Editing Hudson River (section)

==Geography and watershed==
{{see also|List of rivers of New York#Hudson River Basin|label 1=Rivers of the Hudson River Basin}}
[[File:Breaking The Ice On The Hudson River With United States Coast Guard Cutter Hawser -y.jpg|thumb|The bulk carrier ''Nord Angel'' breaking ice on the Hudson]]
The lower Hudson is a tidal estuary, with tidal influence extending as far as the [[Federal Dam (Troy)|Federal Dam]] in [[Troy, New York|Troy]]. There are about two high tides and two low tides per day. As the tide rises, the tidal current moves northward, taking enough time that part of the river can be at high tide while another part can be at the bottom of its low tide.<ref name="RP"/>

Strong tides make parts of New York Harbor difficult and dangerous to navigate. During the winter, ice floes may drift south or north, depending upon the tides. The [[Mahican]] name of the river represents its partially estuarine nature: ''muh-he-kun-ne-tuk'' means "the river that flows both ways."<ref name="Rittner"/> Due to tidal influence from the ocean extending to Troy, NY,<ref name="RP"/> freshwater discharge is only about {{convert|17400|cuft}} per second on average.<ref name="Green Island Discharge"/> The mean fresh water discharge at the river's mouth in New York is approximately {{convert|21900|cuft}} per second.<ref name="Discharge"/>

The Hudson River is {{convert|315|mi|km}} long, with depths of {{convert|30|ft}} for the stretch south of the Federal Dam, dredged to maintain the river as a shipping route. Some sections there are around 160 feet deep,<ref name="RP"/> and the deepest part of the Hudson, known as "World's End" (between the [[US Military Academy]] and [[Constitution Island]]) has a depth of {{convert|202|ft|m}}.<ref name="depth"/>

The Hudson and its tributaries, notably the Mohawk River, drain an area of {{convert|13000|sqmi}}, the Hudson River Watershed. It covers much of New York, as well as parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont.<ref name="RP"/>

Parts of the Hudson River form [[cove]]s, such as [[Weehawken Cove]] in the towns of [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] and [[Weehawken]] in New Jersey.<ref name="Weehawken Cove"/>

The City of Poughkeepsie and several adjacent communities in the mid-Hudson valley, totalling about 100,000 people, rely on the river for their drinking water.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wu |first=Amy |title=Communities that drink from Hudson River push for further water protection |url=https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2018/02/23/hudson-river-water-protection/351500002/ |date=2018-02-23 |newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal}}</ref>

===Salinity===
New York Harbor, between the Narrows and the George Washington Bridge, has a mix of fresh and ocean water, mixed by wind and tides to create an increasing gradient of salinity from the river's top to its bottom. This varies with season, weather, variation of water circulation, and other factors; snowmelt at winter's end increases the freshwater flow downstream.<ref name="RP"/>

The [[wikt:salt line|salt line]] of the river varies from the north in Poughkeepsie to the south at Battery Park in New York City, though it usually lies near Newburgh.<ref name="Guide">{{cite book |last=Adams |first=Arthur G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KIkHuzvZTGYC |title=The Hudson River Guidebook |date=1996 |publisher=[[Fordham University Press]] |isbn=0-8232-1679-9 |edition=2nd |location=New York |lccn=96-1894 |access-date=September 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320071151/http://books.google.com/books?id=KIkHuzvZTGYC |archive-date=March 20, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|11}}