Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River ( /ˌsʌskwəˈhænə/) (Lenape: Siskëwahane ) is a river located in the northeastern United States. At 464 miles (747 km) long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic. It flows through three states: New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. It forms from two main branches, with the "North Branch", which rises in upstate New York, regarded by federal mapmakers as the main branch. The shorter West Branch, which rises in western Pennsylvania, joins the main stem near Northumberland in central Pennsylvania.

The river drains 27,500 square miles (71,000 km2), including nearly half of the land area of Pennsylvania. The drainage basin (watershed) includes portions of the Allegheny Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains, cutting through water gaps in the lateral mountain ridges in a broad zigzag course to flow across the rural heartland of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. The river empties into the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, providing half of the Bay's freshwater inflow. The Chesapeake Bay is in fact the ria of the Susquehanna.