Broadkill River

The Broadkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is 13.3 miles (21.4 km) long and drains an area of 110 square miles (280 km²) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Broadkill River
The Broadkill River in Milton in 2006
Location of the mouth of the Broadkill River Show map of Delaware Broadkill River (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location
Country	United States
State	Delaware
County	Sussex
City	Milton
Physical characteristics
Source	Wagamons Pond
• location	Milton
• coordinates	38°46′37″N 75°18′47″W[1]
Mouth	Delaware Bay
• location	northwest of Lewes
• coordinates	38°47′25″N 75°09′44″W[1]
• elevation	3 ft (0.91 m)[1]
Length	13.3 mi (21.4 km)[2]
Basin size	110 sq mi (280 km2)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Round Pole Branch Beaverdam Creek Doty Glade Crooked Creek Mill Creek Canary Creek

The Broadkill flows for its entire length in eastern Sussex County. It issues from Wagamons Pond in the town of Milton; the pond is fed by two tributaries known as Ingram Branch[3] and Pemberton Branch.[4] From Milton, the Broadkill River flows generally eastwardly, passing through wetlands and salt marshes in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.[5] After approaching to within one and a quarter miles (2.0 km) of Delaware Bay, the river parallels the shoreline a short distance inland for approximately two miles (3.2 km) before flowing into the bay, approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Lewes. The United States Coast Guard maintains a station near the mouth of the Broadkill. The mouth is connected to Rehoboth Bay by the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, which forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.[6]

In the 19th century the river was the center of a regional shipbuilding industry, arising from the access it furnished to inland forests; the industry fell into decline in the 1890s.[7]

A footpath known as the Governors Walk follows the Broadkill in central Milton. The Nature Conservancy established a preserve along the river downstream of Milton in 1998.[8] As of 2005, an annual canoe and kayak race was being held on the river in Milton.[9]