Connecticut River - Wikipedia

Connecticut River - Wikipedia
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Coordinates
41°16′20″N
72°20′03″W
 / 
41.27222°N 72.33417°W
 /
41.27222; -72.33417
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
River in the New England region, US
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River seen from behind
Gillette Castle
in
Lyme, Connecticut
River map, with major tributaries
Native name
Kwenitegok
Abenaki
Location
Country
United States
Region
New England
State
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Vermont
New Hampshire
Cities
Springfield, Massachusetts
Hartford, Connecticut
Physical characteristics
Source
Fourth Connecticut Lake
• location
Coos County
New Hampshire
, United States
• coordinates
45°14′53″N
71°12′51″W
 / 
45.24806°N 71.21417°W
 /
45.24806; -71.21417
• elevation
2,660 ft (810 m)
Mouth
Long Island Sound
• location
Old Saybrook
and
Old Lyme, Connecticut
• coordinates
41°16′20″N
72°20′03″W
 / 
41.27222°N 72.33417°W
 /
41.27222; -72.33417
Length
410 mi (660 km)
Basin size
11,260 sq mi (29,200 km
Discharge
• location
Thompsonville, Connecticut
• average
18,400 cu ft/s (520 m
/s)
• minimum
968 cu ft/s (27.4 m
/s)
• maximum
282,000 cu ft/s (8,000 m
/s)
Discharge
• location
West Lebanon, New Hampshire
• average
6,600 cu ft/s (190 m
/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left
Chicopee River
• right
White River
Protection status
Ramsar Wetland
Official name
Connecticut River Estuary and Tidal River Wetlands Complex
Designated
October 14, 1994
Reference no.
710
Connecticut River
Legend
Fourth Connecticut Lake
Third Connecticut Lake
Moose Falls Dam
US 3
Second Connecticut Lake
First Connecticut Lake
Perry Stream
Lake Francis (Murphy Dam)
NH 145
Pittsburg
Covered bridge
Indian Stream
US 3
NH
VT
Halls Stream
Stewartstown
Lower Canaan Dam
VT 114
Canaan
Mohawk River
NH 26
Colebrook
Columbia
VT 105
North Stratford
St. Lawrence & Atlantic RR
Nulhegan River
Janice Peaslee Bridge
Upper Ammonoosuc River
US 2
Lancaster
Israel River
Mount Orne Covered Bridge
Maine Central RR
Johns River
Gilman Dam
Gilman
Moore Dam
NH 18
Littleton
I-93
Waterford
Comerford Reservoir
Passumpsic River
Barnet
Monroe
McIndoes Reservoir
Ryegate Dam
Ammonoosuc River
Wells River Bridge
US 302
Woodsville
Wells River
Waits River
NH 25
Bradford
VT 25A
Fairlee
VT 113
East Thetford
Ompompanoosuc River
NH 10A
Hanover
Wilder Dam
US 4
West Lebanon
White River
Boston & Maine
Mascoma River
I-89
White River Junction
Ottauquechee River
Covered bridge
New England Central RR
NH 12
Claremont
Sugar River
Little Sugar River
VT 11
Springfield
Black River
Williams River
Bellows Falls
Bellows Falls Dam
New England Central RR
Vermont Railway
Bellows Falls
Saxtons River
Cold River
NH 123
Walpole
Partridge Brook
VT 9
Brattleboro
West River
Whetstone Brook
VT 119
Hinsdale
Vernon Dam
Ashuelot River
VT
NH
MA
New England Central RR
Route 10
Northfield
Route 2
Gill
Millers River
Turner Falls Dam
Gill–Montague Bridge
Turners Falls Road Bridge
General Pierce Bridge
Deerfield River
Canalside Rail Trail Bridge
Pan Am Railways
Route 116
Sunderland
Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge
Route 9
Northampton
Fort River
Mill River
Manhan River
US 202
Holyoke
Holyoke Dam
Route 116
Holyoke
Pan Am Railways
Route 141
Holyoke
I-391
I-90
Chicopee
Chicopee River
I-91
US 20
Springfield
CSX RR
Route 147
Springfield
Mill River
Westfield River
US 5
Agawam
MA
CT
Route 190
Enfield
Enfield Falls Canal
New Haven–Springfield Line
Route 140
Windsor Locks
I-91
Dexter Coffin Bridge
Scantic River
Farmington River
I-291
Windsor
Connecticut Southern RR
Limit of
tidal river
and
navigability
I-84
Hartford
Route 2
Founders Bridge
Park River
Hockanum River
US 5
Charter Oak Bridge
Route 3
Wethersfield
Mattabesset River
Route 66
Middletown
Providence & Worcester RR
Salmon River
Route 82
East Haddam
Eightmile River
I-95
Old Lyme
Amtrak Northeast Corridor
Lieutenant River
Long Island Sound
The
Connecticut River
is a major
river
in the
New England
region of the United States. The region's longest, it flows roughly southward for 406 miles (653 km) through four states. Rising 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with
Quebec
Canada
, it discharges into
Long Island Sound
between
Old Saybrook
and
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km
), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, composed of 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers.
It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water,
discharging at 18,400 cubic feet (520 m
) per second.
The Connecticut River Valley is home to some of the northeastern United States' most productive farmland, as well as the
Hartford–Springfield Knowledge Corridor
, a metropolitan region of approximately two million people surrounding
Springfield, Massachusetts
, and
Hartford, Connecticut
History
edit
The word "Connecticut" is a
corruption
of the
Mohegan
word
quinetucket
and
Nipmuc
word
kwinitekw
, which mean "beside the long, tidal river".
The word came into English usage during the early 1600s to name the river, which was also called simply "The Great River". It was also known by
New Netherlanders
as
Versche Rivier
, or the
fresh river
10
Early spellings of the name by European explorers included "Cannitticutt" in French
11
or in English.
12
View of Springfield on the Connecticut River
by
Alvan Fisher
(Brooklyn Museum)
View of the City of Hartford, Connecticut
by
William Havell
Pre-1614: Native American populations
edit
Archaeological digs reveal human habitation of the Connecticut River Valley for 6,000 years before present.
13
Numerous tribes lived throughout the fertile Connecticut River valley prior to Dutch exploration beginning in 1614. Information concerning how these tribes lived and interacted stems mostly from English accounts written during the 1630s.
14
The
Pequots
dominated a territory in the southern region of the Connecticut River valley, stretching roughly from the river's mouth at
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
, north to just below the Big Bend at
Middletown, Connecticut
. They warred with and attempted to subjugate neighboring agricultural tribes such as the
Western Niantics
, while maintaining an uneasy stand-off with their rivals the
Mohegans
15
The
Mattabesset
(Tunxis) tribe takes its name from the place where its
sachems
ruled at the Connecticut River's Big Bend at Middletown, in a village sandwiched between the territories of the aggressive Pequots to the south and the more peaceable Mohegans to the north.
16
The Mohegans dominated the region due north, where
Hartford
and its suburbs sit, particularly after allying themselves with the Colonists against the Pequots during the
Pequot War
of 1637.
17
Their culture was similar to the Pequots, as they had split off from them and become their rivals some time prior to European exploration of the area.
17
The agricultural
Pocomtuc
tribe lived in unfortified villages alongside the Connecticut River north of the
Enfield Falls
on the fertile stretch of hills and meadows surrounding
Springfield, Massachusetts
. The Pocomtuc village of Agawam
18
eventually became Springfield, situated on the Bay Path where the Connecticut River meets the western
Westfield River
and eastern
Chicopee River
19
The Pocomtuc villagers at Agawam helped
Puritan
explorers settle this site and remained friendly with them for decades, unlike tribes farther north and south along the Connecticut River.
20
21
The region stretching from Springfield north to the
New Hampshire
and
Vermont
state borders fostered many agricultural Pocomtuc and
Nipmuc
settlements, with its soil enhanced by sedimentary deposits. Occasionally, these villages endured invasions from more aggressive confederated tribes living in
New York
, such as the
Mohawk
Mahican
, and
Iroquois
20
21
The
Pennacook
tribe mediated many early disagreements between colonists and other Indian tribes, with a territory stretching roughly from the
Massachusetts
border with Vermont and New Hampshire, northward to the rise of the
White Mountains
in New Hampshire.
22
The Western
Abenaki
Sokoki
) tribe lived in the
Green Mountains
region of Vermont but wintered as far south as the
Northfield, Massachusetts
, area. The (
Sokoki
) tribe migrated to Odanak, Quebec following the epidemics and the wars with the settlers but returned to Vermont.
23
24
25
26
27
1614–1636: Dutch and Puritan settlement
edit
In 1614,
Dutch
explorer
Adriaen Block
became the first European to chart the Connecticut River, sailing as far north as
Enfield Rapids
28
He called it the "Fresh River" and claimed it for the Netherlands as the northeastern border of the
New Netherland
Colony. In 1623, Dutch traders constructed a fortified trading post at the site of
Hartford, Connecticut
, called the
Fort Huys de Hoop
("Fort House of Hope").
29
Four separate
Puritan
-led groups also settled the fertile Connecticut River Valley, and they founded the two large cities that continue to dominate the Valley: Hartford (est. 1635) and Springfield (est. 1636). The first group of pioneers left the
Plymouth Colony
in 1632 and ultimately founded the village of Matianuck (which became
Windsor, Connecticut
) several miles north of the Dutch fort. A group left the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
from
Watertown
, seeking a site where they could practice their religion more freely. With this in mind, they founded
Wethersfield, Connecticut
, in 1633, several miles south of the Dutch fort at Hartford.
View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow
(1836) by
Thomas Cole
In 1635, Reverend
Thomas Hooker
led settlers from
Cambridge, Massachusetts
, where he had feuded with Reverend
John Cotton
, to the site in Connecticut of the Dutch Fort House of Hope, where he founded Newtowne.
29
Shortly after Hooker's arrival, Newtowne annexed Matianuck based on laws articulated in Connecticut's settlement charter, the Warwick Patent of 1631. The patent, however, had been physically lost, and the annexation was almost certainly illegal.
30
The fourth English settlement along the Connecticut River came out of a 1635 scouting party commissioned by
William Pynchon
to found a city on the river's most advantageous site for commerce and agriculture. Pynchon's Massachusetts scouts located the Pocomtuc village of Agawam, where the Bay Path trade route crossed the Connecticut River at two of its major tributaries—the Chicopee River to the east and the Westfield River to the west—and just north of Enfield Falls, the river's first unnavigable waterfall. Pynchon surmised that traders using any of these routes would have to dock and change vessels at his site, thereby granting the settlement a commercial advantage.
31
It was initially named Agawam Plantation and was allied with the settlements to the south that became the state of Connecticut.
31
In 1641, Springfield splintered off from the Hartford-based Connecticut Colony, allying itself with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. For decades, Springfield remained the Massachusetts Bay Colony's westernmost settlement, on the northern border of the Connecticut Colony.
Of these settlements, Hartford and Springfield quickly emerged as powers. By 1654, however, the success of these English settlements rendered the Dutch position untenable on the Connecticut River. A treaty moved the boundary westward between the Connecticut Colony and the New Netherland Colony to a point near
Greenwich
. The treaty allowed the Dutch to maintain their trading post at Fort Huys de Hoop, which they did until the 1664 British takeover of New Netherland.
Border disputes
edit
The Connecticut River Valley's central location, fertile soil, and abundant natural resources made it the target of centuries of border disputes, beginning with Springfield's defection from the Connecticut Colony in 1641, which brought the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the river. In 1640, the Massachusetts Bay Colony asserted jurisdiction over lands surrounding the river; however, Springfield remained politically independent until tensions with the Connecticut Colony were exacerbated by a final confrontation later that year.
31
The
Memorial Bridge
across the Connecticut River at
Springfield, Massachusetts
, the river's largest city
Hartford kept a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River at
Old Saybrook
for protection against the Pequot,
Wampanoag
, Mohegans, and the New Netherland Colony. After Springfield broke ties with the Colony, the remaining Connecticut settlements demanded that Springfield's ships pay tolls when passing the mouth of the river. The ships refused to pay this tax without representation at Connecticut's fort, but Hartford refused to grant it. In response, the Massachusetts Bay Colony solidified its friendship with Springfield by levying a toll on Connecticut Colony ships entering
Boston Harbor
. Connecticut was largely dependent on sea trade with Boston and therefore permanently dropped its tax on Springfield, but Springfield allied with Boston nonetheless, drawing the first state border across the Connecticut River.
31
The
Fort at Number 4
in
Charlestown, New Hampshire
, was the northernmost British colonial presence on the Connecticut River until the end of the
French and Indian War
in 1763. The
Abenaki
had resisted British colonial settlement for decades, but colonists began settling north of
Brattleboro, Vermont
, following the war.
32
Settlement of the Upper Connecticut River Valley increased quickly, with population assessments of 36,000 by 1790.
32
Vermont was claimed by both New Hampshire and
New York
, and was settled primarily through the
issuance of land grants
by New Hampshire Governor
Benning Wentworth
beginning in the 1740s.
33
New York protested these grants, and the
Board of Trade
decided in 1764 that the border between the provinces should be the western bank of the Connecticut River.
34
Ethan Allen, the
Green Mountain Boys
, and other residents of the disputed area resisted attempts by New York to exercise authority there, which resulted in the establishment of the independent
Vermont Republic
in 1777
35
and its eventual accession to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth state.
36
Boundary disputes between Vermont and New Hampshire lasted for nearly 150 years. They were finally settled in 1933, when the U.S. Supreme Court
reaffirmed King George's boundary
as the ordinary low-water mark on the Vermont shore. In some places, the state line is now inundated by the impoundments of dams built after this time.
37
The Treaty of Paris and the 19th century
edit
The Windsor Locks Canal Company at
Enfield Falls
, the Connecticut River's first major barrier to navigation
The
Treaty of Paris (1783)
that ended the
American Revolutionary War
created a new international border between New Hampshire and the
Province of Canada
at "northwesternmost headwaters of the Connecticut". Several streams fit this description, leading to a boundary dispute that resulted in the short-lived
Indian Stream Republic
, which existed from 1832 to 1835.
The broad, fertile Connecticut River Valley attracted agricultural settlers and colonial traders to Hartford, Springfield, and the surrounding region. The high volume and numerous falls of the river capable of powering mills and waterwheels led to the rise of industry along its banks during the
Industrial Revolution
. The cities of Springfield and Hartford, in particular, became centers of innovation and "intense and concentrated prosperity."
38
The Enfield Falls Canal was opened in 1829 to circumvent shallows around Enfield Falls, and the locks built for this canal gave their name to the town of
Windsor Locks, Connecticut
39
The Connecticut River Valley functioned as America's hub of technical innovation into the 20th century, particularly the cities of Springfield and Hartford, and thus attracted numerous railroad lines. The proliferation of the railroads in Springfield and Hartford greatly decreased the economic importance of the Connecticut River. Except for log drives that persisted into the early decades of the 20th century, the river has functioned largely as a center of wildlife and recreation from the late 1800s to today.
40
Log drives and the early 20th century
edit
The Oxbow
, Connecticut River, at
Northampton, Massachusetts
c.
1910
Starting about 1865,
41
the river was used for massive
logging drives
from
Third Connecticut Lake
to initially
water powered
sawmills
near Enfield Falls. Trees cut adjacent to tributary streams including
Perry Stream
and
Indian Stream
in
Pittsburg, New Hampshire
Halls Stream
on the
Quebec
–New Hampshire border,
Simms Stream
, the
Mohawk River
of New Hampshire, and the
Nulhegan River
basin in
Essex County, Vermont
, would be flushed into the main river by the release of water impounded behind
splash dams
. Several log drivers died trying to move logs through Perry Falls in Pittsburg. Teams of men would wait at
Canaan, Vermont
to protect the bridges from logjams. Men guided logs through a 400-foot (120 m) drop along the length of Fifteen-Mile Falls
41
(now submerged under
Moore
and
Comerford
reservoirs), and through Logan's Rips at Fitzdale, Mulligan's Lower Pitch, and Seven Islands. The
White River
from Vermont and the
Ammonoosuc River
from New Hampshire brought more logs into the Connecticut. A
log boom
was built between
Wells River, Vermont
, and
Woodsville, New Hampshire
, to hold the logs briefly and release them gradually to avoid jams in the
Ox Bow
section of river just downstream in
Haverhill
. Men detailed to this work utilized Woodsville's saloons and
red-light district
42
Some of the logs were destined for mills in
Wilder
and
Bellows Falls, Vermont
, while others were sluiced over the Bellows Falls dam.
North Walpole, New Hampshire
, contained twelve to eighteen saloons, patronized by the log drivers.
43
Mount Tom
was the landmark the log drivers used to gauge the distance to the final mills near
Holyoke, Massachusetts
44
These spring drives were stopped after 1915, when pleasure boat owners complained about the hazards to navigation.
45
A final drive in 1918 conducted to meet
World War I
pulp demand consisted of 100,000 cords of four-foot logs controlled by 500 workers, representing 65 million feet of logs.
41
The flood of 1936
edit
Main article:
1936 Northeastern United States flood
In March 1936, a combination of heavy winter snowfall, an early spring thaw, and torrential rains caused the Connecticut River to overflow its banks. Flooding destroyed numerous bridges and isolated hundreds of people who had to be rescued by boat.
The dam at
Vernon, Vermont
, was topped by 19 feet (5.8 m). Sandbagging by the National Guard and local volunteers helped prevent the dam's powerhouse from being overwhelmed, despite ice blocks breaking through the upstream walls.
46
In
Northampton, Massachusetts
, looting during the flood became a problem, prompting the mayor to deputize citizen patrols to protect flooded areas. Over 3,000 refugees from the area were housed in
Amherst College
and the
Massachusetts State Agricultural College
(today the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
).
Unprecedented ice jams compounded the problems created by the flood, diverting water into unusual channels and damming the river, further raising water levels. When the jam at
Hadley, Massachusetts
, gave way, the water crest overflowed the dam at
Holyoke
, overwhelming the sandbagging there. The village of
South Hadley Falls
was essentially destroyed, and the southern parts of Holyoke were severely damaged, with 500 refugees.
Downtown
Hartford, Connecticut
, during the 1936 flood
In Springfield, Massachusetts, 5 sq mi (13 km
), and 18 miles (29 km) of streets were flooded, and 20,000 people lost their homes. The city lost power, and nighttime looting caused the police to issue a "shoot on sight" edict; 800 National Guard troops were brought in to help maintain order. Rescue efforts using a flotilla of boats saved people trapped in upper stories of buildings, bringing them to local fraternal lodges, schools, churches, and monasteries for lodging, medical care, and food. The
American Red Cross
and local, state, and federal agencies, including the
WPA
and the
CCC
, contributed aid and workforce to the effort. Flooding of roads isolated the city for a time. When the water receded, it left behind silt-caused mud, which in places was 3 feet (1 m) thick; the recovery effort in Springfield, at the height of the American
Great Depression
, took approximately a decade.
Overall, the flood caused 171 deaths and US$500 million (US$11,600,000,000 with inflation
47
) in damages. Across the northeast, over 430,000 people were made homeless or destitute by flooding that year.
48
The Connecticut River Flood Control
Compact
between the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont was established in 1953 to help prevent serious flooding.
49
1936–present: Water supply
edit
The creation of the
Quabbin Reservoir
in the 1930s diverted the
Swift River
, which feeds the Chicopee River, a tributary of the Connecticut. This resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit by the state of Connecticut against the diversion of its riparian waters.
50
Demand for drinking water in eastern Massachusetts passed the sustainable supply from the existing system in 1969. Diverting water from the Connecticut River was considered several times,
51
but in 1986 the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
instead undertook a campaign of water conservation. Demand was reduced to sustainable levels by 1989, reaching approximately a 25% margin of safety by 2009.
52
Course
edit
The Connecticut River is the largest river ecosystem in New England. Its watershed spans Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, small portions of Maine, and the Canadian province of Quebec.
37
53
The Upper Connecticut River: New Hampshire and Vermont
edit
The
Connecticut Lakes
, the source of the Connecticut River, near the border of New Hampshire and Quebec
The upper Connecticut River Valley near
Lancaster, New Hampshire
, with
Mount Orne Covered Bridge
visible at bottom
Great Falls (Bellows Falls) at high flow under the
Vilas Bridge
, taken from the end of Bridge St on the Vermont side, looking upriver
The Connecticut River rises from
Fourth Connecticut Lake
, a small pond 300 yards (270 m) south of the
Canada–United States border
in the town of
Pittsburg, New Hampshire
, at an elevation of 2,670 feet (810 m) above sea level. It flows through the remaining
Connecticut Lakes
and
Lake Francis
for 14 miles (23 km), all within the town of Pittsburg, and then widens as it delineates 255 miles (410 km) of the border between New Hampshire and Vermont.
53
The river drops more than 2,480 feet (760 m) in elevation as it winds south to the border of Massachusetts where it sits 190 feet (58 m) above sea level.
37
54
The region along the river upstream and downstream from
Lebanon, New Hampshire
, and
White River Junction, Vermont
, is known as the "Upper Valley". The exact definition of the region varies, but it is generally considered to extend south to
Windsor, Vermont
, and
Cornish, New Hampshire
, and north to
Bradford, Vermont
, and
Piermont, New Hampshire
55
In 2001, the
Trust for Public Land
purchased 171,000 acres (690 km
) of land in New Hampshire from
International Paper
, allowing the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Partnership Task Force to plan the future protection of the land.
56
The property spans the towns of
Pittsburg
Clarksville
, and
Stewartstown, New Hampshire
, nearly 3 percent of the land in the state of New Hampshire.
57
The Trust for Public Land worked in partnership with the
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
The Nature Conservancy
of New Hampshire, and others to raise around $42 million.
56
conservation easement
over 146,000 acres (590 km
) of the property prohibits development of the land while allowing public access.
57
The forest is managed by the Lyme Timber Company, and the conservation easement over the land ensures sustainable forest management of the property.
57
The Middle Connecticut River: Massachusetts through central Connecticut
edit
Following the most recent
ice age
, the Middle Connecticut River Valley sat at the bottom of
Lake Hitchcock
. Its lush greenery and rich, almost rockless soil come from the ancient lake's sedimentary deposits.
58
In the Middle Connecticut region, the river reaches its maximum depth – 130 feet (40 m) – at
Gill, Massachusetts
, around the
French King Bridge
, and its maximum width – 2,100 feet (640 m) – at
Longmeadow
, directly across from the
Six Flags New England
amusement park.
37
59
The Connecticut's largest falls – South Hadley Falls – features a vertical drop of 58 feet (18 m).
Lush green forests and agricultural hamlets dot this middle portion of the Connecticut River; however, the region is best known for its numerous
college towns
, such as Northampton,
South Hadley
, and
Amherst
, as well as the river's most populous city, Springfield. The city sits atop bluffs beside the Connecticut's confluence with two major tributaries, the Chicopee River to the east and Westfield River to the west.
60
The region around the Connecticut River is known locally as the
Pioneer Valley
, and the name adorns many local civic organizations and local businesses. While the southern part of the valley in Massachusetts is heavily urbanized, the northern section is largely rural, and the local agriculture is well known for
Connecticut shade tobacco
The tides influence the Connecticut River as far north as Enfield Rapids in
Windsor Locks, Connecticut
, approximately 58 miles (93 km) north of the river's mouth. Two million residents live in the densely populated Hartford-Springfield region, which stretches roughly between the college towns of Amherst, Massachusetts, and Middletown, Connecticut. Hartford, the second-largest city and the only state capital on the river, is at the southern end of this region on an ancient floodplain that stretches to Middletown.
The Lower Connecticut River: Southern Connecticut to Long Island Sound
edit
15 miles (24 km) south of Hartford, at Middletown, the Lower Connecticut River section begins with a narrowing of the river, and then a sharp turn southeast. Throughout southern Connecticut, the Connecticut passes through a thinly populated, hilly, wooded region before again widening and discharging into
Long Island Sound
between Old Saybrook and
Old Lyme
in flat coastal marshlands. Due to the presence of large, shifting sandbars at its mouth, the Connecticut is the only major river in the Northeastern United States without a port at its mouth.
61
Mouth and tidelands
edit
Satellite image of the Connecticut River depositing silt into
Long Island Sound
The Connecticut River carries a heavy load of silt from as far north as Quebec, especially during spring snowmelt. This results in a large sandbar near the river's mouth, which is a formidable obstacle to navigation. The Connecticut is one of the few major rivers in the United States without a major city at its mouth because of this obstacle. Major cities on the Connecticut River are Hartford and Springfield, which lie 45 and 69 miles (70 and 110 km) upriver of each other.
The Nature Conservancy
named the Connecticut River's tidelands one of the Western Hemisphere's "40 Last Great Places", while the
Ramsar Convention
on Wetlands listed its estuary and tidal wetlands as one of 1,759 wetlands of international importance.
62
In 1997, the Connecticut River was designated one of only 14
American Heritage Rivers
, which recognized its "distinctive natural, economic, agricultural, scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational qualities." In May 2012, the Connecticut River was designated America's first National
Blueway
in recognition of the restoration and preservation efforts on the river.
Dams
edit
The Connecticut River's flow is slowed by main stem dams, which create a series of slow-flowing basins from Lake Francis Dam in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to the
Holyoke Dam
at
South Hadley
Falls in Massachusetts.
Among the most extensively dammed rivers in the United States, the Connecticut may soon flow at a more natural pace, according to scientists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who have devised a computer that – "in an effort to balance human and natural needs" – coordinates the holding and releasing of water between the river's 54 largest dams.
63
needs update
The Cabot and Turners Falls
hydroelectric
stations generate up to 68 MW.
64
The
Holyoke Canal System
and Hadley Falls Station at Holyoke Dam are rated a combined 48 MW.
65
Tributaries
edit
The Connecticut River watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km
) and connects 148 tributaries, including 38 major rivers and numerous lakes and ponds.
Major tributaries include (from north to south) the
Passumpsic
Ammonoosuc
White
Black
West
Ashuelot
Millers
Deerfield
Chicopee
Westfield
, and
Farmington
rivers. The
Swift River
, a tributary of the Chicopee, has been dammed and largely replaced by the Quabbin Reservoir which
provides water
to the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
district in eastern Massachusetts, including Boston and its
metropolitan area
Ecology
edit
Harbor seal in the Connecticut River, below the Holyoke Dam, following the shad run
Along its southern reaches, the Connecticut River has carved a wide, fertile floodplain valley (known in Massachusetts as the Pioneer Valley), depositing rich silt and loam soils known internationally for their agricultural merit. Abundant riparian hardwood species include sycamores,
cottonwood
, basswood, willows, sassafras, box elder, black elder, osier dogwood, and more. The river itself and its many tributaries are home to many typical New England freshwater species. These include
dace
crawfish
hellgramites
freshwater mussels
, typical frog species,
snapping turtles
brook trout
, freshwater sturgeon, catfish, walleye, chain pickerel, and carp. Introduced species include stocked
rainbow trout
. The river is an important conduit of many
anadromous
fish, such as
American shad
lamprey
, and
Atlantic salmon
American eels
are also present, as are predators of these migratory fish, including
striped bass
. Shad run as far north as Holyoke, Massachusetts, where they are lifted over the Holyoke Dam by a fish elevator. This station publishes annual statistics of the run and has recorded an occasional salmon. They pass an additional elevator in
Turners Falls, Massachusetts
, and make it at least as far as
Bellows Falls, Vermont
Harbor seals
have been recorded traveling upriver as far north as Holyoke in pursuit of migratory fish; it is possible that they ranged farther upstream before the dam was built.
66
In the southernmost portions of southern Connecticut near Long Island Sound,
dolphins
are spotted on occasion.
citation needed
There are 12 species of freshwater mussels.
67
Eleven of them occur in the mainstem of the Connecticut; the
brook floater
is found only in small streams and rivers. Species diversity is higher in the southern part of the watershed (Connecticut and Massachusetts) than in the northern part (Vermont and New Hampshire), largely due to differences in stream gradient and substrate. Eight of the 12 species in the watershed are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in one or more of the watershed's states.
67
Many
colonial
animal species make their home in the waters of the Connecticut. Deeper areas are habitats for a diversity of colonial organisms, including
bryozoa
. Freshwater
sponges
the size of dinner plates have been found by scuba divers at depths of more than 130 feet (40 m), thought to be the deepest location of the river, around the
French King Bridge
in Erving, Massachusetts. Mussels, eels, and
northern pike
were also observed there.
68
69
70
Fish
edit
Drift boat fishing guide working the river near
Colebrook, New Hampshire
There are several species of
anadromous
and catadromous fish, including
brook trout
winter flounder
blueback herring
alewife
rainbow trout
, large
brown trout
American shad
Alosa sapidissima
),
hickory shad
smallmouth bass
Atlantic sturgeon
striped bass
Morone saxatilis
),
American eel
sea lamprey
, and endangered shortnose sturgeon and dwarf wedgemussels.
71
Additionally, the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
has repopulated the river with another species of migratory fish, the
Atlantic salmon
, which for more than 200 years had been
extinct
from the river due to
damming
71
Several
fish ladders
and fish elevators have been built to allow fish to resume their natural migration upriver each spring.
Fresh and brackish water residents of the main branch and tributaries include
common carp
white catfish
brown bullhead
fallfish
yellow perch
smallmouth bass
largemouth bass
northern pike
chain pickerel
bluegill
pumpkinseed sunfish
golden shiner
, and
rock bass
72
Much of the beginning of the river's course in the town of Pittsburg is occupied by the Connecticut Lakes, which contain
lake trout
and
landlocked salmon
. Landlocked salmon make their way into the river during spring spawning runs of
bait fish
and during their fall spawn. The river has fly-fishing-only regulations on 5 miles (8 km) of river. Most of the river from Lake Francis south is open to both lures and bait. Two tailwater dams provide cold river water for miles downstream, making for bountiful summer fishing on the Connecticut.
After the first major dam was built near
Turners Falls, Massachusetts
, thirteen additional dams have ended the Connecticut River's great anadromous fish runs. Salmon restoration efforts began in 1967,
73
and fish ladders at a fish elevator at Hadley Falls have since enabled migrating fish to return to some of their former spawning grounds. In addition to dams, warm water discharges between 1978 and 1992 from
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
in Vernon, Vermont, released water up to 105 °F (41 °C) degrees, with the thermal plume reaching 55 miles (89 km) downstream as far as Holyoke. This thermal pollution appears to be associated with an 80% decline in American shad fish numbers from 1992 to 2005 at Holyoke Dam. This decline may have been exacerbated by over-fishing in the mid-Atlantic and predation from resurging striped bass populations. The nuclear plant was closed at the end of 2014, after which the shad population has increased.
74
Economy
edit
Boating
edit
The mouth of the river up to
Essex
is thought to be one of the busiest stretches of waterway in Connecticut. Some local police departments and the state Environmental Conservation Police patrol the area a few times a week. Some towns keep boats available if needed.
75
In Massachusetts, the most active stretch of the Connecticut River is centered on
the Oxbow
, 14 miles (23 km) north of Springfield in the college town of Northampton.
76
Camping is available along much of the river, for non-motorized boats, via the Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail. The Paddlers' Trail currently includes campsites on over 300 miles (480 km) of the river.
77
Pollution and cleanup
edit
Riverbank restoration
project in
Fairlee, Vermont
The
Water Quality Act
of 1965 had a major impact on controlling
water pollution
in the Connecticut River and its tributaries.
Since then, the river has been restored from Class D to Class B (fishable and swimmable).
78
79
Many towns along the Lower Connecticut River have enacted a cap on further
development
along the banks, so that no buildings may be constructed except on existing foundations. Currently, a website provides
water quality
reports twice a week, indicating whether various portions of the river are safe for swimming, boating, and fishing.
80
81
Lists
edit
Populated places
edit
Main article:
List of populated places on the Connecticut River
Tributaries
edit
Listed from south to north by location of mouth:
Black Hall River
Old Lyme, CT
Falls River
Essex, CT
Eightmile River
Hamburg, CT
Deep River
Deep River, CT
Salmon River
Moodus, CT
Mattabesset River
Middletown, CT
Hockanum River
East Hartford
and
Hartford, CT
Park River
Hartford, CT
Farmington River
Windsor, CT
Scantic River
South Windsor, CT
Westfield River
West Springfield
and
Springfield, MA
Mill River
Springfield, MA
Chicopee River
Chicopee
and
Springfield, MA
Manhan River
The Oxbow
of
Northampton, MA
Mill River
Northampton, MA
Fort River
Hadley, MA
Mill River
Hatfield, MA
Mill River
Amherst, MA
Sawmill River
Montague, MA
Deerfield River
Deerfield
and
Greenfield, MA
Fall River
Greenfield
and
Gill, MA
Millers River
Millers Falls, MA
Ashuelot River
Hinsdale, NH
Whetstone Brook
Brattleboro, VT
West River
Brattleboro, VT
Partridge Brook
Westmoreland, NH
Cold River
Walpole, NH
Saxtons River
Westminster, VT
Williams River
Rockingham, VT
Black River
Springfield, VT
Little Sugar River
Charlestown, NH
Sugar River
Claremont, NH
Blow-me-down Brook
Cornish, NH
Ottauquechee River
Hartland, VT
Mascoma River
West Lebanon, NH
White River
White River Junction, VT
Mink Brook
Hanover, NH
Ompompanoosuc River
Norwich, VT
Waits River
Bradford, VT
Oliverian Brook
Haverhill, NH
Wells River
Wells River, VT
Ammonoosuc River
Woodsville, NH
Stevens River
Barnet, VT
Passumpsic River
Barnet, VT
Johns River
Dalton, NH
Israel River
Lancaster, NH
Upper Ammonoosuc River
Northumberland, NH
Paul Stream
Brunswick, VT
Nulhegan River
Bloomfield, VT
Simms Stream
Columbia, NH
Mohawk River
Colebrook, NH
Halls Stream
Beecher Falls, VT
Indian Stream
Pittsburg, NH
Perry Stream
Pittsburg, NH
Near
First Connecticut Lake
Near
Colebrook, New Hampshire
Looking north from the
French King Bridge
at the
Erving
Gill
town line in
western Massachusetts
Mist upstream of the
Bissell Bridge
between
Windsor
and
South Windsor, CT
View of Connecticut River downstream from
Hartford
as seen from
East Hartford
Founders Bridge
in
Hartford
, with a view of the
Bulkeley Bridge
upstream
The river near its mouth
Crossings
edit
For a more comprehensive list, see
List of crossings of the Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is a barrier to travel between western and eastern New England. Several major transportation corridors cross the river including
Amtrak
's
Northeast Corridor
Interstate 95
Connecticut Turnpike
),
Interstate 90
Massachusetts Turnpike
),
Interstate 89
Interstate 93
, and
Interstate 84
. In addition,
Interstate 91
, whose route largely follows the river, crosses it twice – once in Connecticut and once in Massachusetts.
In literature
edit
Lydia Sigourney
's poem
"Connecticut River"
was first published in her 1834 poetry collection.
82
A later poem,
"Passage up the Connecticut"
, was published in 1845,
83
together with a description of a journey along the river.
83
Wallace Stevens
, one of America's most important 20th-century poets, lived in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was vice-president of the Hartford Insurance Co. He composed many of his poems, including "The River of Rivers in Connecticut", on his 2.4-mile daily walk to and from his office.
84
See also
edit
New Hampshire portal
Equivalent Lands
The Great Attack
, the burning of American ships on the Connecticut River at Essex in 1814
History of Connecticut
Lake Connecticut
, post-glacial predecessor to Lake Hitchcock
Lake Hitchcock
, post-glacial predecessor to the Connecticut River
List of rivers of Connecticut
List of rivers of Massachusetts
List of rivers of New Hampshire
List of rivers of Vermont
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Further reading
edit
Bacon, Edwin M. (1906).
The Connecticut River and the Valley of the Connecticut: Three Hundred and Fifty Miles from Mountain to Sea
. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
LCC
F12.C7 B2
Braden, Al (2009).
The Connecticut River: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of New England
. Middletown CT: Wesleyan University Press.
ISBN
978-0-8195-6895-3
Delany, Edmund Thomas (1983).
The Connecticut River: New England's Historic Waterway
. The Globe Pequot Press.
ISBN
978-0-87106-980-1
Hard, Walter R. (1947).
The Connecticut (Rivers of America)
. New York, Toronto: Rinehart & Company, Inc.
ISBN
0-932691-27-7
LCC
F12.C7 H3
{{
cite book
}}
ISBN / Date incompatibility (
help
Roth, Randolph A. (2003).
The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791–1850
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-31773-3
Vogel, Eve; Lacey, Alexandra (2012).
"The New Deal Versus Yankee Independence: The Failure of Comprehensive Development on the Connecticut River, and Its Long-Term Consequences"
(PDF)
Northeastern Geographer
(2):
65–
94.
Wardner, Henry Steele (1927).
The Birthplace of Vermont: A History of Windsor to 1781
. New York: Scribner's.
ASIN
B00086X8BY
LCCN
27014536
External links
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Connecticut River
"Connecticut River"
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911.
Connecticut River Watershed Council
Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission
Connecticut River Museum
Connecticut Riverfest
Upper Valley Trails Alliance
Connecticut River Joint Commissions
Tri-state Connecticut River Watershed Initiative
"Connecticut, a river of the United States"
Collier's New Encyclopedia
. 1921.
Connecticut River
watershed
Tributaries
Connecticut
Blackledge River
Coginchaug River
Connecticut River
Duck River
Eightmile River
Falls River
Farmington River
Hockanum River
Hubbard River
Jeremy River
Lieutenant River
Mattabesset River
Nepaug River
Pameacha Creek
Park River
Pequabuck River
Salmon River
Scantic River
Massachusetts
Burnshirt River
Chapel Brook
Chicopee River
Connecticut River
Cranberry River
Deerfield River
East Brookfield River
Farmington River
Fall River
Five Mile River
Green River
Hubbard River
Manhan River
Mill River (Northampton)
Mill River (Springfield)
Millers River
Mirey Brook
North Branch Millers River
North Branch Westfield River
North River
Otter River
Quaboag River
Scantic River
Seven Mile River
Tarbell Brook
Ware River
Westfield River
New Hampshire
Ammonoosuc River
Ashuelot River
Blow-me-down Brook
The Branch
Cold River
Connecticut River
East Branch Mohawk River
Gale River
Great Brook
Halls Stream
Ham Branch
Indian River
Indian Stream
Israel River
Johns River
Knox River
Little River
Little Sugar River
Mascoma River
Millers River
Mink Brook
Mirey Brook
Mohawk River
Nash Stream
North Branch Gale River
North Branch Millers River
North Branch Sugar River
North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River
Oliverian Brook
Otter Brook
Partridge Brook
Perry Stream
Phillips Brook
Simms Stream
South Branch Ashuelot River
South Branch Gale River
South Branch Israel River
South Branch Sugar River
Stocker Brook
Sugar River
Tarbell Brook
Upper Ammonoosuc River
West Branch Mohawk River
West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River
Wild Ammonoosuc River
Zealand River
Vermont
Black River
Connecticut River
Deerfield River
Fall River
Green River
Halls Stream
Leach Creek
Moose River
Nulhegan River
Ompompanoosuc River
Ottauquechee River
Passumpsic River
Rock River
Saxtons River
Utley Brook
Waits River
Wells River
West River
Whetstone Brook
White River
Williams River
Winhall River
Lakes
Connecticut
Barkhamsted Reservoir
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Massachusetts
Brooks Pond
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New Hampshire
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Back Lake
Canaan Street Lake
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Christine Lake
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Connecticut Lakes
Crystal Lake
Dublin Pond
Eastman Pond
Echo Lake
Lake Francis (Murphy Dam)
Goose Pond
Grafton Pond
Granite Lake
Lakes of the Clouds
Little Sunapee Lake
Mascoma Lake
McIndoes Reservoir
Lake Monomonac
Moore Reservoir
Pearly Lake
Silver Lake
Spofford Lake
Lake Sunapee
Surry Mountain Lake
Lake Tarleton
Vermont
Ball Mountain Lake
Comerford Reservoir
Harriman Reservoir
Harvey's Lake
McIndoes Reservoir
Moore Reservoir
North Hartland Lake
Lake Rescue
Townshend Lake
Towns
Connecticut
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Deep River
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Springfield
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Whately
New Hampshire
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Chesterfield
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Lemington
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Newbury
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Ranger Bridge
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Sunderland Bridge
Vietnam Memorial Bridge
Wells River Bridge
Willimansett Bridge
American Heritage Rivers
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Blackstone
and
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Connecticut
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Detroit
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New
Rio Grande
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and
Lackawanna
Willamette
Ramsar sites in the United States
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Bad River Slough
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Bolinas Lagoon
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge
Caddo Lake
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
Catahoula Lake
Chesapeake Bay
Cheyenne Bottoms
Congaree National Park
Connecticut River
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Delaware Bay
Dixon Waterfowl Refuge
Elkhorn Slough
Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge
Everglades National Park
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Francis Beidler Forest
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Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve
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Kakagon Sloughs
Kawainui Marsh
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Palmyra Atoll
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San Francisco Bay
Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge
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Tomales Bay
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
White River National Wildlife Refuge
Rivers of Connecticut
by
drainage system
Long Island Sound
Black Rock Harbor
Ash Creek
Rooster River
Bridgeport Harbor
Pequonnock River
Connecticut River
Watershed
Blackledge River
Coginchaug River
Connecticut River
Duck River
Eightmile River
Falls River
Farmington River
Hockanum River
Hubbard River
Jeremy River
Lieutenant River
Mattabesset River
Nepaug River
Pameacha Creek
Park River
Pequabuck River
Podunk River
Salmon River
Scantic River
Housatonic River
Watershed
Blackberry River
East Aspetuck River
Housatonic River
Konkapot River
Mad River
Naugatuck River
Pomperaug River
Rocky River
Schenob Brook
Shepaug River
Still River
Ten Mile River
Whiting River
Little Narragansett Bay
Pawcatuck River
Watershed)
Ashaway River
Green Fall River
Pawcatuck River
Shunock River
Wood River
Milford Harbor
Wepawaug River
New Haven Harbor
Mill River
Quinnipiac River
West River
Norwalk Harbor
Norwalk River
Watershed)
Norwalk River
Silvermine River
Saugatuck River
Watershed
Aspetuck River
Saugatuck River
Thames River
Watershed
Basset Brook
Beaver Brook
Bigelow Brook
Fenton River
Fishers Brook
Five Mile River
French River
Hop River
Little River
Merrick Brook
Moosup River
Mount Hope River
Natchaug River
Oxoboxo River
Pachaug River
Quinebaug River
Shetucket River
Thames River
Willimantic River
Yantic River
Others
Black Hall River
Byram River
Cove River
Farm River
Hammonasset River
Indian River
Mianus River
Mill River (Fairfield)
Mystic River
Niantic River
Noroton River
Oyster River
Rippowam River
Upper New York Bay
Hudson River
Watershed
Titicus River
Rivers of Massachusetts
by
drainage system
Atlantic Ocean
Buzzards Bay
Acushnet River
Agawam River
Back River
Copicut River
Crooked River
Mattapoisett River
Nasketucket River
Paskamanset River
Pocasset River
Sippican River
Slocums River
Wankinco River
Westport River
Weweantic River
Nantucket Sound
Bass River
Bumps River
Childs River
Coonamesset River
Mashpee River
Mitchell River
Oyster Pond River
Popponesset Creek
Quashnet River
Santuit River
Others
Tiasquam River
Gulf of Maine
Cape Cod Bay
Bluefish River
Eel River
Herring River
Jones River
Little Pamet River
Pamet River
Town Brook
Massachusetts Bay
Aberjona River
Alewife Brook
Canton River
Charles River
Chelsea Creek
Cochato River
Fore River
Fresh River
Indian Head River
Malden River
Millers River
Monatiquot River
Muddy River
Mystic River
Neponset River
North River
Saugus River
Stony Brook (Boston)
Stony Brook (Waltham)
Stop River
Weir River
Weymouth Back River
Merrimack River
Watershed
Artichoke River
Assabet River
Back River
Beaver Brook
Cochichewick River
Concord River
Little River
Merrimack River
Nashua River
Nissitissit River
North Nashua River
Phillips Brook
Powwow River
Quinapoxet River
Salmon Brook
Shawsheen River
Souhegan River
South Branch Souhegan River
South Nashua River
Spicket River
Squannacook River
Stillwater River
Sudbury River
Trout Brook
Vine Brook
Whitman River
Others
Annisquam River
Blackwater River
Eagle Hill River
Egypt River
Ipswich River
Jericho Creek
Roger Island River
Rowley River
Skug River
Long Island Sound
Connecticut River
Watershed
Burnshirt River
Chapel Brook
Chicopee River
Connecticut River
Cranberry River
Deerfield River
East Brookfield River
Farmington River
Fall River
Five Mile River
Green River
Hubbard River
Manhan River
Mill River (Northampton)
Mill River (Springfield)
Millers River
Mirey Brook
North Branch Millers River
North Branch Westfield River
North River
Otter River
Quaboag River
Scantic River
Seven Mile River
Tarbell Brook
Ware River
Westfield River
Housatonic River
Watershed
Housatonic River
Konkapot River
Schenob Brook
Umpachene River
Thames River
Watershed
French River
Quinebaug River
Narragansett Bay
Mount Hope Bay
Taunton River
Watershed)
Assonet River
Canoe River
Cedar Swamp River
Cocasset River
Cotley River
Forge River
Hockomock River
Matfield River
Mill River
Nemasket River
Poor Meadow Brook
Quequechan River
Rumford River
Salisbury Plain River
Satucket River
Segreganset River
Shumatuscacant River
Snake River
Taunton River
Three Mile River
Town River
Wading River
Winnetuxet River
Providence River
Watershed
Abbott Run
Blackstone River
Bungay River
Chockalog River
Mill River
Mumford River
Peters River
Quinsigamond River
Sevenmile River
Tannery River
Ten Mile River
West River
Wilde River
Others
Barrington River
Cole River
Coles Brook
Kickemuit River
Lees River
Palmer River
Runnins River
Upper New York Bay
Hudson River
Watershed
Hoosic River
Kinderhook Creek
Rivers of New Hampshire
by
drainage system
Gulf of Maine
Atlantic coastal
tributaries
Blackwater River
Browns River
Drakes River
Hampton River
Hampton Falls River
Little River
Old River
Taylor River
Merrimack River
watershed
Baboosic Brook
Back River
Baker River
Bear Brook
Beards Brook
Beaver Brook
Beebe River
Big River
Black Brook
Blackwater River
Cockermouth River
Cohas Brook
Contoocook River
East Branch Baker River
East Branch Pemigewasset River
Fowler River
Frazier Brook
Gridley River
Gunstock River
Lane River
Little River (Big River)
Little River (Merrimack River)
Little Massabesic Brook-Sucker Brook
Little Suncook River
Lost River
Mad River
Melvin River
Merrimack River
Merrymeeting River
Middle Branch Piscataquog River
Moosilauke Brook
Nashua River
Newfound River
Nissitissit River
North Branch Contoocook River
North Fork East Branch Pemigewasset River
Nubanusit Brook
Pemigewasset River
Pennichuck Brook
Piscataquog River
Powwow River
Purgatory Brook
Red Hill River
Salmon Brook
Shedd Brook
Smith River
Soucook River
Souhegan River
South Branch Baker River
South Branch Piscataquog River
South Branch Souhegan River
Spicket River
Squam River
Stony Brook
Suncook River
Tioga River
Turkey River
Warner River
West Branch Mad River
West Branch Souhegan River
West Branch Warner River
Winnipesaukee River
Merrymeeting Bay
Androscoggin River
watershed)
Androscoggin River
Chickwolnepy Stream
Clear Stream
Dead River
Dead Diamond River
East Branch Dead Diamond River
Little Dead Diamond River
Little Magalloway River
Magalloway River
Middle Branch Dead Diamond River
Middle Branch Little Magalloway River
Mollidgewock Brook
Moose Brook
Moose River
Peabody River
Rattle River
South Branch Little Dead Diamond River
Swift Diamond River
West Branch Dead Diamond River
West Branch Little Dead Diamond River
West Branch Little Magalloway River
West Branch Magalloway River
West Branch Peabody River
Wild River
Piscataqua River
watershed
Bean River
Bellamy River
Berrys River
Branch River
Bunker Creek
Cochecho River
Ela River
Exeter River
Fresh River
Isinglass River
Jones Brook
Lamprey River
Little River (Brentwood)
Little River (Exeter)
Little River (Lamprey River)
Mad River
North River
North Branch River
Oyster River
Pawtuckaway River
Piscassic River
Piscataqua River
Rattlesnake River
Salmon Falls River
Squamscott River
Winnicut River
Saco Bay
Saco River
watershed)
Bearcamp River
Beech River
Chocorua River
Cold River (Bearcamp River)
Cold River
Cutler River
Dan Hole River
Deer River
Dry River
East Branch Saco River
East Branch Whiteface River
East Fork East Branch Saco River
Ellis River
Little Cold River
Lovell River
Mad River
Middle Branch Mad River
Mill Brook
New River
Ossipee River
Pequawket Brook
Pine River
Rocky Branch
Saco River
Sawyer River
Shepards River
South River
South Branch Mad River
Swift River (Bearcamp River)
Swift River (Saco River)
West Branch
Whiteface River
Wildcat Brook
Wonalancet River
Long Island Sound
Connecticut River
watershed
Ammonoosuc River
Ashuelot River
Blow-me-down Brook
The Branch
Cold River
Connecticut River
East Branch Mohawk River
Gale River
Great Brook
Halls Stream
Ham Branch
Indian River
Indian Stream
Israel River
Johns River
Knox River
Little River
Little Sugar River
Mascoma River
Millers River
Mink Brook
Mirey Brook
Mohawk River
Nash Stream
North Branch Gale River
North Branch Millers River
North Branch Sugar River
North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River
Oliverian Brook
Otter Brook
Partridge Brook
Perry Stream
Phillips Brook
Simms Stream
South Branch Ashuelot River
South Branch Gale River
South Branch Israel River
South Branch Sugar River
Stocker Brook
Sugar River
Tarbell Brook
Upper Ammonoosuc River
West Branch Mohawk River
West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River
Wild Ammonoosuc River
Zealand River
Rivers of Vermont
by
drainage system
Connecticut River
Watershed
Black River
Connecticut River
Deerfield River
Fall River
Green River
Halls Stream
Leach Creek
Moose River
Nulhegan River
Ompompanoosuc River
Ottauquechee River
Passumpsic River
Rock River
Saxtons River
Utley Brook
Waits River
Wells River
West River
Whetstone Brook
White River
Williams River
Winhall River
Hudson River
Watershed
Batten Kill
Hoosic River
Walloomsac River
Saint Lawrence River
Watershed
Barton River
Black River
Brownington Branch
Browns River
Coaticook River
Cold River
Clyde River
Jail Branch River
Johns River
Lamoille River
Lemon Fair River
Mad River
Mettawee River
Mill River
Missisquoi River
Otter Creek
Pherrins River
Poultney River
Rock River
Stevens Branch
Tomifobia River
Willoughby River
Winooski River
Coastal
waterbodies
of
Connecticut
Bays
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Ziegler's Cove
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Black Rock Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor
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New Haven Harbor
Norwalk Harbor
River mouths
Black Hall River
Byram River
Connecticut River
Farm River
Hammonasset River
Housatonic River
Mianus River
Mill River (Fairfield)
Mystic River
Niantic River
Noroton River
Oyster River
Rippowam River
Saugatuck River
Thames River
Sounds
Long Island Sound
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Categories
Connecticut River
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New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin
Northern Forest Canoe Trail
Ramsar sites in the United States
Rivers of Connecticut
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