John DeSanto - Twischsawkin

The Native Americans called the river Twischsawkin but we know it as the Wallkill River. Photojournalist John DeSanto paddled his kayak the length of the river in June, 2018 and photographed and wrote a 7-part series that was published in the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, N.Y. These are the photographs that accompanied those articles.

The Wallkill River near Thomas Bull Park in Hamptonburgh, N.Y.

The I-84 bridge over the Wallkill River near Montgomery, N.Y.

Children play along the banks of the Wallkill River near the Town of Montgomery Park.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus at the Town of Wallkill boat launch.

World-famous photographer Nick Zungoli came along for a section of the Wallkill River..

John DeSanto paddles under a tree along the Wallkill River. (Photo by Nick Zungoli)

Nick Zungoli paddles under a railroad bridge in the Town of Hamptonburgh, N.Y.

John DeSanto uses a Fuji X100s rangefinder camera to photograph Nick Zungoli. (Photo by Nick Zungoli)

(Photo by Nick Zungoli)

Two young fishermen try their luck near Unionville, N.Y.

Archie Morris, of the Wallkill River Watershed Alliance, photographs a small rapids.

Small rapids in the Black Dirt region of the Wallkill River.

A heron stands along the shoreline near New Paltz, N.Y.

Jason West, former mayor of New Paltz and current president of the Wallkill River Watershed Alliance, paddles near New Paltz, N.Y.

A former railway bridge - now a bike path - crosses the Wallkill River north of New Paltz.

A covered bridge crosses the Wallkill River near Esopus, N.Y.

David Church, Executive Director of the Orange County Water Authority, negotiates the river near the lower falls in Montgomery, N.Y.

Dan Shapley, left, of the Riverkeeper Alliance, and David Church, right, of the Orange County Water Authority.

David Church, executive director of the Orange County Water Authority, paddles near the Town of Montgomery.

Middletown historian Fred Isseks and Orange County Water Authority Executive Director David Church, right, paddle along the Cheechunk Canal bypass in the Town of Wallkill.

Petroleum oozes from the Orange County Landfill and into the waters of the Wallkill River.

Kelly Morris, of the Orange County Planning Office, paddles near a bridge being built over the Wallkill by the Amy's Kitchen organization.

Chip Lain, owner of the Pine Island Turf Nursery, stands along the banks of the Wallkill River near Pine Island, N.Y.

The Wallkill River is straight and wide in a channel that was cut through the farms of the Black Dirt region.

Kasha and Rocky Bialas run a farm along the Wallkill River near New Hampton, N.Y.

The rocks near Bialas Falls near New Hampton, N.Y.

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