Cohocton River Explained

Cohocton River
Pushpin Map:USA New York#USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the mouth of the Cohocton River in New York State.
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:New York
Subdivision Type3:Region
Subdivision Name3:Western New York
Length:58.5miles
Discharge1 Location:Campbell[1]
Discharge1 Min:8cuft/s
(September 6, 1934)
Discharge1 Avg:467cuft/s[2]
Discharge1 Max:41100cuft/s
(July 8, 1935)
Source1 Location:Tabor Corners, Livingston County
Source1 Coordinates:42.6572°N -77.5322°W
Mouth:Chemung River
Mouth Location:Painted Post, Steuben County
Mouth Coordinates:42.1519°N -77.0903°W
Basin Size:474.3sqmi

The Cohocton River, sometimes referred to as the Conhocton River, is a 58.5adj=midNaNadj=mid[3] tributary of the Chemung River in western New York in the United States. Via the Chemung River, it is part of the Susquehanna River watershed, flowing to Chesapeake Bay. The name "Cohocton" is derived from an Iroquois term, Ga-ha-to, meaning "log floating in the water" or "trees in the water".[4]

New York State Route 17 follows the valley of the river along much of its route through Steuben County. The river is a popular destination for fly fishing.

History

In the 1820s the New York State Legislature commissioned a study for the building of a canal that would link the Cohocton at Bath to Keuka Lake (Crooked Lake) and Seneca Lake. The Crooked Lake Canal connecting the two lakes was built, but the link to the Cohocton was never completed.[5]

Course and watershed

The Cohocton River rises in southeastern Livingston County, approximately northeast of Dansville in Tabor Corners. It flows generally southeast through rural Steuben County, in a winding course through a valley of the Allegheny Plateau, past Cohocton, Avoca and Bath. At Painted Post, just west of Corning, it is joined by the Tioga River from the southwest to form the Chemung, a tributary of the Susquehanna River.

The 474.3sqmi watershed of the Cohocton River is largely undeveloped, with 61.9 percent being forested, 35.8 percent in agriculture, and only 1.5 percent urban.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 01529500 Cohocton River near Campbell, NY, Water Data Report 2013 . United States Geological Survey . National Water Information System . 1918–2013 . December 30, 2015.
  2. Web site: 01529500 Cohocton River near Campbell, NY, Water Data Report 2013 . United States Geological Survey . National Water Information System . 1918–2013 . December 30, 2015.
  3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed August 8, 2011
  4. Book: Beauchamp . William Martin . Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108) . 1907 . New York State Education Department . 206–207 . 9781404751552 . April 18, 2016.
  5. Book: Whitford . Noble E. . Beal . Minnie M. . History of the Canal System of the State of New York: Together with Brief Histories of the Canals of the United States and Canada . 1906 . Brandow Printing Company . 640–653 . https://books.google.com/books?id=fYrVAAAAMAAJ&pg=640 . April 18, 2016 . The Crooked Lake Canal.
  6. Web site: Cohocton River Site Information . New York State Pesticide Monitoring Network . United States Geological Survey . April 18, 2016.