BLACK RIVER (NEW YORK)

The 'Black River' is a blackwater river that empties into the eastern end of Lake Ontario on the shore of Jefferson County, New York in the United States of America. The origin of the name is not clear, but it may stem from the tannic acid that darkens the water in places.
The river's source is in various locations, including 'Little Black Creek' and 'North Lake', in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York.
The river ends at Lake Ontario west of the City of Watertown. For the last few miles it forms the boundary between the Towns of Brownville and Hounsfield.

Contents

Sporting activities

Environmental issues

See also

External links

References

Sporting activities

The river is an excellent location for fishing. Abundant trout, salmon, bass, and pike are present in the stream.
Whitewater rafting and kayaking are popular on some stretches of the river, notably the Black River Gorge, which begins in Watertown and ends in Brownville. The Black River Gorge is one of few whitewater streams which have reliable flows throughout the summer.

Environmental issues

About August 10, 2005, the Black was contaminated by a spill from a manure lagoon on a dairy farm (a concentrated animal feeding operation) near Lowville, New York when a retaining wall gave way, allowing the contents of a waste holding pond to spill. About 8 million gallons of pollution flowed into the river. An estimated 250,000 fish were killed.
As of August 3, 2006 a settlement has been reached and Marks' Dairy Farm has been fined.

See also

★ List of New York rivers

★ Village of Black River, NY

External links

★ National Whitewater River Inventory: Black River Gorge

★ National Whitewater River Inventory: Black River, Route 3 Wave

★ National Whitewater River Inventory: Black River, Hawkinsville Section

References

★ WWNY 7 News Watertown

★ TV 50, WWTI Watertown article about the manure spill, August 12, 2005