| Merrimack River | |
|---|---|
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| Origin | Franklin, New Hampshire |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| Basin countries |  United States |
| Length | 110 mi (177 km) |
| Source elevation | n/a |
| Avg. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand discharge | 7,562 ft3/s[1] |
| Basin area | Approx. In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time 5,000 sq mi (12,900 km²) |
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an earlier spelling that is sometimes still used) is a 110-mile (177 km)-long river in the northeastern United States. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire,[2] flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport. Confluence, in Geography, describes the meeting of two or more Bodies of water. The Pemigewasset River (ˌpɛmɨdʒəˈwɑsɨt (known locally as "The Pemi" is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. The Winnipesaukee River is a -long river that connects Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles (61 km northeast of Boston. From the point where the Merrimack turns northeast in Lowell, Massachusetts onward, the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border is roughly calculated as the line three miles north of the river. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 The northern boundary of the US state of Massachusetts adjoins two other states - Vermont and New Hampshire.
The Merrimack is an important regional focus in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the central-southern part of the state is known as the Merrimack Valley Region, and in Massachusetts, the "Merrimack Valley" refers to a cluster of towns and small cities in the northeastern part of the state. The Merrimack Valley Region is an area of south-central New Hampshire, approximately 35 miles wide centered on the Merrimack River, and running from Canterbury The Merrimack Valley is the area surrounding the Merrimack River in northeastern Massachusetts.
Several U. S. naval ships have been named the USS Merrimack and USS Merrimac in honor of this river. USS Merrimack, or variant spelling USS Merrimac, may be any one of several ships commissioned in the United States Navy and named after the Merrimack
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History and details
Prior to glaciation, the Merrimack continued its southward course far beyond the present day New Hampshire-Massachusetts border to enter the Atlantic Ocean near Boston. Upon the glacier's retreat, debris deposited north of Boston filled the lower Merrimack Valley, redirecting the river into its current northeast bend at Lowell. The Neville archaeological site is located along the river's banks in New Hampshire. Neville is an Archaeological site on the bank of the Merrimack River in New Hampshire, the United States.
The total watershed of the river is approximately 5,000 square miles (12,900 km²), covering much of southern New Hampshire and a portion of northeastern Massachusetts. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of On its banks are a number of cities built to take advantage of water power in the 19th Century, when textile mills dominated the New England economy: Concord, Manchester, and Nashua in New Hampshire, and Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill in Massachusetts. The city of Concord (ˈkɒnkərd often mispronounced as " Concorde " is the Capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States Manchester is the largest city in the US state of New Hampshire and the largest city of northern New England, an area composed of Vermont, Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census Nashua had a total population of 86605 making it the second largest Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 Lawrence is a city in Essex County Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. Haverhill (ˈheɪvrɪl is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the mouth of the river is the small city of Newburyport. Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles (61 km northeast of Boston. Prior to the construction of the Middlesex Canal, Newburyport was an important shipbuilding city, in a location to receive New Hampshire timber that had been floated downriver. The Middlesex Canal was a 27 mile (44 km Barge Canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston.
The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River by Henry David Thoreau. Among its tributaries are the Souhegan River, which extends west from the town of Merrimack, New Hampshire; the Nashua River, which flows north into the city of Nashua; the Concord River, which flows north from Concord, Massachusetts to Lowell; and the Shawsheen River, which after also flowing north, joins the Merrimack at Lawrence. The Souhegan River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in the northeastern United States. Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The Nashua River, 375 Miles (604 Km) long is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United For the river in Maine, see Concord River (Maine The Concord River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The Shawsheen River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts.
Etymology and spelling
The etymology of the name of the Merrimack River - from which all subsequent uses derive, such as the name of the Civil War ironclad - remains unknown. Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167
There is some evidence that it is native American. In 1604 the natives of later New England told Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, who was leading a colony of French language speakers to Acadia (later Nova Scotia), of a beautiful river to the south. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the Pierre du Gua de Monts, (c 1558 - 1628 was a French merchant explorer and colonizer French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture ( ACADIA) is a Non-profit organization active in the area of Computer-aided architectural design Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's The French promptly pronounced its native name as Merremack. In 1605 Samuel de Champlain followed this lead, found the river and renamed it Riviere du Gas. Samuel de Champlain (c 1575 - 25 December 1635) "The Father of New France " was a French navigator geographer cartographer
The French and their name did not remain on the Merrimack. The natives dwelling along the river at that time were the Agawam on the lower reaches, the Pawtucket at Lowell, Massachusetts, the Nashua, Souhegan and Namoskeag around Manchester, New Hampshire, the Penacook northward from Bow, New Hampshire, and the Winnepisseogee at the source, Lake Winnipesaukee. The Pennacook, or Merrimack, tribe were a people that formerly inhabited the Merrimack River Valley of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and portions Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 The Nashaway (or Nashua or Weshacum) were a tribe of Algonquian Indians inhabiting the Nashua River valley in present-day central Manchester is the largest city in the US state of New Hampshire and the largest city of northern New England, an area composed of Vermont, The Pennacook, or Merrimack, tribe were a people that formerly inhabited the Merrimack River Valley of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and portions Bow is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest Lake in New Hampshire. It is approximately 21 miles (34 km long (northwest-southeast and from one to nine miles (1 These were all members of a nation of Algonquian speakers known as the Nipmuck. The Algonquian (also Algonkian, and pronounced both and) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic The Nipmuc (also spelled Nipmuck) are a group of Algonquian Indians native to Worcester County Massachusetts.
According to Joseph B. Walker[3], relying on Chandler Eastman Potter's The History of Manchester (1856), Merremack contains the elements merruh, "strong" and auke, "place" (a recognizable locative ending), and means "the place of strong current,- a term not inappropriate, when we consider . Locative (also called the seventh case) is a Grammatical case which indicates a location . . the river's rapids . . . . " Potter was an authority on native American affairs in colonial New England.
Walker goes on to cite spellings of Merimacke, Merimack and Merrimacke in "the colonial records of Massachusetts", as well as the Merrimake and Merrymake of a 1721 land grant at Penacook, New Hampshire. Penacook is a village within the city of Concord in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA (initially called Fisherville William Wood's New England's Prospect of 1634 calls the river the Merrimacke and locates it eight miles beyond Agowamme (Ipswich, Massachusetts). Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It hosts, he says, "Sturgeon, Sammon and Basse, and divers other kinds of fish. "[4]
Merrimac, Massachusetts, settled in 1638 and originally part of Amesbury, Massachusetts, was called West Amesbury until 1876, at which time it adopted its current name and spelling. Merrimac is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and on the southeastern Border of New Hampshire The Town of Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Merrimack, New Hampshire was incorporated in 1746, spelling its name "Marrymac" in the record of its first town meeting. Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is referred to as Merrimac into the early 19th century: in the 1810 decennial census, it was spelled Merrimac, but in the 1820 and afterwards, Merrimack.
In 1914, US Congressman John Jacob Rogers (MA) petitioned that the official spelling be Merrimack[5]. John Jacob Rogers ( August 18, 1881 - March 28, 1925) was a member of the U
May 2006 Flooding
While the Merrimack River is prone to minor flooding, on May 15, 2006 rainfall raised the river more than 8 feet (2. The New England Flood of May 2006 was a Flood event that occurred in New England, especially in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, during the month A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit 4 m) above flood stage, forcing evacuations, damaging property, and breaking the main sewage pipeline in the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts, dumping 35 million gallons of raw sewage waste into the river per day. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Haverhill (ˈheɪvrɪl is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Reports of total rainfall vary, but most areas appear to have received around a foot of rain with some areas receiving as much as 17 inches (43 cm). Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth
According to The Boston Globe, around 1,500 people evacuated their homes to escape the flood. [6]
This flood also prompted the city of Lowell, Massachusetts to drop the flood-controlling Francis Gate for only the third time in its 150 years of service. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 James Bicheno Francis ( May 18 1815 &ndash September 18 1892) was a British - American Engineer. When lowered, the Francis gate seals the city's canal system off from its source on the Merrimack. The Great Gate, as it is also called, was built in 1850 under the direction of James B. Francis. James Bicheno Francis ( May 18 1815 &ndash September 18 1892) was a British - American Engineer. Considered unnecessary when it was first constructed, "Francis' Folly" first saved the city in 1852, and has done so a handful of times since, most recently in the April 2007 flood - due to a powerful Nor'easter. A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below is a macro-scale Storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada. The water level at Lowell reached approximately 58 feet (18 m) in this event, or less than a foot less severe than the 2006 flood.
The most significant flood in the recorded history of the Merrimack was in March of 1936, when a double flood of rain and melting snow and ice swelled the Merrimack to 68. 4 feet (20. 8 m), 10 feet (3 m) higher than the 2006 flood. The Jack Kerouac book Doctor Sax is set during this event. Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and Doctor Sax ( Doctor Sax Faust Part Three) is a novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1959.
 The flooded Merrimack River as seen from the Pawtucket Gatehouse in Lowell, Massachusetts. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167 |
 View from University Avenue Bridge in Lowell, looking downriver. |
 View from Hunt Falls Bridge in Lowell, looking upriver towards downtown. The Concord River is on the left at the end of the mill. For the river in Maine, see Concord River (Maine The Concord River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern |
 View from River Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Haverhill (ˈheɪvrɪl is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. |
Notes
- ^ Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (2001). Merrimack River: A Comprehensive Watershed Assessment Report (pdf).
- ^ The Merrimack River Watershed Council, Inc. (2007). The Voice of the Merrimack.
- ^ Pages 414-415.
- ^ Currier (1902), page 23.
- ^ History of Lowell and Its People V1 Frederick W. Coburn, 1920
- ^ Flooding besets region; more rain in forecast by Brian MacQuarrie, The Boston Globe, 16 May 2006. The Boston Globe (and Boston Sunday Globe) is the most widely circulated daily Newspaper in Boston and in New England, Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Bibliography
- Currier, John James (1902). History of Newbury, Mass. 1635-1902. Boston: Damrell & Upham. Downloadable from Google Books.
- Walker, Joseph B. (1863), “The Valley of the Merrimack”, Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society, The New Hampshire Historical Society, pp. pages 414-432. Downloadable from Google Books.
See also
External links
- U.S. Geological Survey (2007). List of Rivers in Massachusetts ( US state) All Massachusetts rivers flow to the Atlantic Ocean. This is a list of rivers and significant streams in the US state of New Hampshire. The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. Merrimack River Drainage Basin.
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