The Lackawaxen River is a 31.3-mile-long (50.4 km)[1] tributary of the Delaware River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The river flows through a largely rural area in the northern Pocono Mountains, draining an area of approximately 598 square miles (1,550 km²).

Lackawaxen River
The Lackawaxen River several miles above confluence with the Delaware River
Map of Lackawaxen and Lackawanna watersheds
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Region	Poconos
Counties	Wayne, Pike
Physical characteristics
Source	West Branch Lackawaxen River
• location	Confluence above Belmont Lake, in Orson and Poyntelle
• coordinates	41°47′31″N 75°25′54″W
• elevation	1,840 ft (560 m)
2nd source	Johnson Creek
• location	Mt. Pleasant Twp.
• coordinates	41°44′45″N 75°23′1″W
• elevation	1,480 ft (450 m)
Source confluence	E of PA 170
• location	Creamtown
• coordinates	41°40′40″N 75°22′44″W
• elevation	1,250 ft (380 m)
Mouth	Delaware River
• location	Lackawaxen
• coordinates	41°29′13″N 74°59′14″W
• elevation	580 ft (180 m)
Length	31 mi (50 km)
Basin size	598 sq mi (1,550 km2)
Discharge
• location	Rowland
• average	1,318 cu ft/s (37.3 m3/s)
• minimum	53 cu ft/s (1.5 m3/s)
• maximum	13,208 cu ft/s (374.0 m3/s)
Discharge
• location	Honesdale
• average	394 cu ft/s (11.2 m3/s)
• maximum	34,000 cu ft/s (960 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Wallenpaupack Creek
Discharge figures from "Water data for Lackawaxen River at Howland, 2008" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 20, 2009. and

Its source is in the borough of Prompton in western Wayne County, at the confluence of the West Branch and Van Auken Creek. It flows past Honesdale and Hawley, where it is joined from the southwest by Wallenpaupack Creek. Water discharged from the Lake Wallenpaupack hydroelectric facility enters the river downstream from Hawley. The river continues east and joins the Delaware at Lackawaxen. East of Honesdale, it was deepened as part of the Delaware and Hudson Canal project.

The river is a popular destination for canoeing and recreational fly fishing for trout. It was reportedly where the American author Zane Grey first learned to fly fish.[2]

Lackawaxen is Lenape for "swift waters".

West Branch Lackawaxen River

The West Branch, approximately 21.5 miles (34.6 km) long,[1] rises from a confluence of several small streams in the villages of Orson and Poyntelle in northern Wayne County, and flows south-southeast through Belmont Lake in Belmont Corners. After a second confluence, with Johnson Creek, it flows southeast through Prompton Lake reservoir, to a third confluence, with Van Auken Creek, to form the main stem.[3]

See also

• List of Pennsylvania rivers

References

External links

• Lackawaxen River Conservancy
• Pike County Conservation: Lackawaxen watershed
• Lackawaxen Aqueduct
• U.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations