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Deerfield River is a river that runs for 73 miles from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The Connecticut River is the largest River in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border The Deerfield was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its namesake town. Franklin County is a non-governmental County located in the U Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The river joins the Connecticut in Greenfield, Massachusetts, downstream of Turners Falls. Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The Deerfield is one of the most heavily used rivers in the country with, on average, a dam every 7 miles or so for its entire length. In Shelburne Falls, the glacial potholes and the Bridge of Flowers are popular tourist attractions around the river. Shelburne Falls is a Census-designated place (CDP in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts,
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Dams
There are 10 dams on the Deerfield, owned by three different electric ultilities. TransCanada owns the Somerset, Searsburg, Harriman, Sherman, #2, #3, #4 and #5 dams. Brookfield Power owns the Bear Swamp Pump Storage project and Fife Brook dam; Consolidated Edison owns Gardner Falls dam. Bear Swamp Generating Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric Underground power station that straddles the Deerfield River in Rowe and [1] The various hydroelectric facilities were purchased from National Energy & Gas Transmission, Inc. (NEGT) subsidiary USGen New England, Inc. at the conclusion of NEGT's Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidation of the assets of the USGen subsidiary in 2005[2]
In 1994 an agreement on relicensing the various dams with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Massachusetts and Vermont state authorities that regulate water quality led to comprehensive coordinated water release and power generation schedules to enable more recreational use of the river, with minimum water flow measures to mitigate the dam impact on riverine habitat[3][4]. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales Wholesale
A 260 foot tall dam was proposed for the Stillwater section of the river in Deerfield in the mid to late twentieth century. Local opposition helped to defeat the proposal. [5]
History
The hydroelectric development of the Deerfield River began in 1910 when the New England Power Company formed to acquire water rights on the Deerfield and construct dams. The largest dam, Harriman, was built in the early 1920s and has an unusual overflow structure, known as "The Glory Hole". This structure is a funnel-like concrete tube that leads to a tunnel under the earthen dam and prevents high flows from overtopping the dam.
The last dam built on the Deerfield was Fife Brook Dam, which was built in the early 1970s in conjunction with the development of the Bear Swamp Pumped Storage facility. Bear Swamp Generating Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric Underground power station that straddles the Deerfield River in Rowe and This facility acts as a battery for power generated during times of low demand. By using excess electricity to pump water to the top of the mountain, where a reservoir was created by building levees around an existing high swamp, energy is stored. When electrical demand is higher (usually midday or afternoon/evening) the water from the upper reservoir can be released through the turbines (which act as pumps in reverse) to meet demand.
The third commercial nuclear reactor in the United States was built in the town of Rowe, Massachusetts on the banks of the Deerfield River by Sherman Reservoir. Rowe is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Known as "Yankee Rowe" it generated electricity for New England from 1960 to 1992. Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station ( Decommissioned) was a Nuclear power plant in Rowe Massachusetts, that operated from 1960 to 1992
The eastern entrance of the Hoosac Tunnel is located on the river in the town of Florida, Massachusetts. The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a 4 Florida is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a railroad tunnel, still in use, started in 1851 and completed in 1875. The Burleigh Rock Drill, one of the first pneumatic drills, was used in its construction. A pneumatic drill or jackhammer is a portable percussive Drill powered by Compressed air. Construction also featured the first large-scale commercial use of nitroglycerine and electric blasting caps. Nitroglycerin ( NG) ( US spelling also known as nitroglycerine, ( UK Spelling trinitroglycerin, trinitroglycerine The American Society of Civil Engineers made the tunnel a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1975. The following is a partial list of historic civil engineering landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964
Recreation
The Deerfield has several key places for whitewater kayaking, canoeing, tubing, swimming, camping, and jumping off the cliffs (that scale upwards to about forty feet) that surround it. Kayaking is the use of a Kayak for moving across water Kayaking is generally differentiated from Canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through Water, usually without artificial assistance Definition Camping describes a range of activities Survivalist campers set off with little more than their boots whereas Recreational vehicle travelers arrive equipped A spot by the Stillwater Bridge in Deerfield is a popular swimming area, where jumping off the aforementioned cliffs is condoned but not advised. Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. There are two sections of the river for whitewater paddling: the Fife Brook section[6] for class II and III paddlers, and the Dryway[7] for class IV paddlers.
In addition, there are several tributaries of the Deerfield River that provide excellent whitewater creek runs, including the class IV-V West Branch of the Deerfield[8] in Readsboro, VT, the class V Dunbar Brook[9] in Monroe, MA, the class V Pelham Brook[10] in Rowe, MA, the class IV Cold River[11] in Florida and Charlemont, MA, and the class III Chickley River[12] in Hawley, MA.
This is also an excellent Trout fishery, great for fly fishing. Two sections between the Fife Brook dam and the Route 2 bridge are catch and release.
References
- ^ Dam Releases along the Deerfield Zoar Outdoor
- ^ USGEN NE Plan of Liquidation National Energy and Gas Transmision. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
- ^ Dam Good Paddling by Elizabeth Grossman; AMC Outdoors Appalachian Mountain Club (April 2006)
- ^ Dam(n) relicensing tries everyone's patience by Mathew Witten; Vermont Business Magazine (October 1994)
- ^ News ยป Polly Bartlett earns top honors from the The Greenfield Recorder
- ^ Deerfield River, MA; Fife Brook Section (Bear Swamp to Route 2) American Whitewater
- ^ Deerfield River, MA; Monroe Bridge to Bear Swamp (The Dryway) American Whitewater
- ^ Deerfield River, West Branch, VT; Heartwellville to Readsboro Village. American Whitewater
- ^ Dunbar Brook, MA; South Road to Deerfield River American Whitewater
- ^ Pelham Brook, MA; Rowe Center to Deerfield River American Whitewater
- ^ Cold River, MA; Route 2 hairpin turn to Deerfield River American Whitewater
- ^ Chickley River, MA; Route 8A to Deerfield River American Whitewater
See also
Further reading
- USGS GNIS: Deerfield River, retrieved 15 June 2005. The Connecticut River is the largest River in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border Pioneer Valley is a region consisting of the three counties that the Connecticut River passes through in Western Massachusetts, and especially those towns Franklin County is a non-governmental County located in the U Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- River of ChangePDF (663 KiB) Catherine Reid, Historic Deerfield (Spring 2003)
External links
- Deerfield River Watershed Association
- Deerfield River Hydroelectric System National Energy & Gas Transmission