1. Description
     List of inner harbor crossings  

2. History

3. Geology

4. See also
     Notes and references  

5. External links

at the estuary of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound

in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States.

The last portion of the Norwalk River from the head of navigation

near Wall Street in Central Norwalk to the Long Island Sound

forms Norwalk Harbor. It is a federal navigation channel of the

"recreational and small commercial harbor" variety.^[1][2]

In and around the harbor there are 15 marinas, 13 private clubs with

boating facilities, and 5 commercial port facilities. There are more

than 1800 berthing spaces and more than 500 harbor mooring locations.

About 800 boats may be launched from storage racks at marinas and clubs

as well as via the city maintained launching ramp in Veterans Park.

More than 2700 commercial vessel trips to and from the harbor occur each year.^[3]

The main harbor channel is small enough to restrict the size of

vessels that could attempt to use it. In 2001 waterborne

commerce in the harbor totaled {{convert|512000|ST|t}}. Typical freight

included fuel oil, sand, gravel, stone, and shellfish (particularly oysters and lobsters).^[2]

Description

From the sound the main approach to the harbor lies to the southwest of Rowayton and

Sheffield Island. The wider and deeper southwest approach is also known as

"Sheffield Harbor", whereas the narrower and shallower eastern approach is known as "Cockenoe Harbor.^[3]

There is a {{convert|4.7|mi|km|sing=on}}-long channel extending from the outer harbor to the head of

the harbor in Norwalk. The channel is {{convert|12|ft|m}} deep and {{convert|200|ft|m}} wide

from the outer harbor to Gregory Point in East Norwalk, where it narrows

to {{convert|150|ft|m}} wide up to the wharves at South Norwalk. The channel then

widens to {{convert|250|ft|m}} along the wharves to the Washington Street (Stroffolino) Bridge.

Upstream of the Washington street bridge the inner harbor lies along {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} of the river. The channel of the inner harbor is {{convert|10|ft|m}} deep and between

List of inner harbor crossings

From the head of navigation at Wall Street traveling out to the outer harbor there are:

• Wall Street Bridge is an arch bridge in Central Norwalk
• Yankee Doodle Bridge is a girder bridge that carries the Connecticut Turnpike
• Norwalk River Railroad Bridge four track swing bridge of Amtrak and the Metro-North Railroad^[4]
• Washington Street, Stroffolino memorial, is a bascule bridge that carries Route 136

There are no bridges across the outer harbor or the approach channels.

History

In 1614 Dutch navigator Adriaen Block

explored the Connecticut coast aboard the Onrust and mapped the

Norwalk Islands which lie at the outer boundary of the harbor. He referred

to the group of islands as the "Archipelago".^[5]

As an aid to navigation at the harbor channel entrance the

Sheffield Island Light was operational by 1826 (on what was called "Smith Island" at the time).

In 1872 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started

its first work on harbor improvements in Norwalk.^[6]

On January 21, 1897, the United States Congress agreed to spend $73,100.00 on aids to navigation

in Norwalk Harbor including lights and fog signals.^[7] As a result of the expenditure Greens Ledge Light was operational by 1902 and

Pecks Ledge Light was operational by 1906. The Sheffield Island light was discontinued

as a federally maintained aid to navigation when the Greens Ledge Light was activated.

The Ischoda Yacht Club was founded in 1886 along the western shore of Norwalk Harbor in

South Norwalk and is among America's oldest Yacht Clubs.^[8] The Norwalk Yacht Club was formed in

August 1894 in Wilson's Cove.^[9]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the harbor in 1950.^[6]

In October 1955 a great flood washed down the Norwalk River and

destroyed many of the buildings adjacent to the riverbanks.

Today's Freese Park along Main Avenue was a built up commercial block

before October 1955. The flood left a wake of destruction in the harbor

that took a long time to recover from.

The Connecticut Turnpike was built over the river in 1956-1958.

The salt marsh just south of the Yankee Doodle bridge on the river's

west bank was turned into a garbage dump, but has since been closed, capped,

and turned into "Oyster Shell Park" (not to be confused with the

native Siwanoy shell middens across the river on the east bank near "Oyster bend").^[10]

The Norwalk Harbor Commission was established in 1984 by the

Norwalk City Council. The commission is responsible for

maintaining a Harbor Management plan that includes maintaining

the safe navigation in the harbor, policies for the harbor master,

the promotion of the harbor, and the maintenance of the Visitors

dock at Veterans Park.^[11]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished harbor re-dredging projects in 1980 and again in 2006.

There will be a new dredging project for the inner and river portions of the harbor.^[12]

In the spring of 2007 the Marine Unit of the Norwalk Police department

launched a new {{convert|38|ft|m|adj=on}} police boat the Riva.

On July 10, 2007 the Norwalk Fire Department commissioned

its first fireboat the Harry Bower named to honor a fire fighter who died in 2005. In the fall of 2007 the harbor was visited by the

Seafair a {{convert|228|ft|m|sing=on}} motor yacht. The visit of the Seafair was

accompanied by private viewings of objects in the vessel's art galleries.^[13]

A utility project in the fall of 2007 replaced an electric power transmission line that runs

from Connecticut to Long Island. Seven fluid-filled cables originally laid in

1969 were replaced with three new solid dielectric cables.^[14]

The existing cables are joined at the oil-fired electric generating

substation on Manresa Island in Norwalk Harbor. From there, they cross

under Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound to connect at the Long Island Power Authority’s

substation in the village of Northport, New York. The three new {{convert|11|mi|km|sing=on}} long cables were buried at least one fathom (2 m) below the Sound’s bottom.^[15]

The Skyline Princess, a {{convert|120|ft|m|sing=on}}

motor yacht out of New York, makes port of call stops at Veterans Park.^[16]

Geology

The harbor is a "drowned river valley" flooded as the sea rose at the end of the last ice age. Bedrock under the harbor and in the Harborview and Calf Pasture Beach area is interlayered Ordovician trap falls gneisses and Harrison Gneiss with dark minerals hornblende, biotite and garnet. The bedrock has two folds in the harbor area. The earlier, more southerly one was formed at the same time as the Taconic Mountains. That fault runs from Bell Island through Manresa Island to Sprite Island. The second (created during the Acadian mountain-building event of 485–440 million years ago) runs along a line north from Noroton Point on Sheffield Island Harbor toward Exit 15 on Interstate 95.^[17]

See also

• Calf Pasture Beach
• East Norwalk
• Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
• Norwalk Islands
• Norwalk Oyster Festival
• Norwalk River
• South Norwalk
• Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

Notes and references

• {{cite gnis|209406|Norwalk Harbor|November 8, 2010}}

External links

• Fairfieldcountyonline Norwalk Harbor webcam
• University of Connecticut remote sensor
• Norwalk River Watershed Association
• Norwalk Harbor Tide Information
• Harbor Watch/River Watch at Earthplace, Westport, Connecticut
• Norwalk River Rowing Association
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site at Manresa Island Power Plant
• Norwalk Sailing School at Calf Pasture Beach
• U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 72 at Calf Pasture Beach
• Norwalk Seaport Association
• {{cite web|url=http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/12368_BookletChart_HomeEd.pdf|title=North Shore of Long Island Sound Sherwood Point to Stamford Harbor, NOAA chart 12368|pages=6 and 10|format=pdf|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|accessdate=2009-06-16}}

• List of LAN Perú destinations
• List of Lantern Entertainment films
• List of lantern slide collections
• List of Lao Airlines destinations
• List of Laotian provinces by HDI
• List of Laotian provinces by Human Development Index
• List of La otra cara del alma episodes
• List of Laphria species
• List of La Piloto characters
• List of La Piloto episodes
• List of La querida del Centauro episodes
• List of La que se avecina characters
• List of La Reina del Sur episodes
• List of large dogs
• List of large Hindu temples
• List of larger urban zones
• List of larger urban zones by population
• List of larger urban zones in the European Union
• List of Larger Urban Zones in the European Union by population
• List of larger urban zones in the European Union by population
• List of larger urban zones of the European Union
• List of large sailing sloops
• List of largest airlines in Central America & the Caribbean
• List of largest aluminum producers by output
• List of largest art museums