing saltwater from the Atlantic to penetrate up to 60 miles inland toward Poughkeepsie during high tide.
- 09
Storm surge during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 pushed the Hudson River's water level up 14 feet above normal at Battery Park in Manhattan, causing severe flooding in lower Manhattan neighborhoods.
- 08
Shipping traffic on the Hudson River generates approximately 3,000 vessel transits annually, making it one of the busiest commercial waterways on the United States East Coast.
- 07
Native American Lenape people controlled the Hudson River valley for thousands of years before European contact, using it as a vital trade and transportation corridor.
- 06
Henry Hudson's 1609 expedition up the river that now bears his name reached present-day Albany before turning back, establishing European awareness of this crucial waterway to the interior continent.
- 05
The Hudson River's dramatic Palisades cliffs, stretching 40 miles along the New Jersey shore, rise up to 550 feet high and were formed by ancient diabase intrusions approximately 200 million years ago.
- 04
Approximately 200 million gallons of water flow daily through the Hudson River estuary, creating a 150-mile-long tidal zone that extends inland from New York Harbor to Troy Dam.
- 03
PCB contamination in Hudson River fish prompted a 1976 ban on commercial fishing that remains partially in effect today due to General Electric's decades of dumping between 1947 and 1977.
- 02
In 1807, Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont completed its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany in 32 hours, traveling the Hudson River commercially for the first time.
- 01
Measuring 315 miles long, the Hudson River flows from Lake Colden in New York's Adirondack Mountains south to New York Harbor.