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River

Delaware River

579 km from source to mouth · United States.

United StatesUnited StatesFlows into Delaware Bay

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthPhiladelphiaMercer County
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

579km

Average flow

220m³/s

Basin

36,568km²

Drop

435m

from 429 m to -6 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

579 km of river and 68 stops on the way: 34 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

429 m-6 m
Sourceat 429 m0 km
Pepacton Reservoir20 km²46 km
Westcolang Pond0.8 km²185 km
York Lake0.3 km²191 km
Dingmans Creektributary269 km
Easton28,127 people362 km
Lehigh Rivertributary362 km
Scudders Falls441 km
Mercer County387,340 people451 km
Philadelphia1,603,797 people514 km
Delaware Bayat -6 m579 km
0200400579 km
  1. 0 kmSourceat 429 m
  2. 46 kmPepacton Reservoir20 km²
  3. 100 kmHancock2,764 people
  4. 100 kmEast Branch Delaware Rivertributary
  5. 138 kmFremont1,161 people
  6. 158 kmCochecton1,448 people
  7. 172 kmNarrowsburg379 people
  8. 185 kmWestcolang Pond0.8 km²
  9. 191 kmYork Lake0.3 km²
  10. 193 kmLackawaxen Rivertributary
  11. 207 kmWalker Lake0.4 km²
  12. 216 kmLumberland2,243 people
  13. 236 kmPort Jervis8,775 people
  14. 236 kmMatamoras2,362 people
  15. 237 kmNeversink Rivertributary
  16. 248 kmHoliday Lake0.5 km²
  17. 255 kmRaymondskill Falls
  18. 269 kmDingmans Creektributary
  19. 337 kmPequest Rivertributary
  20. 362 kmEaston28,127 people
  21. 362 kmLehigh Rivertributary
  22. 362 kmDelaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal
  23. 365 kmLopatcong Creektributary
  24. 379 kmMusconetcong Rivertributary
  25. 381 kmCooks Creektributary
  26. 390 kmGallows Runtributary
  27. 394 kmHakihokake Creektributary
  28. 411 kmTohickon Creektributary
  29. 411 kmLumberville Wing Dam
  30. 415 kmLockatong Creektributary
  31. 423 kmWickecheoke Creektributary
  32. 441 kmScudders Falls
  33. 451 kmMercer County387,340 people
  34. 452 kmTrenton90,871 people
  35. 453 kmMorrisville9,809 people
  36. 453 kmAssunpink Creektributary
  37. 464 kmFieldsboro526 people
  38. 471 kmFlorence4,704 people
  39. 473 kmLevittown52,983 people
  40. 478 kmBristol9,861 people
  41. 484 kmBristol College
  42. 485 kmNeshaminy Creektributary
  43. 498 kmHolmesburg28,046 people
  44. 498 kmRiverton2,764 people
  45. 501 kmTacony17,846 people
  46. 501 kmWissinoming21,445 people
  47. 503 kmFrankford23,503 people
  48. 506 kmPennsauken36,332 people
  49. 509 kmPort Richmond27,554 people
  50. 511 kmFrankford Creektributary
  51. 511 kmHartranft19,748 people
  52. 512 kmFishtown16,307 people
  53. 514 kmPhiladelphia1,603,797 people
  54. 514 kmCenter City57,239 people
  55. 514 kmRittenhouse21,582 people
  56. 516 kmCamden71,791 people
  57. 517 kmPennsport26,000 people
  58. 517 kmWharton49,732 people
  59. 517 kmWhitman49,732 people
  60. 517 kmLower Moyamensing16,481 people
  61. 519 kmCooper Rivertributary
  62. 527 kmRed Bank Battlefield
  63. 528 kmSchuylkill Rivertributary
  64. 534 kmTinicum Island Rear Range Light
  65. 541 kmDarby Creektributary
  66. 546 kmChester32,605 people
  67. 549 kmChester Creektributary
  68. 567 kmChristina Rivertributary
  69. 568 kmNew Castle5,551 people
  70. 579 kmDelaware Bayat -6 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

Major river on the East coast of the United States of America

At the mouth it carries 224 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 11 seconds. It drops from 429 m to -6 m, 0.8 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 36,568 km², about the size of GW. 7.7 million people live in it. Highest water: from March to May; lowest: from January to February. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (15% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • PhiladelphiaLargest city on its banks · 1,603,797 people
  • Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 11 km from the cityCar hire at PHL airport (Philadelphia)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water125 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • Kayak and canoe11 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
  • From May to SeptemberThe best months to visit

Delaware River, month by month

Highest water: from March to May

Lowest water: from January to February. Best months to visit: from May to September.

450
-3°80 mmJan
310
-2°72 mmFeb
1,200
3°91 mmMar
1,200
9°96 mmApr
1,200
15°106 mmMay
700
20°100 mmJun
670
22°108 mmJul
660
21°106 mmAug
670
17°98 mmSep
680
11°82 mmOct
740
6°96 mmNov
580
0°90 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 310 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,200 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at PHL airport (Philadelphia)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Delaware River: the basin in numbers

28,584 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Heavily regulatedReservoirs can hold 15% of a year's flow: dams shape its seasons.
  • 7.7millionpeople live in the basin
  • 274/km²people per km²
  • 281maverage altitude of the basin
  • 1,148mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 9.2°Caverage air temperature
  • 6%protected areas
  • 1.0%covered by lakes
  • 2.6km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 80% Forest
  • 13% Cropland
  • 2% Pasture
  • 18% Towns and cities

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Delaware River: what you find on the way

  • 57DamsDownsville Dam, Beaver Pond Dam, Lake Hamilton Dam and 54 more
  • 41WeirsEaston Dam, Lumberville Wing Dam, Prallsville Lock and 38 more
  • 71LocksLock 24, Outlet Lock 49, Lock 47 and 68 more
  • 28WaterfallsJensen Cascade, Fish Cabin Falls, Hackers Falls and 25 more
  • 6RapidsDingmans Rapids, Scudders Falls and 4 more
  • 5Canoe put-insRiver Road Canal Access, General Washington Memorial Boulevard Canal Access, Ferry Road Canal Access West and 2 more
  • 97Boat rampsZane Grey Access, Westfall Boat Launch, Caddoo Access Hand Launch and 94 more
  • 2Ferry piersPenn’s Landing, Camden
  • 20MarinasCapital City Yacht Club, Neshaminy Marina, Dredge Harbor Marina and 17 more
  • 6Boat rentalsPepacton Bait & Tackle, Reber River Tours, Kittatinny Canoes and 3 more
  • 5River beachesriver access, West End Beach, Turtle Beach and 2 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.1 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Delaware River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 2waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
  • 5lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 18mountains at the sourcePeakyas
  • 1island off the mouthIslandyas

Waterfalls (2)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Raymondskill Fallskm 230
  2. Scudders Fallskm 398

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (5)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Pepacton Reservoirkm 4120km²
  2. Westcolang Pondkm 1660.8km²
  3. York Lakekm 1720.3km²
  4. Walker Lakekm 1870.4km²
  5. Holiday Lakekm 2230.5km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Mountains at the source (18)

Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas

  1. Elm Tree Ridge10 km away
  2. Big Fork Mountain14 km away
  3. Taylor Hill14 km away
  4. Rattlesnake Hill11 km away
  5. Point Mountain1.3 km away
  6. Hawk Mountain9.4 km away
  7. Bittersweet Hill9.4 km away
  8. Bouchoux Hill11 km away

10 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

Islands off the mouth (1)

Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas

  1. Reedy Island21 km away

Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Delaware River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Delaware River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth23 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Delaware River in pictures

2021-06-16 09 10 03 View of the Delaware Water Gap from the Delaware River Viaduct over the Delaware River on the border of Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey and Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-04 13 06 32 View of the Falls of the Delaware at low tide, looking west from Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey towards Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bank of Delaware river in Bristol Pennsylvania, USA
Jonathansammy · CC BY-SA 4.0
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, view north along Delaware River from Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA February 5th, 2011 - panoramio
Gary Miotla · CC BY 3.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (66)

Also: Schuylkill River, Lehigh River, Christina River, Lackawaxen River, Assunpink Creek, East Branch Delaware River, Musconetcong River, Neversink River, West Branch Delaware River, Cooks Creek, Alloway Creek, Chester Creek, Cooper River, Crosswicks Creek, Crum Creek, Darby Creek, Lockatong Creek, Pennsauken Creek, Pennypack Creek, Pequest River, Ridley Creek, Tohickon Creek, Wickecheoke Creek, Frankford Creek

Nearby

Rivers nearby

Susquehanna RiverUnited StatesUnited States715 km1,100 m³/s52 km awayHudson RiverUnited StatesUnited States492 km210 m³/s171 km awayRappahannock RiverUnited StatesUnited States296 km47 m³/s161 km awayShenandoah RiverUnited StatesUnited States241 km85 m³/s195 km awayConnecticut RiverUnited StatesUnited States660 km520 m³/s322 km awayAllegheny RiverUnited StatesUnited States523 km560 m³/s392 km awayMohawk RiverUnited StatesUnited States240 km220 m³/s373 km awayMonongahela RiverUnited StatesUnited States209 km360 m³/s392 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q143762) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit