Cohocton River

Coordinates: 42°09′07″N 77°05′25″W / 42.15194°N 77.09028°W / 42.15194; -77.09028
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Cohocton River
Cohocton River is located in New York
Cohocton River
Location of the mouth of the Cohocton River in New York State.
Cohocton River is located in the United States
Cohocton River
Cohocton River (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
RegionWestern New York
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationTabor Corners, Livingston County
 • coordinates42°39′26″N 77°31′56″W / 42.65722°N 77.53222°W / 42.65722; -77.53222[1]
MouthChemung River
 • location
Painted Post, Steuben County
 • coordinates
42°09′07″N 77°05′25″W / 42.15194°N 77.09028°W / 42.15194; -77.09028[1]
Length58.5 mi (94.1 km)[2]
Basin size474.3 sq mi (1,228 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationCampbell[4]
 • average467 cu ft/s (13.2 m3/s)[4]
 • minimum8 cu ft/s (0.23 m3/s)
(September 6, 1934)[4]
 • maximum41,100 cu ft/s (1,160 m3/s)
(July 8, 1935)[4]

The Cohocton River, sometimes referred to as the Conhocton River,[1] is a 58.5-mile-long (94.1 km)[2] 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".[5]

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[edit]

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.[6]

Course and watershed[edit]

The Cohocton River rises in southeastern Livingston County, approximately 15 miles (24 km) 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 474.3-square-mile (1,228 km2) 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.[3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Cohocton River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2016-06-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 8, 2011
  3. ^ a b "Cohocton River Site Information". New York State Pesticide Monitoring Network. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "01529500 Cohocton River near Campbell, NY, Water Data Report 2013" (PDF). National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1918–2013. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  5. ^ Beauchamp, William Martin (1907). Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108). New York State Education Department. pp. 206–207. ISBN 9781404751552. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  6. ^ Whitford, Noble E.; Beal, Minnie M. (1906). "The Crooked Lake Canal". History of the Canal System of the State of New York: Together with Brief Histories of the Canals of the United States and Canada. Brandow Printing Company. pp. 640–653. Retrieved April 18, 2016.