Shawangunk Kill

The Shawangunk Kill in the section where it forms the border between Orange and Ulster County.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the river a habitat

The Shawangunk Kill is the largest tributary of the Wallkill River.

It flows north-east and forms a part of its course the northwestern border between Orange County and the Sullivan and later the Ulster County, New York in the United States. The name of this 56 km long watercourse is derived from the Shawangunk Ridge, where the river in the Town of Greenville has its source.

Run

From its source in Greenville River constantly strives to achieve the Northeast to the Mill Pond near Mount Hope, in which he reached has already lost almost half of its source height. It flows through fields and forests east past Otisville. In the hamlet of New Vernon, he becomes the border between Orange County and Sullivan County. A little later opens out the first named tributary, the Little Shawangunk Kill.

He widens in Bloomingburg a little. To the north of this village crosses the New York State Route 17 the river; it is the most heavily traveled road by the river. Some kilometers further north the mouth of Plattekill is the point at which the Sullivan County will be replaced by the Ulster County. From this point the river bends slightly to the east.

Then the waters of Pine Bush reached on the eastern shore and a few kilometers to reach the Shawangunk River entirely in Ulster County, at the northernmost point of the Orange counties. The river meanders through the ever- widening valley, which is used mainly by farms and Woodlots. The mountain chain rises on the western horizon. Finally, the river bends to the east and flows south of U.S. Highway 44/New York State Route 55 in Gardiner in the Wallkill River.

Natural history

At the beginning of the 1990s examined the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the effects of the former air base Galeville - today the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge - and discovered that the lower reaches of the river between its mouth and Pine Bush habitat of an unusual variety of plants and animals. The reason is the lack of dams on the upper reaches. Six species were found of freshwater mussels, including the rare Alasmidonta varicosa, as well as 31 species of fish, including the belonging to the cyprinids Leuciscinae Notropis amoenus and Notropis stramineus, the True perch Percina caproedes, the sunfish Lepomis auritis and the catfish Noturus insignis.

It was found that in the area is the only known occurrence of the sweet grass Diarrhena obovata in New York State. Other rare plant species in the lower reaches are the Malpighienartige Podostemum Ceratophyllum on the submerged rock ledges, the Monkey Flower Mimulus alatus and the Cyprus Grass Cyperus erythrorhizos davisii along the river itself and the sedge Carex, the agrimony Agrimonia parviflora, the Aster vimeneus and the Legume Lespedeza violacea in the meadows in the flood plain of the river.

Due to the low development - mostly agricultural nature - in the catchment area of the river is only very slightly stressed with pollutants.

Geology

The bedrock at the Shawangunk Rivers consists mainly of slate, which are covered by silty clay soils that emerged in the last ice age. The river bed itself varies between rocks, rubble, sand and clay. Geologically, the valley Shawangunk Valley of the Ridge -and- Valley Appalachians, which is bounded on the west by the Shawangunk Ridge and the east by the lower Hoagerburgh Ridge.

Inflows

• Plattekill
• Little Shawangunk Kill
• Tomy Kill
• Verkeerder Kill
• Dwaar Kill