Mispillion River

The Mispillion River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in southern Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) long and drains an area of 76 square miles (200 km²) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Mispillion River
The Mispillion River in Milford in 2006
Location of the mouth of the Mispillion River
Location
Country	United States
State	Delaware
Counties	Kent Sussex
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of Beaverdam and Tantrough Branches at Blairs Pond
• location	near Milford
• coordinates	38°52′53″N 75°30′00″W[1]
• elevation	29 ft (8.8 m)[2]
Mouth	Delaware Bay
• location	near Mispillion Light
• coordinates	38°57′05″N 75°18′48″W[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)[1]
Length	15 mi (24 km)approximately[3]
Basin size	76 sq mi (200 km2)[4]
Discharge
• average	91.77 cu ft/s (2.599 m3/s) at mouth with Delaware Bay[5]
Basin features
Progression	Delaware Bay → Atlantic Ocean
River system	Delaware Bay
Tributaries
• left	Beaverdam Branch Lednum Branch Mullet Run Swan Creek Fishing Branch Beaverdam Branch Kings Causeway Branch Crooked Gut
• right	Tantrough Branch Johnson Branch Bowman Branch Deep Branch
Waterbodies	Blairs Pond Griffith Lake Haven Lake Silver Lake

It rises in northern Sussex County, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Milford, and flows generally east-northeastwardly, defining the boundary between Sussex and Kent counties; it passes through the center of Milford on its course to its mouth at Delaware Bay, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Cape Henlopen.^[3][6] The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the river are considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be navigable.^[7]

A boardwalk known as the Mispillion Riverwalk follows the river in Milford. As of 2003^[update], an effort was underway to preserve a greenway along the river upstream and downstream of Milford.^[8]

Variant names and spellings

According to the Geographic Names Information System, the Mispillion River has also been known historically as:^[1]

Masphilion Creek Maspillon Creek Mispalling Creek Mispelion Creek Mispelon Creek Mispening Creek Miss Pinion River Mispeninge Creek Misperange River

Mispilian Creek Mispliant Creek Misspann Creek Muskmellon Creek Musmillion River Musphilion Creek Muspilion Creek

Name origin

"The first occurrence of this name (of the river) is in the form Mispening on a map of 1664, tentatively analyzed as meaning "as the great tuber (stream);" (Dunlap and Weslager, 1950)

See also

• List of Delaware rivers
• Mispillion Light
• USS Mispillion (AO-105)
• USNS Mispillion (T-AO-105)

References

1. Geographic Names Information System. "GNIS entry for Mispillion River (Feature ID #214330)". Retrieved 2007-02-05.
2. "Mispillion River Topo Map, Sussex County DE (Mispillion River Area)". TopoZone. Locality, LLC. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
3. "Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry for Mispillion River". 2000. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
4. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2005). "Decision Rationale: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDLs) for Bacteria and Nutrient Impairments on the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek Watershed, Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware". pp. pp.1–2. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
5. "Mispillion River Watershed Report". Waters Geoviewer. US EPA. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
6. DeLorme (2004). Maryland Delaware Atlas & Gazetteer. pp.52-53. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-279-X.
7. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District. "Navigable waterways of the Philadelphia District". Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
8. Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation. "Greenways & Trails". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-02-05.