Nanticoke River

Nanticoke River
River
Country	United States
Region	South Atlantic States
Mouth	Chesapeake Bay
Map of the rivers of the Eastern Shore of Maryland with the Nanticoke and its watershed highlighted.

The Nanticoke River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County, Maryland. The tidal river course proceeds southwest into the Tangier Sound, Chesapeake Bay. The river is 64.3 miles (103.5 km) long. A 26-mile ecotourism water trail running along the River was set aside in July 2011 by Delaware state and federal officials, contiguous with a 37-mile water-trail extending through Maryland to the Chesapeake Bay.

Some of the main tributaries that feed the Nanticoke on the west-side include: Cow Creek; Jack Creek; Wapremander Creek; Marshyhope Creek; and the east side: Gravelly Fork and Broad Creek. Notable towns and communities situated along the river include Nanticoke, Bivalve, Vienna, and Sharptown in Maryland; and further north the city of Seaford, Delaware.

According to a study paid for by the town of Vienna, the English explorer John Smith travelled up the Nanticoke River and mapped it, and visited with Native Americans in their settlement, now believed to be Vienna.

The river was dredged in 1990 to facilitate shipping travel along the course. As of 2012, a project to once again dredge the channel is on hold for financial reasons.

See also

• List of rivers of Delaware
• List of rivers of Maryland

References

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nanticoke River