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Discover the Secrets of the Hudson River: Top 7 Fun Facts that Will Amaze You!

illustration of the-hudson-river
Dive into a refreshing stream of little-known tidbits and fascinating trivia about the majestic Hudson River!

1. Gluten-Free River Uber

They called it the "gluten-free, New York-style River Uber" back in the early 19th century: The Hudson River was the key transportation artery connecting the Eastern Seaboard to the Great Lakes and Midwest via the Erie Canal, completed in 1825.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. UN of Beaver Pelt Trading

Long before the Dutch had their finger in the proverbial dike or Instagram influencers flocked to the picturesque riverbanks, the Hudson River was pretty much the United Nations of beaver pelt trading: Unbeknownst to many, the Hudson River played a pivotal role in the Dutch colonization of the United States, sparking trade relationships with the local Lenape people and paving the way for the establishment of New Netherland on Manhattan Island in 1625, which later morphed into the world-renowned New York City.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

3. Fishy Hudson Hot Spot

If you're angling for a laugh, the Hudson River is quite the fishy hot spot: it's home to over 200 species of fish, including striped bass, herring, and giant sturgeon, making it a vital nursery habitat for commercial and recreational species like bluefish and blue crab that have been tickling human taste buds for millennia!
Source => dec.ny.gov

4. Fishy Mobster-Free Zone

Swimming with the fishes just took on a whole new meaning in the Hudson River – and not the mobster kind: Over 200 species of fish, including New York's official state fish the striped bass and the federally endangered shortnose sturgeon, coexist in the river's ecosystem, thanks to successful conservation efforts.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Mutant Bottom-Feeders

5. Mutant Bottom-Feeders

Feeling a bit "pier-pressure", the bottom-feeding fish of the Hudson River have brought their survival game to a mutant level: In a rapid 20 to 50 generations, the Atlantic tomcod evolved a genetic variant to become immune to toxic PCBs and are now considered to be one of the fastest-evolving fish populations in the world, as discovered by researchers at New York University's School of Medicine.
Source => nationalgeographic.com

6. NYC's Submerged Grand Canyon

While New York City isn't exactly known for its Grand Canyon impersonation, it does hide a submerged wonder that could make the desert jealous: The Hudson Canyon, off the coast of New York and New Jersey, is one of the largest submarine canyons in the world with its walls rising a whopping 1.2 kilometers from the canyon floor, though it can't quite house the entire Grand Canyon as it's more into underwater real estate and spans a different type of canyon altogether.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Marine Party Crashers

Who invited these party crashers? The Hudson River is swimming with over 100 uninvited guests, and these marine gatecrashers include the water chestnut, zebra mussel, green crab, and Japanese shore crab: But it's not all bad news; the Hudson River estuary also boasts 7,000 acres of freshwater wetlands, one of the largest concentrations in the Northeast, and these biodiverse habitats support a lively community of fish and birds – even as climate change causes the party to grow bigger through rising sea levels.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

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