Mispillion River

Mispillion River
River
The Mispillion River in Milford in 2006
Country United States
State Delaware
Source
 - location near Milford
 - coordinates 38°52′53″N 75°30′00″W / 38.88139°N 75.50000°W / 38.88139; -75.50000 [1]
Mouth Delaware Bay
 - elevation 3 ft (1 m) [1]
 - coordinates 38°57′05″N 75°18′48″W / 38.95139°N 75.31333°W / 38.95139; -75.31333Coordinates: 38°57′05″N 75°18′48″W / 38.95139°N 75.31333°W / 38.95139; -75.31333 [1]
Length 15 mi (24 km) approximately[2]
Basin 76 sq mi (197 km2) [3]
Location of the mouth of the Mispillion River

The Mispillion River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) long and drains an area of 76 square miles (197 km²) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

It rises in northern Sussex County, approximately 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Milford, and flows generally east-northeastwardly, defining the boundary between Sussex and Kent counties; it passes through the center of Milford on its course to its mouth at Delaware Bay, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Cape Henlopen.[2][4] The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the river are considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be navigable.[5]

A boardwalk known as the Mispillion Riverwalk follows the river in Milford. As of 2003, an effort was underway to preserve a greenway along the river upstream and downstream of Milford.[6]

Variant names and spellings

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Mispillion River has also been known historically as:[1]

  • Masphilion Creek
  • Maspillon Creek
  • Mispalling Creek
  • Mispelion Creek
  • Mispelon Creek
  • Mispening Creek
  • Miss Pinion River
  • Mispeninge Creek
  • Misperange River
  • Mispilian Creek
  • Mispliant Creek
  • Misspann Creek
  • Muskmellon Creek
  • Musmillion River
  • Musphilion Creek
  • Muspilion Creek

Name origin

"The first occurrence of this name (of the river) is in the form Mispening on a map of 1664, tentatively analyzed as meaning "as the great tuber (stream);" (Dunlap and Weslager, 1950)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Geographic Names Information System. "GNIS entry for Mispillion River (Feature ID #214330)". Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  2. 1 2 "Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry for Mispillion River". 2000. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  3. ↑ United States Environmental Protection Agency (2005). "Decision Rationale: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) for Bacteria and Nutrient Impairments on the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek Watershed, Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware". pp. pp.1–2. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  4. ↑ DeLorme (2004). Maryland Delaware Atlas & Gazetteer. pp.52-53. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-279-X.
  5. ↑ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. "Navigable waterways of the Philadelphia District". Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  6. ↑ Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation. "Greenways & Trails". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
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