Buttermilk Channel

The Buttermilk Channel is a tidal channel in the Upper New York Bay between Governors Iceland and the neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn. It has a length of about 1.6 kilometers and a width of 400 meters.

Name

The origin of the name Buttermilk Channel (English: buttermilk channel) is not secured, there are several possible explanations:

• The farmers brought the dairy products of Long Iceland to Manhattan, crossing the channel on their daily commute to the city and thus justified the name.
• Before the canal was dredged from Long Iceland cows were driven through the shallow channel to Governors Iceland to graze there.
• The tidal currents in the channel caused severe foaming of the water. This foam looked like the foam on the milk when it is beaten into butter.

History

In 1902, the formerly flat channel was dredged by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to a depth of 13 meters in order to travel along the canal with boats can to serve the industrial plants of Red Hook. By the end of the 20th century, the United States Coast Guard, who had a seat on Governors Iceland was the most important users of the channel. Today, the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is on the side of Brooklyn in the Buttermilk Channel.

Trivia

In the winter of 1817 Buttermilk Channel was so strong frozen over, that even horses have come across the ice to Governors Iceland.

The Carroll Gardens area, there is a restaurant called Buttermilk Channel.

The channel is marked with several navigational aids, tidal current here is very strong.