Conowingo Islands

Conowingo Islands. Ice Age Creations. Most river islands are formed by deposits of river sentiment. The high rock cliffs of the Conowingo Islands, located at the end of the Lower Susquehanna Gorge, were instead carved out of the river bedrock by the same swift-moving glacial melt waters that created the gorge. Gravel and rock spun by the melt water scoured holes into the islands and river bottom, creating potholes, some up to 20 feet deep. , Poor man's salmon, Before hydroelectric dams blocked their way, American shad swam each year from the sea to the Susquehanna headwaters to spawn. Commercial fishermen took advantage of this annual migration, harvesting tons of shad and selling to those who could not afford the price of meat. Overfishing, pollution and dams eventually decimated the shad fishery, Today, American shad are returning to their ancestral spawning grounds due to improved water quality, fish lifts and fish ladders at dams and regulated creel limits., The Bald Eagle, Mt. Johnson Island was the world's first bald eagle sanctuary, established by the National Audubon Society in 1936. Unfortunately, the bald eagle later disappeared from the Susquehanna for almost 40 years. Thanks to increased legal protection and changes in the types of chemicals we use, you can once again spot majestic bald eagles flying over the river.