Connecticut River

Connecticut River
The Connecticut River seen from behind Gillette Castle in Lyme, Connecticut
River map, with major tributaries and selected dams
Native nameKwenitegok (Abenaki)[1]
Location
CountryUnited States
RegionNew England
StateConnecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire
CitiesSpringfield, Massachusetts, Hartford, Connecticut
Physical characteristics
SourceFourth Connecticut Lake
 • locationCoos County, New Hampshire, United States
 • coordinates45°14′53″N 71°12′51″W / 45.24806°N 71.21417°W / 45.24806; -71.21417
 • elevation2,660 ft (810 m)
MouthLong Island Sound
 • location
Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Connecticut[2]
 • coordinates
41°16′20″N 72°20′03″W / 41.27222°N 72.33417°W / 41.27222; -72.33417
Length410 mi (660 km)
Basin size11,260 sq mi (29,200 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationThompsonville, Connecticut
 • average18,400 cu ft/s (520 m3/s)
 • minimum968 cu ft/s (27.4 m3/s)
 • maximum282,000 cu ft/s (8,000 m3/s)
Discharge 
 • locationWest Lebanon, New Hampshire
 • average6,600 cu ft/s (190 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftChicopee River
 • rightWhite River
Protection status
Official nameConnecticut River Estuary and Tidal River Wetlands Complex
DesignatedOctober 14, 1994
Reference no.710[3]
Connecticut River
 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.[4] Its watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km2), covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, composed of 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers.[5] It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water,[5] discharging at 18,400 cubic feet (520 m3) per second.[6]

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.[7]

  1. ^ Michael J. Caduto (November 30, 2015). "With Cooler Water, Better Prospects for Shad Migration?". Northern Woodlands Magazine. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  2. ^ "Connecticut River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ "Connecticut River Estuary and Tidal River Wetlands Complex". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Linda Brughelli (October 28, 2014). "Essex - Connecticut". BBC Local: Essex. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Watershed Facts". Connecticut River Watershed Council. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 01184000". waterdata.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "About the River". Connecticutriver.us. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
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