Namesakes and Waterways of the Midstate: Juniata River names various entities, carries multiple meanings | Perry County

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or, in Juniata’s case, the county or the river? 

According to Juniata County’s website, the answer is the river. 

Kayak Maps said the Juniata River valley served as a home to the Onojutta-Haga American Indians in the 17th century. The word Juniata is supposedly an interpretation of “Onayutta-haga,” an Iroquoian word meaning “standing stone,” the website said. This traces back to 14.5-foot tall stone that once stood in Huntingdon, etched with the local Juniata tribe’s history. However the stone disappeared when that tribe left in 1754, and a second stone raised by new settlers afterward was destroyed. A third monument, constructed in 1896, stands in a Huntingdon park today, Kayak Maps said. 

Juniata County’s website offered an alternate meaning for the name, saying that while it originally meant “standing stone,” later connotations favor the translation “blue waters.”

The river’s blue waters begin where two of its main tributaries, Little Juniata River and Frankstown Branch Juniata River, meet in Huntingdon County. Another tributary, the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River, leads to Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County. The Juniata is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, joining it in Duncannon in Perry County, according to Visit Hershey & Harrisburg’s website.

Today the river offers fishing, along with several float trip options for a variety of boats. 

Counties: Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry

Starts: Merger of Little Juniata River and Frankstown Branch Juniata River in Huntingdon County

Ends: Susquehanna River in Duncannon, Perry County

Length: Water trail is 142 miles (including portions of tributaries)

Depth: Averages 4 to 6 feet 

Elevation drop: 2,660 feet

Tributaries: Three main tributaries are Little Juniata, the Frankstown Branch and the Raystown Branch, and the Juniata River is the second largest tributary of the Susquehanna River

Geology: bedrock, sandstone, limestone, soft siltstone, shale

Recreation: fishing, fly fishing, kayaking, canoeing, boating

• Popular fish include smallmouth bass, muskies, walleyes, rock bass, catfish and carp.
• Public boat launches in Perry County: Greenwood, Green Valley, Amity Hall
• Peak water flow between February and May (possibly a few weeks in December) 
• River may be low between July and August.
• Float speed about 2 to 3 miles per hour
• Rated A-1 water trail, easy waters for beginner paddlers

Real-time water levels at Newport: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=01567000