Everything about Housatonic River totally explained
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 of southwestern
New England into
Long Island Sound. Its
watershed is just to the west of the watershed of the lower
Connecticut River.
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.
Five dams impounded the river in Connecticut to produce
hydroelectricity, the Falls Village, Bulls Bridge, Shepaug, Stevenson and Derby dams. The last three dams form a chain of lakes,
Candlewood Lake, Lake Lillinonah, Lake Zoar and Lake Housatonic, from
New Milford south to
Shelton.
History
The river's name comes from the
Mohican phrase "usi-a-di-en-uk", translated as "beyond the mountain place".
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 during the 1910's. The town of
Stockbridge is located in southwestern Massachusetts. The river enters Stockbridge on the east side of town then turns south towards Connecticut.
From about 1932 until 1977 the river received
PCB pollution from the
General Electric plant at
Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
(External Link
) Although the water quality has improved in recent decades, the river continues to be contaminated by PCBs.
(External Link)
There is an
American Nuclear Test of the same name, although it isn't 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.
Recreation
The Housatonic River is a popular whitewater paddling destination beginning at Weatogue, CT and continuing to Gaylordsville, CT. Most of the river is quickwater and Class I whitewater with long sections of Class II-III whitewater. A deadly and extreme Class VI resides at Great Falls and is most likely not able to be paddled. The most dangerous and difficult section that's navigatable is by Bulls Bridge, CT with Class V whitewater.
The Housatonic River is also a popular fly fishing destination. Fly fishing on the Housatonic River has been compared with many western rivers and boasts some of the finest trophy trout fishing in the eastern United States. The most popular area for fly fishing is between the Falls Village Dam and the town of Cornwall Bridge in Litchfield County.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Housatonic River'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://housatonic_river.totallyexplained.com">Housatonic River Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
