Indian River (Delaware)

The Indian River is a river and estuary, approximately 15 mi (24 km) long, in Sussex County in southern Delaware in the United States.

It rises approximately 2 mi (3 km) southwest of Georgetown and flows east, past Millsboro, its head of navigation. It enters Indian River Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean south of Cape Henlopen. The lower 6 mi (10 km) of the river form a navigable tidal estuary stretching westward from Indian River Bay, which is protected from the open ocean by two sand bar peninsulas. East of the bay is its mouth, the Indian River Inlet.

The river is crossed in three places, by U.S. Route 113 (in Millsboro), Delaware Route 24/Delaware Route 30 (also in Millsboro), and Delaware Route 1 (at the Delaware Seashore State Park). The original bridge over the Indian River Inlet, which carries Delaware Route 1, was considered structurally deficient due to tidal erosion. This bridge was scheduled to be replaced in late 2011. As of January 2012, the current Indian River Inlet Bridge was opened.