Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties. Many tributaries extend its watershed into neighboring Greene County and a small portion of Delaware County. Midway along its length, it is impounded at Olive Bridge to create Ashokan Reservoir, the first of several built in the Catskills as part of New York City's water supply system. Its own flow is supplemented above the reservoir by the Shandaken Tunnel, which carries water from the city's Schoharie Reservoir into the creek.

The creek, originally known by the Native Americans in the area as "Atkarkaton" or "Atkankarten" and by Dutch settlers as the "Esopus Kill", takes its name from the Esopus tribe of the Lenape, who were living around the lower Esopus when the Dutch first explored and settled the Hudson Valley in the early 17th century. The creek's wide valley made it an ideal trading route for the Esopus and other Lenape who harvested the beaver pelts the European traders desired. Later, under the English, it became the beginning point for contentious land claims in the mountains. After independence, the Esopus corridor became the main route into the Catskills, first by road then later by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, for forest-product industries like logging, tanning and charcoal making. Those industries declined in the late 19th century, shortly before the creation of the Forest Preserve and the Catskill Park made the region more attractive for resorts and recreation, particularly trout fishing. The renewed Esopus also attracted the attention of fast-growing New York City, which was able to acquire land and build the reservoir and tunnel after overcoming local political opposition.

The reservoir divides the creek into an upper stretch, mostly a wild mountain stream, and a lower stretch closer to the Hudson that gradually becomes more estuarine. Above the reservoir, its water quality is closely monitored, not only for its role in the city's water supply but to preserve its local economic importance as a recreational resource. As the upper Esopus is one of the most productive trout streams in the Northeast, fly fishermen come in great numbers to take trout from its relatively accessible banks. Canoeists and kayakers have been drawn to its whitewater, which has also spawned a busy local tubing industry in the summer months. The lower Esopus is mainly an aesthetic and ecological resource, although the estuary at Saugerties is a popular bass fishery.

The Esopus's role in the state and regional economy has led to a concentrated effort to protect and manage it, particularly on the upper stretch. The interests of the various stakeholders have not always converged, particularly where it concerns the city's management of its water needs. Turbidity created by discharges from the Shandaken Tunnel after a 1996 flood led to a successful lawsuit against the city and a state regulation; downstream of the reservoir the city has been criticized for contributing to flooding problems by releasing too much water during heavy rainstorms since Hurricane Irene in 2011. Boaters and anglers have also clashed, and invasive species are beginning to enter the upper creek as well.
Q159675
tributary
Concept
Q3140
Hudson River
LOC
Q630566
Catskill Mountains
LOC
Q1384
New York
LOC
Q7333730
Winnisook Lake
LOC
Q7540328
Slide Mountain
LOC
Q56152
Ulster County
LOC
Q3461248
Saugerties
LOC
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watershed
Concept
Q115216
Greene County
LOC
Q115289
Delaware County
LOC
Q12323
impounded
Concept
Q3708540
Olive Bridge
LOC
Q4805816
Ashokan Reservoir
LOC
Q60
New York City
LOC
Q7013338
water supply system
Concept
Q29425295
flow
Concept
Q7487898
Shandaken Tunnel
LOC
Q7336533
Schoharie Reservoir
LOC
Q49297
Native Americans
PER
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Dutch settlers
Concept
Q3196604
Kill
Concept
Q82048
Lenape
Concept
Q1140235
Hudson Valley
LOC
Q47542
beaver
Concept
Q918254
English
Concept
Q192769
independence
EVE
Q3547983
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
ORG
None
charcoal making
UNK
Q5469077
Forest Preserve
LOC
Q5054038
Catskill Park
LOC
Q2258881
trout
Concept
Q47053
estuarine
Concept
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water quality
Concept
Q24460
Northeast
LOC
Q898886
fly fishermen
Concept
Q20856109
Canoeists
Concept
Q2094083
kayakers
PER
Q1844833
whitewater
Concept
Q1978323
tubing
Concept
Q3636043
bass fishery
UNK
Q898574
Turbidity
Concept
Q5347332
Hurricane Irene
UNK
Q183368
invasive species
Concept
Q3058095
Esopus Creek
LOC
1996-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1996
DATE
2011-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2011
DATE
+17^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
17
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
mouth of the watercourse
located in the administrative territorial entity
origin of the watercourse
part of
located in the administrative territorial entity
shares border with
subclass of