The Chenango River is a 90 miles (144.8 km) tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 in central New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It drains a dissected plateau

Dissected plateau

A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...

 area in upstate New York

Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...

 at the northern end of the Susquehanna watershed.
The river rises NW of the Morrisville swamp in the Town of Smithfield in Madison County, NY, about 25 miles southwest of Utica. It flows SE through the swamp and is joined by the Sangerfield River.
Named after the Oneida word

Oneida language

Oneida is an Iroquoian language spoken primarily by the Oneida people in the U.S. states of New York and Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario. There are an estimated 160 native speakers left. Language revitalization efforts are in progress...

 for bull thistle, it rises in Madison

Madison County, New York

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 73,442. It is named after James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America...

, It flows south past Sherburne

Sherburne (village), New York

Sherburne is a village in Chenango County, New York, USA. The population was 1,455 at the 2000 census.The Village of Sherburne is in the Town of Sherburne, north of the City of Norwich.- History :...

 to Norwich

Norwich (city), New York

Norwich is a city in Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich, the city is the county seat of Chenango County. The name is taken from Norwich, Connecticut. Its population was 7,355 at the 2000 census.Lt...

, where it turns southwest, flowing past Greene

Greene (village), New York

Greene is a village in Chenango County, New York, USA. The population was 1,701 at the 2000 census. The village is named after General Nathanael Greene.The Village of Greene is within the Town of Greene and is northeast of Binghamton, New York....

, and Chenango Forks

Chenango Forks, New York

Chenango Forks is a hamlet located in Broome County, New York in the United States. The community is partly in the Town of Chenango and partly in the Town of Barker....

, where it receives the Tioughnioga River

Tioughnioga River

The Tioughnioga River is a tributary of the Chenango River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissected plateau area east of the Finger Lakes at the northernmost edge of the watershed of the Susquehanna River....

. It joins the Susquehanna

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 from the north in downtown Binghamton

Binghamton, New York

Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...

.

In the 19th century the river furnished a critical link in the canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 system of the northeastern United States

Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

. The Chenango Canal

Chenango Canal

The Chenango Canal was a towpath canal that was built and operated in the mid-19th century in Upstate New York in the United States. It was 97 miles long and for much of its course followed the Chenango River, from Binghamton on the south end to Utica on the north end...

, built from 1836–1837 between Utica and Binghamton, connected the Erie Canal

Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 in the north to the Susquehanna River. The canal was rendered obsolete by railroads and was abandoned in 1878.

Flooding is often a concern during the spring and fall.