Murderkill River
River flowing in Delaware, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Murderkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in central Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 21.7 miles (34.9 km) long[2] and drains an area of 106 square miles (270 km2) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Murderkill River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Delaware |
County | Kent |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | near Felton |
• coordinates | 39°01′03″N 75°35′31″W[1] |
Mouth | Delaware Bay |
• location | Bowers |
• coordinates | 39°03′30″N 75°23′48″W[1] |
• elevation | 3 ft (0.91 m)[1] |
Length | 22 mi (35 km)[2] |
Basin size | 106 sq mi (270 km2)[3] |
Discharge | |
• location | mouth |
• average | 122.8 cu ft/s (3.48 m3/s) (estimate)[4] |
Basin features | |
Progression | Delaware Bay → Atlantic Ocean |
Tributaries | |
• left | Fan Branch Spring Branch Ash Gut Spring Creek |
• right | Beaverdam Branch Black Swamp Creek Browns Branch |
Waterbodies | Killen Pond Coursey Pond |
The Murderkill flows for its entire length in southern Kent County. It rises just west of Felton and flows generally east-northeastwardly, through Killen Pond[5] (site of Killens Pond State Park[6]) and Coursey Pond,[7] under Carpenters Bridge, and past Frederica to Bowers, where it enters Delaware Bay about 0.5 miles (1 km) south of the mouth of the St. Jones River.[8] The Murderkill River is tidally influenced from its mouth upstream to just past Frederica,[3] and is considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be navigable for the lower 10 miles (16 km) of its course.[9]
According to 2002 data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 55% of the area of the Murderkill River's watershed is occupied by agricultural uses; 17% is forested; 14% is urban; 9% is wetland; and 2% is water.[3]