Cowanesque River

Cowanesque River
Cowanesque River near the Pennsylvania/New York border
Cowanesque River is located in New York
Cowanesque River
Location of the mouth of the Cowanesque River in New York State.
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania, New York
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationNear Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania
 • coordinates41°55′33″N 77°43′43″W / 41.92583°N 77.72861°W / 41.92583; -77.72861[1]
MouthTioga River
 • location
Near Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, Steuben County, New York
 • coordinates
42°00′05″N 77°06′58″W / 42.00139°N 77.11611°W / 42.00139; -77.11611[1]
Length41.4 mi (66.6 km)[2]

The Cowanesque River is a 41.4-mile-long (66.6 km)[2] tributary of the Tioga River in Potter and Tioga counties, Pennsylvania, and Steuben County, New York, in the United States.[1] It joins the Tioga River soon after crossing from Pennsylvania into New York, near the borough of Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.[3]

The name of the Cowanesque River is of Native American origin, derived either from Go-wan-is-que ("briary or thorn bushy"), or from Ka-hwe-nes-ka ("on the long island").[4]

In Tioga County, the Cowanesque Dam was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1980. The dam created Cowanesque Lake, which helps prevent flooding within the valley. The 1,085-acre (4.39 km2) lake also facilitates various forms of recreation; the Tompkins Recreation Area and Campground is located along the lake's north shore, and the south shore hosts two day-use areas.[5]

  1. ^ a b c "Cowanesque River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 8, 2011
  3. ^ Gertler, Edward. Keystone Canoeing, Seneca Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9749692-0-6
  4. ^ Beauchamp, William Martin (1907). Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108). New York State Education Department. p. 207. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  5. ^ "Cowanesque Lake". US Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved April 19, 2016.