Broadkill River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Broadkill River is a river, approximately 15 miles (24 km) long, in southern Delaware in the United States. Its name probably comes from the Dutch word "kill" meaning a stream.
It rises in central Sussex County, approximately four miles (6 km) north of Georgetown. It flows east-northeast past Reddan State Forest and through Milton, its head of navigation. The river approaches to within one quarter mile (0.5 km) of Delaware Bay, then skirts the shore to the southeast for approximately one mile (1.6 km) before entering the bay, approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Lewes. The mouth of the river is surrounded by extensive salt marshes, protected as part of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Beach Plum Island Nature Preserve. The United States Coast Guard maintains a station near the mouth of the river.
The mouth of the river is connected by the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal to Rehoboth Bay, forming part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
In the 19th century the river was the center of a regional shipbuilding industry, arising from the access it furnished to inland forests. The town of Milton hosts an annual canoe race on the river.
