Hackensack River

Hackensack River
A view of the Hackensack River taken from the shore in Teaneck at low tide
The Passaic and Hackensack watersheds
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey, New York
CountiesHudson, NJ, Bergen, NJ, Rockland, NY
CityHackensack, NJ
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationNew City, Rockland County, New York, United States
 • coordinates41°11′00″N 73°59′24″W / 41.18333°N 73.99000°W / 41.18333; -73.99000
 • elevation120 ft (37 m)
MouthNewark Bay
 • location
Hudson County, New Jersey, United States
 • coordinates
40°42′55″N 74°06′42″W / 40.71528°N 74.11167°W / 40.71528; -74.11167
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length54 mi (87 km)
Discharge 
 • locationNew Milford, NJ
 • minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 • maximum880 cu ft/s (25 m3/s)

The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the New Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city of Hackensack,[1] is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay.

Once believed to be among the most polluted watercourses in the United States, it staged a modest revival by the late 2000s. The river is divided into the upper river, north of the Oradell Reservoir and Oradell Dam, and lower river, south of the reservoir and dam.

  1. ^ "117.723 Hackensack River", Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters Part 117—Drawbridge Operations Regulations, US Government Printing Office, October 20, 2012, retrieved 2012-10-20