Lackawaxen River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lackawaxen River |
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The Lackawaxen River several miles above confluence with the Delaware River
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Map of Lackawaxen and Lackawanna watersheds
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Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
Region | Poconos |
Counties | Wayne, Pike |
Physical characteristics | |
Main source | West Branch Lackawaxen River Confluence above Belmont Lake, in Orson and Poyntelle 1,840 ft (560 m) 41°47′31″N 75°25′54″W / 41.79194°N 75.43167°W |
2nd source | Johnson Creek Mt. Pleasant Twp. 1,480 ft (450 m) 41°44′45″N 75°23′1″W / 41.74583°N 75.38361°W |
River mouth | Delaware River Lackawaxen 580 ft (180 m) 41°29′13″N 74°59′14″W / 41.48694°N 74.98722°W |
Length | 31 mi (50 km) |
Discharge (location 2) |
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Basin features | |
Basin size | 598 sq mi (1,550 km2) |
Tributaries |
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Discharge figures from and |
The Lackawaxen River is a 31.3-mile-long (50.4 km) tributary of the Delaware River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The river flows through a largely rural area in the northern Pocono Mountains, draining an area of approximately 598 square miles (1,550 km2).
Its source is in the borough of Prompton in western Wayne County, at the confluence of the West Branch and Van Auken Creek. It flows past Honesdale and Hawley, where it is joined from the southwest by Wallenpaupack Creek. Water discharged from the Lake Wallenpaupack hydroelectric facility enters the river downstream from Hawley. The river continues east and joins the Delaware at Lackawaxen. East of Honesdale, it was deepened as part of the Delaware and Hudson Canal project.
The river is a popular destination for canoeing and recreational fly fishing for trout. It was reportedly where the American author Zane Grey first learned to fly fish.
Lackawaxen is Lenape for "swift waters".
West Branch Lackawaxen River
The West Branch, approximately 21.5 miles (34.6 km) long, rises from a confluence of several small streams in the villages of Orson and Poyntelle in northern Wayne County, and flows south-southeast through Belmont Lake in Belmont Corners. After a second confluence, with Johnson Creek, it flows southeast through Prompton Lake reservoir, to a third confluence, with Van Auken Creek, to form the main stem.