Mispillion River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mispillion River |
|
|---|---|
The Mispillion River in Milford in 2006
|
|
 Location of the mouth of the Mispillion River
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Delaware |
| Counties | Kent Sussex |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | confluence of Beaverdam and Tantrough Branches at Blairs Pond near Milford 29 ft (8.8 m) 38°52′53″N 75°30′00″W / 38.88139°N 75.50000°W |
| River mouth | Delaware Bay near Mispillion Light 0 ft (0 m) 38°57′05″N 75°18′48″W / 38.95139°N 75.31333°W |
| Length | 15 mi (24 km)approximately |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | east and northeast |
| River system | Delaware Bay |
| Basin size | 76 sq mi (200 km2) |
| Tributaries |
|
| Waterbodies | Blairs Pond Griffith Lake Haven Lake Silver Lake |
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. The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the river are considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be navigable.
A boardwalk known as the Mispillion Riverwalk follows the river in Milford. As of 2003[update], an effort was underway to preserve a greenway along the river upstream and downstream of Milford.
Variant names and spellings
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Mispillion River has also been known historically as:
|
|
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)
