Angela Silverman, age 16, of Rutland, Vt., for her question:

HOW LONG IS NEW YORK CITY'S EAST RIVER?

The famous East River which runs along one side of New York City's Manhattan is a 16 mile strip of water that connects Long Island Sound and Upper New York Bay. The Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek join the East River with the Hudson River.

Engineers blasted out a huge rock that blocked the channel at Hell Gate, the waterway between Ward's Island and the borough of f2ueens, in 1876. This allowed large ships to sail the East River channel.

The East River separates the boroughs of Brooklyn and queens from Manhattan and the Bronx. Seven bridges cross the river within the city: the Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Manhattan, Queensboro, Hell Gate and two units of Triborough bridges. Eleven tunnels carry subway, railroad and vehicular traffic.

New York Harbor actually includes the lower section of the East River. Shipping piers for ocean going freight vessels lie along the river. Most passenger ships, however, dock on the Hudson River, across Manhattan Island from the East River.