Housatonic River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Housatonic River | |
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 Looking south down the Housatonic River towards the I-95 bridge in Milford, CT.
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| Country | USA |
| States | Connecticut, Massachusetts |
| Counties | Fairfield, CT, Litchfield, CT, Berkshire, MA |
| Major city | Pittsfield, MA |
| Length | 149 mi (240 km) |
| Watershed | 1,948 mi² (5,045 km²) |
| Discharge | Stevenson, CT |
| - average | 4,700 ft³/s (133 m³/s) |
| - maximum | 48,600 ft³/s (1,376 m³/s) |
| - minimum | 54 ft³/s (2 m³/s) |
| Discharge elsewhere | |
| - Great Barrington, MA | 767 ft³/s (22 m³/s) |
| Source | Muddy Pond |
| - location | Pittsfield, MA, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | 1,440 ft (439 m) |
| Mouth | Long Island Sound |
| - location | Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
 Housatonic River watershed
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The Housatonic River is a river, approximately 149 mi (240 km) long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about 1,950 square miles of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound. Its watershed is just to the west of the watershed of the lower Connecticut River.
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[edit] Geography
The Housatonic rises from four sources in far western Massachusetts in the Berkshire Mountains near the city of Pittsfield. It flows southward through western Massachusetts through the Berkshires and into western Connecticut, and empties into Long Island Sound between the towns of Stratford and Milford.
The river's total fall is 1430 feet (959 feet from the confluence of its east and west branches). Its major tributaries are the Williams, Green and Konkapot Rivers in Massachusetts, the Tenmile River in New York, and the Shepaug, Pomperaug, Naugatuck, and Still Rivers in Connecticut. It receives the Naugatuck River at Derby, Connecticut, and the Still River south of New Milford, Connecticut.
The river is impounded in several places in Connecticut for hydroelectricity.
[edit] History
The river's name comes from the Mohican phrase "usi-a-di-en-uk", translated as "beyond the mountain place".[1]
Inspired by the river during his honeymoon, the American classical music composer Charles Ives wrote The Housatonic at Stockbridge as part of his composition Three Places in New England.
Until 1977 the river received PCB pollution from the General Electric plant at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Although the water quality has improved in recent decades, the river continues to be contaminated by PCBs.
There is an American Nuclear Test of the same name, although it is not known if the name came from the river or some other source.
The United State Navy named a ship for the Housatonic river. The USS Housatonic has the distinction of being the first ship in history to be sunk by a submarine, the confederate vessel CSS H.L. Hunley.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Watershed map
- Housatonic River Initiativer-Riverkeeper
- Housatonic River Restoration
- Housatonic Valley Association
- Charles Ives' Three Places in New England
[edit] Online maps and aerial photos
Mouth or other endpoint (Long Island Sound)
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Street map from MapQuest
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps
- Other maps and aerial photos
Source (Muddy Pond)
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Street map from MapQuest
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps
- Other maps and aerial photos
