Tides & Towns
Hudson River · NY

Poughkeepsie

A Hudson River city where New York ratified the Constitution.

Population
31,577 (2020 census)
Land bought
1686
Walkway Over the Hudson
Opened 2009
Tides
Two highs, two lows a day

Then

  1. 1686

    Robert Sanders and Myndert Van Den Bogaerdt acquire the land. The name comes from a Munsee phrase for a reed-covered lodge by a little-water place.

  2. 1777

    After the British burn Kingston, Poughkeepsie becomes New York's capital.

  3. 1788

    The state convention meets here and ratifies the U.S. Constitution.

  4. 1861

    Matthew Vassar founds Vassar College.

  5. 1889

    The Poughkeepsie railroad bridge opens across the Hudson. After a 1974 fire, it reopens in 2009 as the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Now

IBM builds its mainframes here and runs a quantum computing center. The tidal Hudson flows past from Newburgh, Beacon and Peekskill to the south.

On the water

From NOAA's predictions for Poughkeepsie, NY over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).

Pattern
Two highs and two lows a day, close in size
Typical daily range
3.3 ft
Biggest swing
4.7 ft on Jan 22
Smallest swing
1.9 ft on Nov 16
Highest high
4.2 ft, Aug 3 at 1:31 AM
Lowest low
−0.9 ft, Jan 23 at 7:55 PM

6 tide stations around Poughkeepsie

Sources