Editing East River (section)

==Formation and description==
{{see also|Hell Gate}}
Technically a [[Ria|drowned valley]], like the other waterways around New York City,<ref>Burrows and Wallace, p.5</ref> the strait was formed approximately 11,000 years ago at the end of the [[Wisconsin glaciation]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title=The East River Flows From Prehistoric Times To Today |url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2005-07-20/features/049.html |newspaper=The Queens Gazette |date=July 20, 2005 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216082526/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2005-07-20/features/049.html |archive-date=February 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The distinct change in the shape of the strait between the lower and upper portions is evidence of this glacial activity. The upper portion (from [[Long Island Sound]] to Hell Gate), running largely perpendicular to the glacial motion, is wide, meandering, and has deep narrow bays on both banks, scoured out by the glacier's movement. The lower portion (from Hell Gate to [[New York Bay]]) runs north–south, parallel to the glacial motion. It is much narrower, with straight banks. The bays that exist, as well as those that used to exist before being filled in by human activity, are largely wide and shallow.
[[File:PSM V28 D451 Hell gate new york.jpg|thumb|325px|left|A navigation map for [[Hell Gate]] from {{circa|1885}}, after many of the obstructions had been removed]]

The section known as "Hell Gate"{{dash}}from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name {{lang|nl|Hellegat}} meaning either "bright strait" or "clear opening", given to the entire river in 1614 by explorer [[Adriaen Block]] when he passed through it in his ship ''Tyger''<ref name="fed420">{{cite fednyc}} pp.419–20</ref><ref name=wolfe />{{dash}}is a narrow, turbulent, and particularly treacherous stretch of the river. Tides from the Long Island Sound, New York Harbor and the [[Harlem River]] meet there, making it difficult to navigate, especially because of the number of rocky islets which once dotted it, with names such as "Frying Pan", "Pot, Bread and Cheese", "Hen and Chicken", "Heel Top"; "Flood"; and "Gridiron", roughly 12 islets and reefs in all,<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), p.91</ref> all of which led to a number of shipwrecks, including [[HMS Hussar (1763)|HMS ''Hussar'']], a British [[frigate]] that sank in 1780 while supposedly carrying gold and silver intended to pay British troops. The stretch has since been cleared of rocks and widened.<ref name=wolfe>Wolfe, Gerard R., "Hell Gate and Hell Gate Bridge", in Jackson, pp.588–589</ref> [[Washington Irving]] wrote of Hell Gate that the current sounded "like a bull bellowing for more drink" at half tide, while at full tide it slept "as soundly as an alderman after dinner". He said it was like "a peaceable fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has a skinful, but who, when half-seas over, plays the very devil."<ref name=fed420 /> The tidal regime is complex, with the two major tides{{dash}}from the Long Island Sound and from the Atlantic Ocean{{dash}}separated by about two hours; and this is without consideration of the tidal influence of the Harlem River, all of which creates a "dangerous cataract", as one ship's captain put it.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.92–93</ref>

The river is navigable for its entire length of {{convert|16|mi}}. In 1939 it was reported that the stretch from [[The Battery (Manhattan)|The Battery]] to the former [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] near [[Wallabout Bay]], a run of about {{convert|1000|yd}}, was {{convert|40|ft}} deep, the long section from there, running to the west of Roosevelt Island, through Hell Gate and to [[Throggs Neck|Throg's Neck]] was at least {{convert|35|ft}} deep, and then eastward from there the river was, at mean low tide, {{convert|168|ft}} deep.<ref name=fed420 />

The broadness of the river's channel south of Roosevelt Island is caused by the dipping of the hardy [[Fordham gneiss]] underlying the island under the less strong [[Tuckahoe marble|Inwood marble]] which lies under the river bed.<ref name=concrete90 /> Why the river turns to the east as it approaches the three lower Manhattan bridges is geologically unknown.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.90–91</ref>

===Islands===
[[Roosevelt Island]], a long ({{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}}) and narrow ({{convert|800|ft}}) landmass, lies in the stretch of the river between Manhattan Island and the borough of [[Queens]], roughly from the latitude of Manhattan's East 46th to 86th Streets. The abrupt termination of the island on its north end is due to an extension of the [[125th Street Fault]].<ref name="concrete90" /> Politically, the island's {{convert|147|acre|km2}} constitute part of the borough of Manhattan. It is connected to Queens by the [[Roosevelt Island Bridge]], to Manhattan by the [[Roosevelt Island Tramway]], and to both boroughs by a [[Roosevelt Island station|subway station]] served by the [[F (New York City Subway service)|F train]]. The [[Queensboro Bridge]] also runs across Roosevelt Island, and an elevator allowing both pedestrian and vehicular access to the island was added to the bridge in 1930, but elevator service was discontinued in 1955 following the opening of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, and the elevator was demolished in 1970. The island, which was formerly known as Blackwell's Island and Welfare Island before being renamed in honor of US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], historically served as the site of a [[penitentiary]] and a number of hospitals; today, it is dominated by residential neighborhoods consisting of large apartment buildings and parkland (much of which is dotted with the ruins of older structures).

The largest land mass in the River south of Roosevelt Island is [[U Thant Island]], an artificial islet created during the construction of the [[Steinway Tunnel]] (which currently serves the [[7 (New York City Subway service)|subway's 7 and <7> lines)]]. Officially named Belmont Island after one of the tunnel's financiers, the landmass owes its popular name (after [[Myanmar|Burmese]] diplomat [[U Thant]], former [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]]) to the efforts of a group associated with the guru [[Sri Chinmoy]] that held mediation meetings on the island in the 1970s. Today, the island is owned by New York State and serves as a migratory bird sanctuary that is closed to visitors.

Proceeding north and east from Roosevelt Island, the River's principal islands include Manhattan's [[Mill Rock]], an {{convert|8.6|acre|adj=on}} island located about 1000 feet from Manhattan's East 96th Street; Manhattan's 520-acre [[Randalls and Wards Islands]], two formerly separate islands joined by landfill that are home to a large public park, a number of public institutions, and the supports for the [[Triborough Bridge|Triborough]] and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]]s; the Bronx's [[Rikers Island]], once under {{convert|100|acre|km2}} but now over {{convert|400|acres|km2}}<ref>Steinberg, p.214</ref> following extensive landfill expansion after the island's 1884 purchase by the city as a prison farm<ref>Steinberg, p 148</ref> and still home to New York City's massive and controversial primary jail complex; and [[North and South Brother Islands (New York City)|North and South Brother Islands]], both of which also constitute part of the Bronx.<ref name="encnyc" />
[[File:Manhattan1781.jpg|thumb|left|237px|A map from the 18th century]]

===Tributaries===
The [[Bronx River]],<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|63}} [[Pugsley Creek]], and [[Westchester Creek]] drain into the northern bank of the East River in the northern section of the strait.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|70–71}} The [[Flushing River]], historically known as Flushing Creek, empties into the strait's southern bank near [[LaGuardia Airport]] via [[Flushing Bay]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|98}} Further west, Luyster Creek drains into the East River in [[Astoria, Queens]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|94}}

North of [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Randalls Island]], it is joined by the [[Bronx Kill]]. Along the east of Wards Island, at approximately the strait's midpoint, it narrows into a channel called [[Hell Gate]], which is spanned by both the [[Robert F. Kennedy Bridge]] (formerly the Triborough), and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]].<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|84}} On the south side of Wards Island, it is joined by the [[Harlem River]].

[[Newtown Creek]] on Long Island, which itself contained several tributaries, drains into the East River and forms part of the boundary between Queens and Brooklyn.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|175}} [[Bushwick Inlet Park|Bushwick Inlet]]<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|193}} and [[Wallabout Bay]] on Long Island also drain into the strait on the Long Island side.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|197}} The [[Gowanus Canal]] was built from [[Gowanus Canal|Gowanus Creek]], which emptied into the river.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|185}}

Historically, there were other small streams which emptied into the river, though these and their associated wetlands have been filled in and built over. These small streams included the Harlem Creek, one of the most significant tributaries originating in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite greatest |page=70 }}</ref> Other streams that emptied into the East River included the [[Sawkill]] in Manhattan,<ref name="Kadinsky2016">{{Cite Hidden Waters NYC }}</ref>{{rp|32}} Mill Brook in the Bronx,<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|84}} and [[Sunswick Creek]] in Queens.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>{{rp|96}}