| Raritan River |
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DESCRIPTION The river forms at the confluence of the North and South Branch es just west of Somerville . It flows for approximately 16 miles before slowing in tidewater at New Brunswick , and its Estuary extends 14 more miles entering the western end of Raritan Bay at South Amboy . The river has served an important water transportation route since the days of the Lenape Native Americans . The name itself comes from an Algonquian word meaning "stream overflows." The name is also applied to the Raritan people, an Algonquian tribe that inhabited Staten Island , near the river's mouth. In colonial days, the river allowed the development of early industry around New Brunswick, as well as the transportation of agricultural materials from central New Jersey. During the American Revolutionary War , the river provided a means for troop conveyance. The construction of the Delaware And Raritan Canal provided a critical link between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River . The river is also used for recreational boating, including use by the rowing team of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The river is mentioned in the song ''On the Banks of the Old Raritan'' of Rutgers. The musical '' 1776 '' mentions troops bathing in the Raritan River. Geologist s believe that approximately 6,000 years ago the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of the Hudson River . Following the end of the last Ice Age , The Narrows had not yet been formed and the Hudson flowed along the Watchung Mountains to present-day Bound Brook , then followed the course of the Raritan eastward into Lower New York Bay . Near its mouth, at South Amboy , the river is spanned by the Victory Bridge which carries Route 35 , the Driscoll Bridge , which carries the Garden State Parkway , the Edison Bridge , which carries U.S. Route 9 and a New Jersey Transit railroad bridge. FLOODING PROBLEMS The Raritan River has persistent flooding problems when excessive rain from storms affects the river basin. The flooding problems mainly affect the town of Bound Brook , which is partially built on a natural flood plain at the junction of several tributaries, and Manville , which has a large neighborhood known as Lost Valley that lies on the flood plain between the Raritan River and its largest tributary river, which is known as the Millstone River . Other towns in the Raritan River basin also experience flooding to a lesser degree. Record flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 (41-foot flood crest, 11 feet above flood stage) caused renewed interest in a flood control project called the Green Brook Flood Control Project , which will essentially protect Bound Brook from a 100- to 500-year flood. Two levees have been built on the perimeter of Bound Brook, but the main levee necessary to keep the Raritan River from flooding the town has not been built as of early 2006 and is not scheduled to be completed for at least another five years. COMMUNITIES ON THE RARITAN (In alphabetical order)
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