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The Schuylkill River, pronounced "SKOO-kull" (IPA: ), is a river in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The Delaware Indians were the original permanent settlers in the area of a river they called Ganshohawanee , meaning rushing and roaring waters., later called Schulen-kill, or as it is pronounced today, Schuylkill, “skoo-kull.”
The river is approximately 130 miles (209 km) long. Its watershed of around 2000 square miles (5,000 km²) lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch starts in the Appalachian Mountains, Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua, Schuylkill County; and the west branch starts near Minersville, Pennsylvania and joins in Pottsville, Pennsylvania , Schuylkill County it becomes one stream at the town of Schuylkill Haven. Wissahickon Creek joins it in northwest Philadelphia, and the Schuylkill joins the Delaware River, of which it is the largest tributary, at the site of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard, now the Philadelphia Naval Business Center, just northeast of Philadelphia International Airport.
The river was named Schuylkill—"hidden river" in Dutch—by its discoverer, Arendt Corssen of the Dutch West India Company. The name refers to its confluence with the Delaware River at League Island, nearly hidden by dense vegetation.
Major towns and cities on the banks of the river include Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, Hamburg, Reading, Pottstown, Phoenixville, Norristown, Conshohocken, and Philadelphia.
Points of interest located along the river include:
- The Limerick nuclear power plant facility in Limerick
- Valley Forge, site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War at the mouth of Valley Creek
- Boathouse Row, a landmark set of boathouse facilities in Fairmount Park, that houses several local college-affiliated or independent crew teams
- The former Philadelphia Naval Yard, located near the Schuylkill's confluence with the Delaware River.
Roads closely associated with the river include the Schuylkill Expressway, the West Shore Bypass (on the west bank), the Kelly Drive (on the east bank, so also called the East River Drive), and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (on the west bank, so also called the West River Drive).
The Dad Vail Regatta, an annual crew competition, is held on the Schuylkill River near Boathouse Row.
See also
External links
- Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area
- Delaware River Basin Commission Schuylkill River Maps
- History
- Upstream River Real Time Landingville Level Coutesy of USGS
- Ganshohawanee, meaning rushing and roaring waters, later called Schulen-kill, or as it is pronounced today, Schuylkill, “school kill.” The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce
- Art by Thomas Birch (American, born England, 1779-1851), View of the Chain Bridge and Falls of Schuylkill, Five Miles from Philadelphia
- Art by Titian Ramsay Peale (American, 1799-1885), The Schuylkill River above Philadelphia, 1881
- Art by William Groombridge, Fairmount and Schuylkill River, 1800
- Schuylkill River views
"Schuylkill River"