The 'Connecticut River' is the largest
river in
New England, flowing south from the
Connecticut Lakes in northern
New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and
Vermont, through
Western Massachusetts and central
Connecticut into
Long Island Sound at
Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a total length of 407 miles (640
km), and a drainage basin extending over 11,250
mi² (29,138
km²). The mean freshwater discharge into
Long Island Sound is 19,600 cubic feet (588 m³) per second. The river is tidal up to
Windsor Locks, approximately 100 river km (60 miles) from the mouth. The source of the Connecticut River is the
Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. Some tributaries include the
Ashuelot,
West, Miller's, Mill,
Deerfield, White, and Chicopee rivers. (The
Swift River, a tributary of the Chicopee, has been largely replaced by the
Quabbin Reservoir which
provides water to
Boston.)
The river carries a heavy amount of
silt, especially during the spring snow melt, from as far north as
Quebec. The heavy silt concentration of the river forms a large
sandbar near its mouth on Long Island Sound and has historically provided a formidable obstacle to navigation. The difficulty of navigation on the river is the primary reason that it is one of the few large rivers in the region without a major city near its mouth. The Connecticut River estuary and tidal wetlands complex is listed as one of the 1616 wetlands of international importance under the
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
History
The Oxbow, Connecticut River near Northampton, 1836, by
Thomas Cole
The river's name is the French corruption of the
Algonquian word "quinetucket" and means ''long tidal river''. The first European to see the river was the
Dutch explorer
Adriaen Block in
1614. As a result of this exploration, the Dutch named the Connecticut River the "Fresh River", and it was the northeastern limits of the 'New Netherlands' colony, and the original border between 'New Netherlands' and 'New England'. The first
English colonist to record his visit was
Edward Winslow from the
Plymouth Colony in
1632. In
1633 the English built a trading post on the site of
Windsor, Connecticut, and the Dutch built one with a fort at the site of
Hartford, Connecticut. As the number of English colonists increased, the Dutch abandoned their enterprise in
1654. The
Fort at Number 4, now
Charlestown, New Hampshire, was the northernmost English settlement on the river until the end of the
French and Indian War in
1763. In the
Treaty of Paris (1783), ending the
American Revolutionary War, the new border between New Hampshire and what was to become the
Province of Canada was defined to include the "northwesternmost headwaters of the Connecticut" . Because there are several streams that could fit that description, a boundary dispute led to the short-lived
Indian Stream Republic, which existed from 1832 to 1835.
At first the broad, fertile valley attracted agricultural colonies, but the volume and fall of the river contributed to the rise of manufacturing in the valley. The greatest single drop of 58
feet (17.67
meters) is at
Holyoke, Massachusetts. Other important centers include Windsor and Hartford in Connecticut,
Springfield, Massachusetts, the largest city on the river,
Lebanon, New Hampshire, and
Brattleboro, Vermont.
The Connecticut River as seen near its mouth.
In
1829 the
Enfield Falls Canal was opened to circumvent shallows on the Connecticut River. The locks built for this canal gave their name to the town of
Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
[1]
In the late 1800s the river was used for massive logging drives from the far north, particularly the Nullhegan River basin in
Essex County, Vermont. These spring drives were stopped after 1915, when pleasure boat owners complained about the hazards to navigation.
[2]
The Connecticut River Flood Control Compact was established in
1953 in response to severe flooding.
The
Clean Water Act in
1965 has also had a major impact on the Connecticut River and its tributaries; since then, the river has been restored from Class D to Class B. It was designated as one of the
American Heritage Rivers in 1997. The towns along the lower end of the river have enacted a cap on further development along the banks, so that no buildings may be constructed except on existing foundations.
Fish
The Connecticut River is a habitat to several species of
anadromous fish, including the
American shad,
American eel,
Striped Bass and the
Sea lamprey. The
United States Fish and Wildlife Service is undertaking an effort to repopulate the river with another species of migratory fish, the
Atlantic salmon. For more than 200 years, Atlantic salmon have been
extinct from the river due to
damming. Several
fish ladders and fish elevators have been built to allow fish to resume their natural migration upriver each spring.
Boating
The mouth of the river up to
Essex is thought to be the busiest stretch of waterway in Connecticut. Neither local police departments nor the state Environmental Conservation Police patrol the area extensively (often only a few times a week). Several towns have no patrols at all, others keep boats available if needed.
[3]
Angling the Connecticut
The In-Between-Waters of the Trophy Stretch of the Connecticut River near 1st Connecticut Lake, New Hampshire
Drift Boat Fishing Guide working the Connecticut River near Colebrook, New Hampshire
The headwaters of the Connecticut River are at the northern tip of New Hampshire, near the
Canadian border. Much of the beginning of the river's course in the town of
Pittsburg is occupied by the
Connecticut Lakes, a chain of deep, cold water lakes that are home to
lake trout and
landlocked salmon.
The river itself holds native
brook trout,
rainbow trout, and large
brown trout. 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 five miles (8 km) of river. Most of the river from
Lake Francis south is open to lure and bait as well. Two tail-water dams provide cold river water for miles downstream making summer fishing on the Connecticut River excellent. The river also holds some of the states biggest carp, ranging from low teens to reports of mid 40's.
Water quality testing project
A program of water testing is in the preparation stages. Water samples will be drawn three days a week at three locations: in the Greenfield area, below the Holyoke Dam in the Chicopee-Springfield area, and in the White River heartland area of Vermont. The results of the testing will be on a yet-to-be-created website up to 48 hours after samples are collected, due to the time required to evaluate the samples.
[4]
Tributaries
Listed from south to north by location of mouth:
Crossings
Main articles: List of crossings of the Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is major barrier to travel between western and eastern New England. Several major transportation corridors that cross the river are
Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor,
Interstate 95 (
Connecticut Turnpike) and
Interstate 90 (
Massachusetts Turnpike).
See also
★
History of Connecticut
★
List of Connecticut rivers
★
List of Massachusetts rivers
★
List of New Hampshire rivers
★
List of Vermont rivers
References
1. Connecticut Heritage (Dorothy A. DeBisschop). ''The Canal at Windsor Locks''. Retrieved January 20 2006.
2. The History of Logging in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, Wheeler, Scott, , , The Kingdom Historical, September 2002,
3. [1]Kaplan, Thomas, "River Watchers, Tackling Speeders and Thin Budgets", article in ''The New York Times'', Metro section, August 30, 2007, accessed same day
4. Daily Hampshire Gazette article
External links
★
Connecticut River Watershed Council
★
The Connecticut River Museum
★
Connecticut Riverfest
★
Upper Valley Trails Alliance
★
Connecticut River Joint Commissions
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