View source for Connecticut River

{{Short description|River in the New England region, US}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Connecticut River
| name_native        = {{native name|mis|Kwenitegok|paren=omit}} ([[Abenaki language|Abenaki]])<ref name=Caduto>{{cite magazine |title=With Cooler Water, Better Prospects for Shad Migration? |author=Michael J. Caduto |date=November 30, 2015 |magazine=Northern Woodlands Magazine |url=http://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/shad-migration |access-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054737/http://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/shad-migration |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| name_native_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Connecticut River From Gillette Castle.jpg
| image_size         = 275
| image_caption      = The Connecticut River seen from behind [[Gillette Castle]] in [[Lyme, Connecticut]]
| map                = Connecticut_River_Map.gif
| map_size           = 275
| map_caption        = River map, with major tributaries and selected dams
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 275
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 5
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = United States
| subdivision_type2  = Region
| subdivision_name2  = [[New England]]
| subdivision_type3  = State
| subdivision_name3  = [[Connecticut]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Vermont]], [[New Hampshire]]
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], [[Hartford, Connecticut]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|410|mi|km|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= [[Thompsonville, Connecticut]]
| discharge1_min     = {{convert|968|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|18400|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     = {{convert|282000|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge2_location= [[West Lebanon, New Hampshire]]
| discharge2_min     = 
| discharge2_avg     = {{convert|6600|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge2_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Fourth Connecticut Lake]]
| source1_location   = [[Coos County, New Hampshire|Coos County]], [[New Hampshire]], [[United States]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|45|14|53|N|71|12|51|W|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|2660|ft|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Long Island Sound]]
| mouth_location     = [[Old Saybrook, Connecticut|Old Saybrook]] and [[Old Lyme, Connecticut]]<ref>{{Cite GNIS|206425|Connecticut River}}</ref>
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|41|16|20|N|72|20|03|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = 
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|11260|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Chicopee River]]
| tributaries_right  = [[White River (Vermont)|White River]]
| custom_label       = Protection status
| custom_data        = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Connecticut River Estuary and Tidal River Wetlands Complex
| designation1_date = October 14, 1994
| designation1_number = 710<ref>{{Cite web|title=Connecticut River Estuary and Tidal River Wetlands Complex|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/710|access-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614045109/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/710|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| extra              = 
}}
{{Connecticut River map}}

The '''Connecticut River''' is a major [[river]] in the [[New England]] region of the United States. The region’s longest, it flows roughly southward for {{convert|406|mi}} through four states. Rising 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with [[Quebec]], [[Canada]], it discharges into [[Long Island Sound]] between [[Old Saybrook, Connecticut|Old Saybrook]] and [[Old Lyme, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/features/essex_around_world/essex_connecticut.shtml| author=Linda Brughelli| title=Essex - Connecticut| work=BBC Local: Essex| date=October 28, 2014| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020064052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/features/essex_around_world/essex_connecticut.shtml| archive-date=October 20, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> Its watershed encompasses {{convert|11260|sqmi}}, covering parts of five U.S. states and one Canadian province, composed of 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers.<ref name="ctriver.org">{{cite web| url=http://www.ctriver.org/river-resources/about-our-rivers/watershed-facts/| title=Watershed Facts| publisher=Connecticut River Watershed Council| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805023222/http://www.ctriver.org/river-resources/about-our-rivers/watershed-facts/| archive-date=August 5, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> It produces 70% of Long Island Sound's fresh water,<ref name="ctriver.org"/> discharging at {{convert|18400|cuft|m3}} per second.<ref>{{Cite web|title=USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 01184000|url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/annual?referred_module=sw&amp;site_no=01184000&amp;por_01184000_64671=1269463,00060,64671,1928,2020&amp;start_dt=1978&amp;end_dt=2016&amp;year_type=W&amp;format=html_table&amp;date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&amp;rdb_compression=file&amp;submitted_form=parameter_selection_list |access-date=January 12, 2021 |website=waterdata.usgs.gov |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227164725/https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/annual?referred_module=sw&site_no=01184000&por_01184000_64671=1269463,00060,64671,1928,2020&start_dt=1978&end_dt=2016&year_type=W&format=html_table&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&submitted_form=parameter_selection_list |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Connecticut River Valley is home to some of the northeastern United States' most productive farmland, as well as the [[Hartford–Springfield|Hartford–Springfield Knowledge Corridor]], a metropolitan region of approximately two million people surrounding [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], and [[Hartford, Connecticut]].<ref name="connecticutriver.us">{{cite web| url=http://connecticutriver.us/site/content/about-river| title=About the River| website=Connecticutriver.us| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815051454/http://connecticutriver.us/site/content/about-river| archive-date=August 15, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
The word "Connecticut" is a [[Corruption (linguistics)|corruption]] of the [[Mohegan]] word ''quinetucket'' and [[Nipmuc]] word ''kwinitekw'', which mean "beside the long, tidal river".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Connecticut/name_origin_CT.html|title=Connecticut State Name Origin|date=10 May 2014 |publisher=Statesymbolsusa.org|access-date=November 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105200656/http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Connecticut/name_origin_CT.html|archive-date=January 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kestreltrust.org/the-native-names-project-2021/|title=We Are On Native Land: The Native Names Project Origin|date=10 June 2021 |publisher=Kestrel Land Trust|access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> The word came into English usage during the early 1600s to name the river, which was also called simply "The Great River". It was also known by [[New Netherlanders]] as ''Versche Rivier'', or the ''fresh river''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/30/nyregion/theater-the-industrialization-of-the-great-river-new-england-s-longest.html| author=Alberta Eiseman| title=THEATER; The Industrialization of the Great River, New England's Longest| date=August 30, 1998| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306043150/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/30/nyregion/theater-the-industrialization-of-the-great-river-new-england-s-longest.html| archive-date=March 6, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

Early spellings of the name by European explorers included "Cannitticutt" in French<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53089800t|title=Carte particulière de partie de Long Eyland|date=December 16, 2020|website=Gallica|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=July 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723063912/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53089800t|url-status=live}}</ref> or in English.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b5905631t/f1.item |title=&#91;carte anglaise de l'est de Long Island&#93; |access-date=May 23, 2020 |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724045749/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b5905631t/f1.item |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Brooklyn Museum - View of Springfield on the Connecticut River - Alvan Fisher - overall.jpg|left|225px|thumb|''View of Springfield on the Connecticut River'' by [[Alvan Fisher]] (Brooklyn Museum)]]
[[File:View of the City of Hartford Connecticut by William Havell.jpeg|left|225px|thumb|''View of the City of Hartford, Connecticut'' by [[William Havell]]]]

===Pre-1614: Native American populations===
Archaeological digs reveal human habitation of the Connecticut River Valley for 6,000 years before present.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.graypape.com/project/kells-pasture-site/| title=Kells Pasture Site, Greenfield MA| date=July 22, 2019| publisher=Graypape.com| access-date=July 22, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722223914/https://www.graypape.com/project/kells-pasture-site/| archive-date=July 22, 2019| url-status=live}}</ref> 
Numerous tribes lived throughout the fertile Connecticut River valley prior to Dutch exploration beginning in 1614. Information concerning how these tribes lived and interacted stems mostly from English accounts written during the 1630s.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dickshovel.com/peq.html| title=Pequot History| date=July 15, 1997| publisher=Dickshovel.com| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728071228/http://www.dickshovel.com/peq.html| archive-date=July 28, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Pequots]] dominated a territory in the southern region of the Connecticut River valley, stretching roughly from the river's mouth at [[Old Saybrook, Connecticut]], north to just below the Big Bend at [[Middletown, Connecticut]]. They warred with and attempted to subjugate neighboring agricultural tribes such as the [[Niantic people|Western Niantics]], while maintaining an uneasy stand-off with their rivals the [[Mohegans]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm| title=1637 – The Pequot War| publisher=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728182202/http://colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm| archive-date=July 28, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Mattabesset]] (Tunxis) tribe takes its name from the place where its [[sachem]]s ruled at the Connecticut River's Big Bend at Middletown, in a village sandwiched between the territories of the aggressive Pequots to the south and the more peaceable Mohegans to the north.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dickshovel.com/matta.html| title=Mattabesic History| date=November 15, 1997| publisher=Dickshovel.com| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429021725/http://www.dickshovel.com/matta.html| archive-date=April 29, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

The Mohegans dominated the region due north, where [[Hartford]] and its suburbs sit, particularly after allying themselves with the Colonists against the Pequots during the [[Pequot War]] of 1637.<ref name="http://www.dickshovel.com/moh.html">{{cite web| url=http://www.dickshovel.com/moh.html| title=Mohegan History| publisher=Dickshovel.com| date=July 14, 1997| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815135419/http://www.dickshovel.com/moh.html| archive-date=August 15, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> Their culture was similar to the Pequots, as they had split off from them and become their rivals some time prior to European exploration of the area.<ref name="http://www.dickshovel.com/moh.html"/>

The agricultural [[Pocomtuc]] tribe lived in unfortified villages alongside the Connecticut River north of the [[Enfield Falls]] on the fertile stretch of hills and meadows surrounding [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]. The Pocomtuc village of Agawam<ref>Meaning "landing place" or "place for unloading canoes."</ref> eventually became Springfield, situated on the Bay Path where the Connecticut River meets the western [[Westfield River]] and eastern [[Chicopee River]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://archive.org/stream/indianplacenames00hude/indianplacenames00hude_djvu.txt| title=Full text of "Indian place names of New England"| year=1962| access-date=November 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009101559/https://archive.org/stream/indianplacenames00hude/indianplacenames00hude_djvu.txt| archive-date=October 9, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> The Pocomtuc villagers at Agawam helped [[Puritan]] explorers settle this site and remained friendly with them for decades, unlike tribes farther north and south along the Connecticut River.<ref name="greattrailsbsa.typepad.com">{{cite web| url=http://greattrailsbsa.typepad.com/pocumtuc/2008/10/we-have-a-new-l.html| title=We Have A New Lodge!!!!!| date=October 9, 2008| publisher=Pocumtuc Lodge – Western Massachusetts Council, Boy Scouts of America| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081255/http://greattrailsbsa.typepad.com/pocumtuc/2008/10/we-have-a-new-l.html| archive-date=March 4, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dickshovel.com">{{cite web| url=http://www.dickshovel.com/pocu.html| title=Pocumtuc History| publisher=Dickshovel.com| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827045938/http://www.dickshovel.com/pocu.html| archive-date=August 27, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> The region stretching from Springfield north to the [[New Hampshire]] and [[Vermont]] state borders fostered many agricultural Pocomtuc and [[Nipmuc]] settlements, with its soil enhanced by sedimentary deposits. Occasionally, these villages endured invasions from more aggressive confederated tribes living in [[New York (state)|New York]], such as the [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]], [[Mahican]], and [[Iroquois]].<ref name="greattrailsbsa.typepad.com"/><ref name="dickshovel.com"/>

The [[Pennacook]] tribe mediated many early disagreements between colonists and other Indian tribes, with a territory stretching roughly from the [[Massachusetts]] border with Vermont and New Hampshire, northward to the rise of the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] in New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dickshovel.com/penna.html| title=Pennacook History| publisher=Dickshovel.com| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827050024/http://www.dickshovel.com/penna.html| archive-date=August 27, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> The Western [[Abenaki]] ([[Sokoki]]) tribe lived in the [[Green Mountains]] region of Vermont but wintered as far south as the [[Northfield, Massachusetts]], area. The ([[Sokoki]]) tribe migrated to Odanak, Quebec following the epidemics and the wars with the settlers but returned to Vermont.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://vcnaa.vermont.gov/recognition/recognized-tribes |title=State Recognized Tribes &#124; Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs |access-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212650/https://vcnaa.vermont.gov/recognition/recognized-tribes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abenakitribe.org/|title=Welcome from the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe at Nulhegan~Memphremagog|first=Nulhegan Abenaki|last=Tribe|website=Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe|access-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603033519/https://abenakitribe.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elnuabenakitribe.org/|title=Elnu Abenaki Tribe - Home|website=elnuabenakitribe.org|access-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502170357/http://elnuabenakitribe.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://koasekabenakination.com/our-history/|title=Our History|date=July 13, 2021|website=Ko'asek (Co'wasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417064849/https://koasekabenakination.com/our-history/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caodanak.com/en/|title=Home|website=Conseil des Abénakis d'Odanak|access-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212400/https://caodanak.com/en/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1614–1636: Dutch and Puritan settlement===
In 1614, [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch]] explorer [[Adriaen Block]] became the first European to chart the Connecticut River, sailing as far north as [[Enfield Falls Canal|Enfield Rapids]].<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIKKZck2ywoC&q=adrien+block+enfield+rapids&pg=PR9| author=Al Braden| title=The Connecticut River: A Photographic Journey Into the Heart of New England| publisher=Wesleyan University Press| date=March 1, 2010| access-date=August 9, 2016| isbn=9780819570529| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221235001/https://books.google.com/books?id=jIKKZck2ywoC&pg=PR9&lpg=PR9&dq=adrien+block+enfield+rapids#v=onepage&q=adrien%20block%20enfield%20rapids&f=false| archive-date=December 21, 2019| url-status=live}}</ref> He called it the "Fresh River" and claimed it for the Netherlands as the northeastern border of the [[New Netherland]] colony. In 1623, Dutch traders constructed a fortified trading post at the site of [[Hartford, Connecticut]], called the ''Fort Huys de Hoop'' ("Fort House of Hope").<ref name="newnetherlandinstitute.org">{{cite web| url=http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/a-tour-of-new-netherland/connecticut/house-of-hope/| title=House of Hope| publisher=New Netherland Institute| work=A Tour of New England: Connecticut| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410075959/http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/a-tour-of-new-netherland/connecticut/house-of-hope| archive-date=April 10, 2015| url-status=live}}</ref>

Four separate [[Puritans|Puritan]]-led groups also settled the fertile Connecticut River Valley, and they founded the two large cities that continue to dominate the Valley: Hartford (est. 1635) and Springfield (est. 1636). The first group of pioneers left the [[Plymouth Colony]] in 1632 and ultimately founded the village of Matianuck (which became [[Windsor, Connecticut]]) several miles north of the Dutch fort. A group left the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] from [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]], seeking a site where they could practice their religion more freely. With this in mind, they founded [[Wethersfield, Connecticut]], in 1633, several miles south of the Dutch fort at Hartford.

[[Image:Cole Thomas The Oxbow (The Connecticut River near Northampton 1836).jpg|left|thumb|''View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow'' (1836) by [[Thomas Cole]]]]

In 1635, Reverend [[Thomas Hooker]] led settlers from [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], where he had feuded with Reverend [[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]], to the site in Connecticut of the Dutch Fort House of Hope, where he founded Newtowne.<ref name="newnetherlandinstitute.org"/> Shortly after Hooker's arrival, Newtowne annexed Matianuck based on laws articulated in Connecticut's settlement charter, the Warwick Patent of 1631. The patent, however, had been physically lost, and the annexation was almost certainly illegal.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/c.php?g=228022&p=1595653| title=The Warwick Patent| work=Colonial Records & Topics| publisher=CT State Library| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811183617/http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/c.php?g=228022&p=1595653| archive-date=August 11, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

The fourth English settlement along the Connecticut River came out of a 1635 scouting party commissioned by [[William Pynchon]] to found a city on the river's most advantageous site for commerce and agriculture. Pynchon's Massachusetts scouts located the Pocomtuc village of Agawam, where the Bay Path trade route crossed the Connecticut River at two of its major tributaries—the Chicopee River to the east and Westfield River to the west—and just north of Enfield Falls, the river's first unnavigable waterfall. Pynchon surmised that traders using any of these routes would have to dock and change vessels at his site, thereby granting the settlement a commercial advantage.<ref name="Barrows 1911">{{cite book|last = Barrows|first = Charles Henry|title=The history of Springfield in Massachusetts for the young: being also in some part the history of other towns and cities in the county of Hampden | publisher = The Connecticut Valley Historical Society | year = 1911 | pages=46–48 | id= US 13459.5.7}}</ref> It was initially named Agawam Plantation and was allied with the settlements to the south that became the state of Connecticut.<ref name="Barrows 1911"/> In 1641, Springfield splintered off from the Hartford-based Connecticut Colony, allying itself with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. For decades, Springfield remained the Massachusetts Bay Colony's westernmost settlement, on the northern border of the Connecticut Colony.

Of these settlements, Hartford and Springfield quickly emerged as powers.  By 1654, however, the success of these English settlements rendered the Dutch position untenable on the Connecticut River. A treaty moved the boundary westward between the Connecticut Colony and New Netherland Colony to a point near [[Greenwich, Connecticut]]. The treaty allowed the Dutch to maintain their trading post at Fort Huys de Hoop, which they did until the 1664 British takeover of New Netherland.

===Border disputes===
The Connecticut River Valley's central location, fertile soil, and abundant natural resources made it the target of centuries of border disputes, beginning with Springfield's defection from the Connecticut Colony in 1641, which brought the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the river. In 1640, Massachusetts Bay Colony asserted a claim to jurisdiction over lands surrounding the river; however, Springfield remained politically independent until tensions with the Connecticut Colony were exacerbated by a final confrontation later that year.<ref name="Barrows 1911" />

[[File:Memorial Bridge, Springfield MA.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Memorial Bridge (Massachusetts)|Memorial Bridge]] across the Connecticut River at [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], the river's largest city]]

Hartford kept a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River at [[Saybrook Colony|Old Saybrook]] for protection against the Pequots, [[Wampanoags]], Mohegans, and the New Netherland Colony. After Springfield broke ties with the Colony, the remaining Connecticut settlements demanded that Springfield's ships pay tolls when passing the mouth of the river. The ships refused to pay this tax without representation at Connecticut's fort, but Hartford refused to grant it. In response, the Massachusetts Bay Colony solidified its friendship with Springfield by levying a toll on Connecticut Colony ships entering [[Boston Harbor]]. Connecticut was largely dependent on sea trade with Boston and therefore permanently dropped its tax on Springfield, but Springfield allied with Boston nonetheless, drawing the first state border across the Connecticut River.<ref name="Barrows 1911" />

The [[Fort at Number 4]] in [[Charlestown, New Hampshire]], was the northernmost British colonial presence on the Connecticut River until the end of the [[French and Indian War]] in 1763. The [[Abenaki]] had resisted British colonial settlement for decades, but colonists began settling north of [[Brattleboro, Vermont]], following the war.<ref name="flowofhistory.org">{{cite web| url=http://www.flowofhistory.org/es_toolkit/essays/2why.html| title=Why did settlers come to New Hampshire and Vermont, and where did they come from?| work=Teaching Early Settlement| publisher=Flowofhistory.org (Southeast Vermont Community Learning Collaborative)| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921055850/http://www.flowofhistory.org/es_toolkit/essays/2why.html| archive-date=September 21, 2016| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Settlement of the Upper Connecticut River Valley increased quickly, with population assessments of 36,000 by 1790.<ref name="flowofhistory.org"/>

Vermont was claimed by both New Hampshire and [[Province of New York|New York]], and was settled primarily through the [[New Hampshire Grants|issuance of land grants]] by New Hampshire Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] beginning in the 1740s.<ref>Wardner, p. 13.</ref> New York protested these grants, and the [[Board of Trade]] decided in 1764 that the border between the provinces should be the western bank of the Connecticut River.<ref>Wardner, p. 41</ref> Ethan Allen, the [[Green Mountain Boys]], and other residents of the disputed area resisted attempts by New York to exercise authority there, which resulted in the establishment of the independent [[Vermont Republic]] in 1777<ref>Wardner, p. 443</ref> and its eventual accession to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth state.<ref>Van de Water, Frederic. ''The Reluctant Republic'', New York: John Day, 1941. p. 337</ref> Boundary disputes between Vermont and New Hampshire lasted for nearly 150 years and were finally settled in 1933, when the U.S. Supreme Court [[Vermont v. New Hampshire|reaffirmed King George's boundary]] as the ordinary low-water mark on the Vermont shore. In some places, the state line is now inundated by the impoundments of dams built after this time.<ref name="crjc.org" />

===The Treaty of Paris and the 19th century===
[[File:Windsor Locks Canal Company by Elias Friedman.JPG|thumb|left|The Windsor Locks Canal Company at [[Enfield Falls]], the Connecticut River's first major barrier to navigation]]

The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]] that ended the [[American Revolutionary War]] created a new international border between New Hampshire and the [[Province of Canada]] at "northwesternmost headwaters of the Connecticut". Several streams fit this description, and thus a boundary dispute led to the short-lived [[Indian Stream Republic]], which existed from 1832 to 1835.

The broad, fertile Connecticut River Valley attracted agricultural settlers and colonial traders to Hartford, Springfield, and the surrounding region. The high volume and numerous falls of the river capable of powering mills and waterwheels led to the rise of industry along its banks during the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The cities of Springfield and Hartford in particular became centers of innovation and "intense and concentrated prosperity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sellfair.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203182336/http://www.mass.info/springfield.ma/description.htm|url-status=dead|title=Sell Your Home for 1%|archivedate=December 3, 2008|website=sellfair.com}}</ref>

The Enfield Falls Canal was opened in 1829 to circumvent shallows around Enfield Falls, and the locks built for this canal gave their name to the town of [[Windsor Locks, Connecticut]].<ref>[http://www.our-oxford.info/other-history/W-locks.htm]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926100919/http://www.our-oxford.info/other-history/W-locks.htm|date=September 26, 2006}}</ref> The Connecticut River Valley functioned as America's hub of technical innovation into the 20th century, particularly the cities of Springfield and Hartford, and thus attracted numerous railroad lines. The proliferation of the railroads in Springfield and Hartford greatly decreased the economic importance of the Connecticut River. With the exception of log drives that persisted into the early decades of the 20th century, from the late 1800s until today the river has functioned largely as a center of wildlife and recreation.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ctriverbyways.org/environment-and-geography| title=Environment & Geography: Written in the Rocks and Sand| publisher=Connecticut River Byway Council| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828000632/http://ctriverbyways.org/environment-and-geography| archive-date=August 28, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Log drives and the early 20th century===
[[File:The Oxbow, Connecticut River c 1910.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Oxbow (Connecticut River)|The Oxbow]], Connecticut River, at [[Northampton, Massachusetts]] {{Circa|1910}}]]

Starting about 1865,<ref name=vnj1304/> the river was used for massive [[Log driving|logging drives]] from [[Third Connecticut Lake]] to initially [[water power]]ed [[sawmill]]s near Enfield Falls. Trees cut adjacent to tributary streams including [[Perry Stream]] and [[Indian Stream]] in [[Pittsburg, New Hampshire]], [[Halls Stream]] on the [[Quebec]]–New Hampshire border, [[Simms Stream]], the [[Mohawk River (New Hampshire)|Mohawk River]] of New Hampshire, and the [[Nulhegan River]] basin in [[Essex County, Vermont]], would be flushed into the main river by the release of water impounded behind [[splash dam]]s. Several log drivers died trying to move logs through Perry Falls in Pittsburg. Teams of men would wait at [[Canaan, Vermont]], to protect the bridges from log jams. Men guided logs through a {{convert|400|ft|adj=on}} drop along the length of Fifteen-Mile Falls<ref name=vnj1304>{{Cite journal |first=Helen |last=Pike |date=April 2013 |title=Spring Log Drives Through Fifteen-Mile Falls |journal=Vermont's Northland Journal |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=20–21 }}</ref> (now submerged under [[Moore Reservoir|Moore]] and [[Comerford Reservoir|Comerford]] reservoirs), and through Logan's Rips at Fitzdale, Mulligan's Lower Pitch, and Seven Islands. The [[White River (Vermont)|White River]] from Vermont and [[Ammonoosuc River]] from New Hampshire brought more logs into the Connecticut. A [[log boom]] was built between [[Wells River, Vermont]], and [[Woodsville, New Hampshire]], to hold the logs briefly and release them gradually to avoid jams in the [[oxbow lake|Ox Bow]] section of river just downstream in [[Haverhill, New Hampshire|Haverhill]]. Men detailed to this work utilized Woodsville's saloons and [[red-light district]].<ref>Holbrook p.68</ref> Some of the logs were destined for mills in [[Wilder, Vermont|Wilder]] and [[Bellows Falls, Vermont]], while others were sluiced over the Bellows Falls dam. [[North Walpole, New Hampshire]], contained twelve to eighteen saloons, patronized by the log drivers.<ref>Holbrook p.70</ref> [[Mount Tom (Massachusetts)|Mount Tom]] was the landmark the log drivers used to gauge the distance to the final mills near [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Yankee Loggers |author=Holbrook, Stewart H. |publisher=International Paper Company |year=1961 |pages=63–70|author-link=Stewart Holbrook }}</ref> These spring drives were stopped after 1915, when pleasure boat owners complained about the hazards to navigation.<ref>{{cite book | author = Wheeler, Scott |title = The History of Logging in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom | publisher = The Kingdom Historical |date=September 2002}}</ref> A final drive in 1918 conducted to meet [[World War I]] pulp demand consisted of 100,000 cords of four-foot logs controlled by 500 workers, representing 65 million feet of logs.<ref name=vnj1304/>

===The flood of 1936===
{{Main|1936 Northeastern United States flood}}
In March 1936 the combination of a winter with heavy snowfall, an early spring thaw, and torrential rains caused the Connecticut River to overflow its banks. Flooding destroyed numerous bridges and isolated hundreds of people who had to be rescued by boat.

The dam at [[Vernon, Vermont]], was topped by {{convert|19|ft|m}}. Sandbagging by the National Guard and local volunteers helped prevent the dam's powerhouse from being overwhelmed, despite blocks of ice breaking through the upstream walls.<ref name="wgby">{{cite video | first = Ed | last = Klekowski | first2 = Elizabeth | last2 = ilda | first3 = Libby | last3 = Klekowski | year = 2003 | title = The Great Flood of 1936: The Connecticut River Story | url = http://www.wgby.org/localprograms/flood/ | medium = DVD | publisher = WGBY | location = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] | archive-date = September 30, 2011 | access-date = November 16, 2011 | time = 02:10 | oclc = 58055715 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110930222247/http://wgby.org/localprograms/flood/ }}</ref>

In [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], looting during the flood became a problem, causing the mayor of the city to deputize citizen patrols to protect flooded areas. Over 3,000 refugees from the area were housed in [[Amherst College]] and the [[Massachusetts State Agricultural College]] (today the [[University of Massachusetts, Amherst]]).

Unprecedented accumulated ice jams compounded the problems created by the flood, diverting water into unusual channels and damming the river, raising water levels even further. When the jam at [[Hadley, Massachusetts]], gave way, the water crest overflowed the dam at [[Holyoke]], overwhelming the sandbagging there. The village of [[South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts|South Hadley Falls]] was essentially destroyed, and the southern parts of Holyoke were severely damaged, with 500 refugees.

[[File:1936Flood HartfordCT01.jpg|thumb|left|Downtown [[Hartford, Connecticut]], during the 1936 flood]]

In Springfield, Massachusetts, {{convert|5|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|18|mi|km}} of streets, were flooded, and 20,000 people lost their homes. The city lost power, and nighttime looting caused the police to issue a "shoot on sight" edict; 800 National Guard troops were brought in to help maintain order. Rescue efforts using a flotilla of boats saved people trapped in upper stories of buildings, bringing them to local fraternal lodges, schools, churches and monasteries for lodging, medical care, and food. The [[American Red Cross]] and local, state and federal agencies, including the [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] and the [[Civilian Conservation Corps|CCC]], contributed aid and manpower to the effort. Flooding of roads isolated the city for a time. When the water receded, it left behind silt-caused mud which in places was {{convert|3|ft|m|0}} thick; the recovery effort in Springfield, at the height of the American [[Great Depression]], took approximately a decade.

Overall, the flood caused 171 deaths and US$500 million (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500000000|1936|r=-8}}}} with inflation{{Inflation-fn|US}}) in damages. Across the northeast, over 430,000 people were made homeless or destitute by flooding that year.<ref>Klelowski, Ed. ''The Great Flood of 1936: The Connecticut River Valley Story'' [[WGBY]] (2003)</ref>

The Connecticut River Flood Control [[interstate compact|Compact]] between the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont was established in 1953 to help prevent serious flooding.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-67/pdf/STATUTE-67-Pg45.pdf| title=Connecticut River Flood Control Compact| date=June 6, 1953| publisher=US Government Printing Office| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919133148/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-67/pdf/STATUTE-67-Pg45.pdf| archive-date=September 19, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

===1936–present: Water supply===
The creation of the [[Quabbin Reservoir]] in the 1930s diverted the [[Quabbin Valley|Swift River]], which feeds the Chicopee River, a tributary of the Connecticut. This resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit by the state of Connecticut against the diversion of its riparian waters.<ref>U.S. Supreme Court, ''Connecticut v. Massachusetts'', {{Ussc|282|660|1931}}</ref>

Demand for drinking water in eastern Massachusetts passed the sustainable supply from the existing system in 1969. Diverting water from the Connecticut River was considered several times,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ctriver.org/about-us/crwc-history/| title=CRWC History| publisher=Connecticut River Watershed Council| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805001058/http://www.ctriver.org/about-us/crwc-history/| archive-date=August 5, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> but in 1986 the [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority]] instead undertook a campaign of water conservation. Demand was reduced to sustainable levels by 1989, reaching approximately a 25% margin of safety by 2009.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/monthly/wsupdat/demand-1985-2010-640.jpg| title=MWRA Water System Demand, 1985–2009| publisher=Massachusetts Water Resources Authority| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925222831/http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/monthly/wsupdat/demand-1985-2010-640.jpg| archive-date=September 25, 2018| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Course==
The Connecticut River is the largest river ecosystem in New England. Its watershed spans Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, small portions of Maine, and the Canadian province of Quebec.<ref name="ctriver.org"/><ref name="crjc.org"/><ref name="des.nh.gov"/>

===The Upper Connecticut River: New Hampshire and Vermont===
[[image:ConnLakes.jpg|thumb|150px|left|alt=the Connecticut Lakes|The [[Connecticut Lakes]], the source of the Connecticut River, near the border of New Hampshire and Quebec]]
[[File:Upper Connecticut River Valley 5-13-25.jpg|thumb|left|The upper Connecticut River Valley near [[Lancaster, New Hampshire]], with [[Mount Orne Covered Bridge]] visible at bottom]]
[[File:Great Falls (Bellows Falls) at high flow 2-26-2016.JPG|thumb|left|Great Falls (Bellows Falls) at high flow under the [[Vilas Bridge]], taken from the end of Bridge St on the Vermont side, looking upriver]]

The Connecticut River rises from [[Fourth Connecticut Lake]], a small pond {{convert|300|yd}} south of the [[Canada–United States border]] in the town of [[Pittsburg, New Hampshire]], at an elevation of {{convert|2670|ft}} above sea level. It flows through the remaining [[Connecticut Lakes]] and [[Lake Francis (Murphy Dam)|Lake Francis]] for {{convert|14|mi}}, all within the town of Pittsburg, and then widens as it delineates {{convert|255|mi}} of the border between New Hampshire and Vermont.<ref name="des.nh.gov">{{cite web| url=http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/rivers/conn_river.htm| title=Designated Rivers: The Connecticut River| publisher=New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510130848/http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/rivers/conn_river.htm| archive-date=May 10, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> The river drops more than {{convert|2480|ft}} in elevation as it winds south to the border of Massachusetts where it sits {{convert|190|ft}} above sea level.<ref name="crjc.org">{{cite web| url=http://crjc.org/facts.htm| title=Fast Facts| publisher=Connecticut River Joint Commissions| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808090409/http://www.crjc.org/facts.htm| archive-date=August 8, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nashuatelegraph.com">{{cite news| url=http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/newsstatenewengland/960331-227/state-officials-to-perambulate-the-border-between.html| title=State officials to perambulate the border between N.H. and Vermont (symbolically, that is)| work=[[The Telegraph (Nashua)|The Telegraph]]| date=May 10, 2012| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921074044/http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/newsstatenewengland/960331-227/state-officials-to-perambulate-the-border-between.html| archive-date=September 21, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

The region along the river upstream and downstream from [[Lebanon, New Hampshire]], and [[White River Junction, Vermont]], is known as the "Upper Valley". The exact definition of the region varies, but it generally is considered to extend south to [[Windsor, Vermont]], and [[Cornish, New Hampshire]], and north to [[Bradford, Vermont]], and [[Piermont, New Hampshire]].<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://uppervalleychamber.com/| publisher=Upper Valley Chamber of Commerce| title=Upper Valley Bi-State Regional Chamber of Commerce| access-date=July 15, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703160806/http://uppervalleychamber.com/| archive-date=July 3, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, the [[Trust for Public Land]] purchased {{convert|171000|acre|sqkm}} of land in New Hampshire from [[International Paper]], allowing the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Partnership Task Force to plan the future protection of the land.<ref name="Connecticut Lakes Headwaters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.tpl.org/our-work/connecticut-lakes-headwaters|title=Connecticut Lakes Headwaters|work=The Trust for Public Land|access-date=August 2, 2018 |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618102329/https://www.tpl.org/our-work/connecticut-lakes-headwaters|archive-date=June 18, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>  The property spans the towns of [[Pittsburg, New Hampshire|Pittsburg]], [[Clarksville, New Hampshire|Clarksville]], and [[Stewartstown, New Hampshire]], nearly 3 percent of the land in the state of New Hampshire.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.tpl.org/media-room/171000-acre-ct-headwaters-now-protected-nh#sm.000001tw1n9rvrfo8u6y3v8zmk5xa|title=171,000-Acre CT Headwaters Now Protected (NH)|work=The Trust for Public Land|access-date=August 2, 2018 |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193300/https://www.tpl.org/media-room/171000-acre-ct-headwaters-now-protected-nh#sm.000001tw1n9rvrfo8u6y3v8zmk5xa|archive-date=August 2, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Trust for Public Land worked in partnership with the [[Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests]], [[The Nature Conservancy]] of New Hampshire, and others to raise around $42 million.<ref name="Connecticut Lakes Headwaters"/> A [[conservation easement]] over {{convert|146000|acre|sqkm}} of the property prohibits development of the land while allowing public access.<ref name=":0" /> The forest is managed by the Lyme Timber Company, and the conservation easement over the land ensures sustainable forest management of the property.<ref name=":0" />

===The Middle Connecticut River: Massachusetts through central Connecticut===
Following the most recent [[ice age]], the Middle Connecticut River Valley sat at the bottom of [[Lake Hitchcock]]. Its lush greenery and rich, almost rockless soil comes from the ancient lake's sedimentary deposits.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.earthview.pair.com/ctriver.html| title=Geological History of the Connecticut River Valley| author=Richard D. Little| publisher=Earth View LLC| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114091057/http://www.earthview.pair.com/ctriver.html| archive-date=November 14, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> In the Middle Connecticut region, the river reaches its maximum depth – {{convert|130|ft}} – at [[Gill, Massachusetts]], around the [[French King Bridge]], and its maximum width – {{convert|2100|ft}} – at [[Longmeadow, Massachusetts|Longmeadow]], directly across from the [[Six Flags New England]] amusement park.<ref name="crjc.org"/><ref name=abyss>{{cite web| last=Klekowski| first=Ed| title=Stop 1-7B: Abyssal Depths in Turner's Falls Area, French King Bridge| url=http://climatechange.umaine.edu/friends/pdf/2000LakeHitchcock4.pdf| work=North Eastern Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference| date=June 2–4, 2000| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011011214/http://climatechange.umaine.edu/friends/pdf/2000LakeHitchcock4.pdf| archive-date=October 11, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref> The Connecticut's largest falls – South Hadley Falls – features a vertical drop of {{convert|58|ft}}.<ref name="ctriver.org"/> Lush green forests and agricultural hamlets dot this middle portion of the Connecticut River; however, the region is best known for its numerous [[college town]]s, such as Northampton, [[South Hadley, Massachusetts|South Hadley]], and [[Amherst, Massachusetts|Amherst]], as well as the river's most populous city, Springfield. The city sits atop bluffs beside the Connecticut's confluence with two major tributaries, the Chicopee River to the east and Westfield River to the west.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/classroom/curriculum_6th/lesson3/bkgdessay.html| author=Susan McGowan| title=The Landscape in the Colonial Period| publisher=Americancenturies.mass.edu| access-date=November 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415191502/http://americancenturies.mass.edu/classroom/curriculum_6th/lesson3/bkgdessay.html| archive-date=April 15, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>  The region around the Connecticut River is known locally as the [[Pioneer Valley]], and the name adorns many local civic organizations and local businesses.  While the southern part of the valley in Massachusetts is heavily urbanized, the northern section is largely rural and the local agriculture is well known for [[Connecticut shade tobacco]].

The Connecticut River is influenced by the tides as far north as Enfield Rapids in [[Windsor Locks, Connecticut]], approximately {{convert|58|mi}} north of the river's mouth. Two million residents live in the densely populated Hartford-Springfield region, which stretches roughly between the college towns of Amherst, Massachusetts, and Middletown, Connecticut. Hartford, the second-largest city and the only state capital on the river, is at the southern end of this region on an ancient floodplain that stretches to Middletown.

===The Lower Connecticut River: Southern Connecticut to Long Island Sound===
{{convert|15|mi|0}} south of Hartford, at Middletown, the Lower Connecticut River section begins with a narrowing of the river, and then a sharp turn southeast. Throughout southern Connecticut, the Connecticut passes through a thinly populated, hilly, wooded region before again widening and discharging into [[Long Island Sound]] between Old Saybrook and [[Old Lyme, Connecticut|Old Lyme]] in flat coastal marshlands. Due to the presence of large, shifting sandbars at its mouth, the Connecticut is the only major river in the Northeastern United States without a port at its mouth.  <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.oldsaybrookct.org/Pages/OldSaybrookCT_CC/NHT_PDFs/StopNo2.pdf| title=Type 6 Conservation Site – Connecticut River Estuary| publisher=Oldsaybrookct.org| access-date=November 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055728/http://www.oldsaybrookct.org/Pages/OldSaybrookCT_CC/NHT_PDFs/StopNo2.pdf| archive-date=September 24, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Mouth and tidelands====
[[Image:Sediment Spews from Connecticut River.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite image of the Connecticut River depositing silt into [[Long Island Sound]]]]

The Connecticut River carries a heavy amount of silt from as far north as Quebec, especially during the spring snow melt. This results in a large sandbar near the river's mouth which is a formidable obstacle to navigation. The Connecticut is one of the few major rivers in the United States without a major city at its mouth because of this obstacle. Major cities on the Connecticut River are Hartford and Springfield, which lie {{convert|45|and|69|mi|-1}} upriver respectively.

[[The Nature Conservancy]] named the Connecticut River's tidelands one of the Western Hemisphere's "40 Last Great Places", while the [[Ramsar Convention]] on Wetlands listed its estuary and tidal wetlands as one of 1,759 wetlands of international importance.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/connecticutriver| title=Connecticut River Tidelands| work=Yankee Magazine| date=25 April 2008| access-date=November 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129192323/http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/connecticutriver| archive-date=November 29, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> In 1997, the Connecticut River was designated one of only 14 [[American Heritage Rivers]], which recognized its "distinctive natural, economic, agricultural, scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational qualities." In May 2012, the Connecticut River was designated America's first National [[Blueway]] in recognition of the restoration and preservation efforts on the river.<ref name="connecticutriver.us" />

===Dams===
The Connecticut River's flow is slowed by main stem dams, which create a series of slow-flowing basins from Lake Francis Dam in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to the [[Holyoke Dam]] at [[South Hadley]] Falls in Massachusetts.<ref name="ctriver.org"/> Among the most extensively dammed rivers in the United States, the Connecticut may soon flow at a more natural pace, according to scientists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who have devised a computer that – "in an effort to balance human and natural needs" – coordinates the holding and releasing of water between the river's 54 largest dams.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://scopeweb.mit.edu/articles/connecticut-river-may-soon-flow-freely-again/| title=Connecticut River May Soon Flow Freely Again| author=Sam Wotipka| date=October 10, 2013| work=Scope| publisher=MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160220080510/http://scopeweb.mit.edu/articles/connecticut-river-may-soon-flow-freely-again/| archive-date=February 20, 2016 | url-status=dead}}</ref>{{update inline|date=April 2022}} The Cabot and Turners Falls [[hydroelectric]] stations generate up to 68 MW.<ref>{{cite web |title=21 New England municipal electric utilities make historic hydropower purchase commitment |url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/11/13/21-new-england-municipal-electric-utilities-make-historic-hydropower-purchase-commitment/ |website=Renewable Energy World |date=November 13, 2020 |access-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118160735/https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2020/11/13/21-new-england-municipal-electric-utilities-make-historic-hydropower-purchase-commitment/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Holyoke Canal System]] and Hadley Falls Station at Holyoke Dam are rated a combined 48 MW.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hged.com/about/default.aspx |title=About Holyoke Gas & Electric |access-date=April 12, 2022}}</ref>

===Tributaries===
The Connecticut River watershed encompasses {{convert|11260|sqmi}}, connecting 148 tributaries, including 38 major rivers and numerous lakes and ponds.<ref name="connecticutriver.us"/> Major tributaries include (from north to south) the [[Passumpsic River|Passumpsic]], [[Ammonoosuc River|Ammonoosuc]], [[White River (Vermont)|White]], [[Black River (Connecticut River)|Black]], [[West River (Vermont)|West]], [[Ashuelot River|Ashuelot]], [[Millers River|Millers]], [[Deerfield River|Deerfield]], [[Chicopee River|Chicopee]], [[Westfield River|Westfield]], and [[Farmington River|Farmington]] rivers. The [[Swift River (Ware River)|Swift River]], a tributary of the Chicopee, has been dammed and largely replaced by the Quabbin Reservoir which [[water supply network|provides water]] to the [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority]] district in eastern Massachusetts, including Boston and its [[Boston metropolitan area|metropolitan area]].

==Ecology==
[[File:Harbor seal in Holyoke, MA. Connecticut River. 01.jpg|thumb|Harbor seal in the Connecticut River, below the Holyoke Dam, following the shad run]]

Along its southern reaches, the Connecticut River has carved a wide, fertile floodplain valley (known in Massachusetts as the Pioneer Valley), depositing rich silt and loam soils known internationally for their agricultural merit. Abundant riparian hardwood species include sycamores, [[Populus heterophylla|cottonwood]], basswood, willows, sassafras, box elder, black elder, osier dogwood and more. The river itself and its many tributaries are home to many typical New England freshwater species. These include [[dace]], [[crawfish]], [[dobsonfly|hellgramites]], [[freshwater mussel]]s, typical frog species, [[snapping turtle]]s, [[brook trout]], freshwater sturgeon, catfish, walleye, chain pickerel and carp. Introduced species include stocked [[rainbow trout]]. The river is an important conduit of many [[anadromous]] fish, such as [[American shad]], [[lamprey]], and [[Atlantic salmon]]. [[American eel]]s are also present, as are predators of these migratory fish including [[striped bass]]. Shad run as far north as Holyoke, Massachusetts where they are lifted over the Holyoke Dam by a fish elevator. This station publishes annual statistics of the run, and has recorded an occasional salmon. They pass an additional elevator in [[Turners Falls, Massachusetts]], and make it at least as far as [[Bellows Falls, Vermont]]. [[Harbor seal]]s have been recorded traveling upriver as far north as Holyoke in pursuit of migratory fish; it is possible that they ranged farther upstream before the dam was built.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/05/masswildlife-holyoke-seal-on-connecticut-river-was-abandoned-pup-rehabbed-at-mystic-aquarium.html |title=Where did the Holyoke seal come from? (Video) |date=May 23, 2019 |access-date=July 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702174930/https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/05/masswildlife-holyoke-seal-on-connecticut-river-was-abandoned-pup-rehabbed-at-mystic-aquarium.html |archive-date=July 2, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the southernmost portions in southern Connecticut near Long Island Sound, [[dolphin]]s are spotted on occasion.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

There are 12 species of freshwater mussels.<ref name="biodrawversity.com">{{cite web| url=http://www.biodrawversity.com/pubs/Front_Matter.pdf| author=Nedeau, Ethan Jay| date=2008| title=Freshwater Mussels and the Connecticut River Watershed| publisher=Connecticut River Watershed Council, Greenfield, MA| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326234318/http://biodrawversity.com/pubs/Front_Matter.pdf| archive-date=March 26, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> Eleven of them occur in the mainstem of the Connecticut; the [[brook floater]] is found only in small streams and rivers. Species diversity is higher in the southern part of the watershed (Connecticut and Massachusetts) than in the northern part (Vermont and New Hampshire), largely due to differences in stream gradient and substrate. Eight of the 12 species in the watershed are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in one or more of the states in the watershed.<ref name="biodrawversity.com"/>

A number of [[colony (biology)|colonial]] animal species make their home in the waters of the Connecticut. Deeper areas are habitat for a diversity of colonial organisms including [[bryozoa]]. Freshwater [[sponge]]s the size of dinner plates have been found by scuba divers at depths of more than {{convert|130|ft}}, thought to be the deepest location of the river, around the [[French King Bridge]] in Erving, Massachusetts. Mussels, eels, and [[northern pike]] were also observed there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1998-06-09-9806090036-story.html |title=New Life |date=9 June 1998 |access-date=June 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619215422/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1998-06-09-9806090036-story.html |archive-date=June 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bryozoa.html|title=Bryozoans|date=October 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015183508/http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bryozoa.html|archive-date=October 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=278 |title=A freshwater bryozoan (Lophopodella carteri) - Species Profile |access-date=June 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222124405/https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=278 |archive-date=December 22, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fish===
[[Image:BillDoingGuideWork.jpg|thumb|left|Drift boat fishing guide working the river near [[Colebrook, New Hampshire]]]]

There are several species of [[anadromous]] and catadromous fish, including [[brook trout]], [[winter flounder]], [[blueback herring]], [[alewife (fish)|alewife]], [[rainbow trout]], large [[brown trout]], [[American shad]] (''Alosa sapidissima''), [[hickory shad]], [[smallmouth bass]], [[Atlantic sturgeon]], [[striped bass]] (''Morone saxatilis''), [[American eel]], [[sea lamprey]], and endangered shortnose sturgeon and dwarf wedgemussels.<ref name="fws.gov">{{cite web| url=http://www.fws.gov/northeast/fisheries/resource/habitat.html| title=Fisheries Program - Northeast Region – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service| author=Northeast Region Web Development Group| publisher=Fws.gov| access-date=November 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809143835/http://www.fws.gov/northeast/fisheries/resource/habitat.html| archive-date=August 9, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] has repopulated the river with another species of migratory fish, the [[Atlantic salmon]], which for more than 200 years had been [[extinct]] from the river due to [[dam]]ming.<ref name="fws.gov"/> Several [[fish ladder]]s and fish elevators have been built to allow fish to resume their natural migration upriver each spring.

Fresh and brackish water residents of the main branch and tributaries include [[common carp]], [[White bullhead|white catfish]], [[brown bullhead]], [[fallfish]], [[yellow perch]], [[smallmouth bass]], [[largemouth bass]], [[northern pike]], [[chain pickerel]], [[bluegill]], [[pumpkinseed sunfish]], [[golden shiner]], and [[rock bass]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Species Conservation |url=https://www.fws.gov/r5crc/species.html |website=US Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=June 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518053658/https://www.fws.gov/r5crc/species.html |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Much of the beginning of the river's course in the town of Pittsburg is occupied by the Connecticut Lakes, which contain [[lake trout]] and [[landlocked salmon]]. 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 {{convert|5|mi|0}} 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 for bountiful summer fishing on the Connecticut.

After the first major dam was built near [[Turners Falls, Massachusetts]], thirteen additional dams have ended the Connecticut River's great anadromous fish runs. Salmon restoration efforts began in 1967,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.nature.org/2017/03/14/recovery-benefits-salmon-failure-dams-removal-fish-passage/|title=Recovery: Benefits of Salmon Failure|first=Cara|last=Byington|date=March 14, 2017|website=Cool Green Science}}</ref> and fish ladders at a fish elevator at Hadley Falls have since enabled migrating fish to return to some of their former spawning grounds. In addition to dams, warm water discharges between 1978 and 1992 from [[Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant]] in Vernon, Vermont released water up to {{convert|105|F|C}} degrees, with the thermal plume reaching {{convert|55|mi|km}} downstream as far as Holyoke. This thermal pollution appears to be associated with an 80% decline in American shad fish numbers from 1992 to 2005 at Holyoke Dam. This decline may have been exacerbated by over-fishing in the mid-Atlantic and predation from resurging striped bass populations. The nuclear plant was closed at the end of 2014, after which the shad population has increased.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weiss-Tisman |first1=Howard |title=Fish Stocks Rebound After Vermont Yankee Shutdown |url=https://www.vpr.org/post/fish-stocks-rebound-after-vermont-yankee-shutdown#stream/0 |website=www.vpr.org |date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=September 23, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Economy==
<!---
A countless number of rivers have been used as means to transport people, goods, etc., and are still used so today. All such information should be described here. Stylistically, this can be a good segue from history, connecting past uses of the river to present-day uses.
--->

===Boating===
The mouth of the river up to [[Essex, Connecticut|Essex]] is thought to be one of the busiest stretches of waterway in Connecticut. Some local police departments and the state Environmental Conservation Police patrol the area a few times a week. Some towns keep boats available if needed.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kaplan, Thomas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30saybrook.html?ref=nyregion&pagewanted=print|title=River Watchers, Tackling Speeders and Thin Budgets.|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 30, 2007|access-date=August 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421092541/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30saybrook.html?ref=nyregion&pagewanted=print|archive-date=April 21, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In Massachusetts, the most active stretch of the Connecticut River is centered on [[The Oxbow (Connecticut River)|the Oxbow]], {{convert|14|mi}} north of Springfield in the college town of Northampton.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.oxbow-marina.com/| title=Welcome| publisher=Oxbow Marina| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127055937/http://www.oxbow-marina.com/| archive-date=January 27, 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

Camping is available along much of the river, for non-motorized boats, via the Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail. The Paddlers' Trail currently includes campsites on over {{convert|300|mi|-1}} of the river.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/| title=Connecticut River Paddlers' Trail| website=connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811141044/http://connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/| archive-date=August 11, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Pollution and cleanup===
[[Image:Connecticut River restoration Farilee VT1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stream restoration|Riverbank restoration]] project in [[Fairlee, Vermont]]]]

The [[Water Quality Act]] of 1965 had a major impact on controlling [[water pollution]] in the Connecticut River and its tributaries.

Since then, the river has<!-- Really need to link or describe what classes D and B are. Couldn't find template to flat there. --> been restored from Class D to Class B (fishable and swimmable).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/tmdl/documents/appx-i-upper-connecticut.pdf|access-date=January 31, 2018|title=Archived copy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020454/https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/tmdl/documents/appx-i-upper-connecticut.pdf|archive-date=February 1, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/rl/documents/rl-14.pdf|access-date=January 31, 2018 |title=Archived copy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020404/https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/rl/documents/rl-14.pdf|archive-date=February 1, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Many towns along the Lower Connecticut River have enacted a cap on further [[land development|development]] along the banks, so that no buildings may be constructed except on existing foundations. Currently, a website provides [[water quality]] reports twice a week, indicating whether various portions of the river are safe for swimming, boating and fishing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazettenet.com/2008/09/15/connecticut-river-sewer-runs-through-it|title=News and Information from Northampton, MA by the Daily Hampshire Gazette – GazetteNet.com|publisher=Gazettenet.com|access-date=November 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809071049/http://www.gazettenet.com/2008/09/15/connecticut-river-sewer-runs-through-it|archive-date=August 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="testing">{{cite web| url=http://www.cesd.umass.edu/twi/TWI_Projects/Water_Quality_Monitoring/| title=Water Quality Monitoring| work=Tri-State Connecticut River Targeted Watershed Initiative| publisher=Center for Educational Software Development – University of Massachusetts Amherst| access-date=August 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017170404/http://www.cesd.umass.edu/twi/TWI_Projects/Water_Quality_Monitoring/| archive-date=October 17, 2015| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Lists==

=== Populated places ===
{{Main|List of populated places on the Connecticut River}}

===Tributaries===
Listed from south to north by location of mouth:

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Black Hall River]] ([[Old Lyme, CT]])
*[[Falls River (Connecticut)|Falls River]] ([[Essex, CT]])
*[[Eightmile River]] ([[Hamburg, Connecticut|Hamburg, CT]])
*[[Deep River (Connecticut)|Deep River]] ([[Deep River, CT]])
*[[Salmon River (Connecticut)|Salmon River]] ([[Moodus, Connecticut|Moodus, CT]])
*[[Mattabesset River]] ([[Middletown, CT]])
*[[Hockanum River]] ([[East Hartford, Connecticut|East Hartford]] and [[Hartford, CT]])
*[[Park River (Connecticut)|Park River]] ([[Hartford, CT]])
*[[Farmington River]] ([[Windsor, CT]])
*[[Scantic River]] ([[South Windsor, CT]])
*[[Westfield River]] ([[West Springfield, Massachusetts|West Springfield]] and [[Springfield, MA]])
*[[Mill River (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Mill River]] ([[Springfield, MA]])
*[[Chicopee River]] ([[Chicopee, Massachusetts|Chicopee]] and [[Springfield, MA]])
*[[Manhan River]] ([[The Oxbow]] of [[Northampton, MA]])
*[[Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts)|Mill River]] ([[Northampton, MA]])
*[[Fort River]] ([[Hadley, MA]])
*[[Mill River (Hatfield, Massachusetts)|Mill River]] ([[Hatfield, MA]])
*[[Mill River (Hadley, Massachusetts)|Mill River]] ([[Amherst, MA]])
*[[Sawmill River]] ([[Montague, MA]])
*[[Deerfield River]] ([[Deerfield, Massachusetts|Deerfield]] and [[Greenfield, MA]])
*[[Fall River (Connecticut River tributary)|Fall River]] ([[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]] and [[Gill, MA]])
*[[Millers River]] ([[Millers Falls, MA]])
*[[Ashuelot River]] ([[Hinsdale, NH]])
*[[Whetstone Brook]] ([[Brattleboro, VT]])
*[[West River (Vermont)|West River]] ([[Brattleboro, VT]])
*[[Partridge Brook]] ([[Westmoreland, NH]])
*[[Cold River (Connecticut River)|Cold River]] ([[Walpole, NH]])
*[[Saxtons River]] ([[Westminster, VT]])
*[[Williams River (Vermont)|Williams River]] ([[Rockingham, VT]])
*[[Black River (Connecticut River)|Black River]] ([[Springfield, VT]])
*[[Little Sugar River (New Hampshire)|Little Sugar River]] ([[Charlestown, NH]])
*[[Sugar River (New Hampshire)|Sugar River]] ([[Claremont, NH]])
*[[Blow-me-down Brook]] ([[Cornish, NH]])
*[[Ottauquechee River]] ([[Hartland, VT]])
*[[Mascoma River]] ([[West Lebanon, NH]])
*[[White River (Vermont)|White River]] ([[White River Junction, VT]])
*[[Mink Brook]] ([[Hanover, NH]])
*[[Ompompanoosuc River]] ([[Norwich, VT]])
*[[Waits River]] ([[Bradford, VT]])
*[[Oliverian Brook]] ([[Haverhill, NH]])
*[[Wells River (Vermont)|Wells River]] ([[Wells River, VT]])
*[[Ammonoosuc River]] ([[Woodsville, NH]])
*[[Stevens River]] ([[Barnet, VT]])
*[[Passumpsic River]] ([[Barnet, VT]])
*[[Johns River (New Hampshire)|Johns River]] ([[Dalton, NH]])
*[[Israel River]] ([[Lancaster, NH]])
*[[Upper Ammonoosuc River]] ([[Northumberland, NH]])
*[[Paul Stream]] ([[Brunswick, VT]])
*[[Nulhegan River]] ([[Bloomfield, VT]])
*[[Simms Stream]] ([[Columbia, NH]])
*[[Mohawk River (New Hampshire)|Mohawk River]] ([[Colebrook, NH]])
*[[Halls Stream]] ([[Beecher Falls, Vermont|Beecher Falls, VT]])
*[[Indian Stream]] ([[Pittsburg, NH]])
*[[Perry Stream]] ([[Pittsburg, NH]])
{{Div col end}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="170px">
Image:TrophyStretchConnecticuttRiver.jpg|Near [[First Connecticut Lake]]
Image:ConnecticuttRiverNearColebrook.jpg|Near [[Colebrook, New Hampshire]]
Image:IMG_3758_view_north_from_French_King_Bridge.jpg|Looking north from the [[French King Bridge]] at the [[Erving, Massachusetts|Erving]]-[[Gill, Massachusetts|Gill]] town line in [[western Massachusetts]]
Image:Morning mist on the Connecticut River from the Bissell Bridge by Elias Friedman (elipongo).JPG|Mist upstream of the [[Bissell Bridge (Connecticut)|Bissell Bridge]] between [[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]] and [[South Windsor, CT]]
Image:20190618 hartford in the rain 9UV7471 1.jpg|View of Connecticut River downstream from [[Hartford]] as seen from [[East Hartford]]
Image:Connecticut River bridge.jpg|[[Founders Bridge]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], with a view of the [[Bulkeley Bridge]] upstream
Image:Connecticut River near its mouth.JPG|The river near its mouth
</gallery>

=== Crossings ===
{{Main list|List of crossings of the Connecticut River}}

The Connecticut River is a barrier to travel between western and eastern New England. Several major transportation corridors cross the river including [[Amtrak]]'s [[Northeast Corridor]], [[Interstate 95 in Connecticut|Interstate 95]] ([[Connecticut Turnpike]]), [[Interstate 90]] ([[Massachusetts Turnpike]]), [[Interstate 89]], [[Interstate 93]], and [[Interstate 84 (east)|Interstate 84]]. In addition, [[Interstate 91]], whose route largely follows the river, crosses it twice – once in Connecticut and once in Massachusetts.

=== In literature ===
[[Lydia Sigourney]]'s poem [[wikisource:Poems Sigourney 1834/Connecticut River|"Connecticut River"]] was first published in her 1834 poetry collection.<ref>{{cite web| last =Sigourney|first=Lydia|title=Poetical Works| url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=-6pcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA36| year=1850 |publisher=George Routledge & Co.}}</ref> A later poem, [[wikisource:Scenes in my Native Land/Passage up the Connecticut|"Passage up the Connecticut"]], was published in 1845,<ref name="scenes">{{cite book |last1=Sigourney |first1=Lydia |title=Scenes in My Native Land |date=1845 |publisher=J. Munroe and company |location=Boston, Massachusetts |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=DzhkAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA130&hl=en}}</ref> together with a description of a journey along the river.<ref name="scenes" />

[[Wallace Stevens]], one of America's most important 20th century poets, lived in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was vice-president of the Hartford Insurance Co. He composed many of his poems, including "The River of Rivers in Connecticut", on his 2.4 mile daily walk to and from his office.<ref>''The Palm at the End of the Mind, Selected Poems and a Play''; Wallace Stevens; Ed. by Holly Stevens</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|New Hampshire}}
* [[Equivalent Lands]]
* [[Essex, Connecticut#The Great Attack|The Great Attack]], the burning of American ships on the Connecticut River at Essex in 1814
* [[History of Connecticut]]
* [[Lake Connecticut]], post-glacial predecessor to Lake Hitchcock
* [[Lake Hitchcock]], post-glacial predecessor to the Connecticut River
* [[List of rivers of Connecticut]]
* [[List of rivers of Massachusetts]]
* [[List of rivers of New Hampshire]]
* [[List of rivers of Vermont]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
  | last = Bacon
  | first = Edwin M.
  | title = The Connecticut River and the Valley of the Connecticut: Three Hundred and Fifty Miles from Mountain to Sea
  | publisher = G.P. Putnam's Sons
  | year = 1906
  | location = New York
  | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_faczgySbodgC
  | id = {{LCC|F12.C7 B2}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Braden
  | first = Al
  | title = The Connecticut River: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of New England
  | publisher = Wesleyan University Press
  | location = Middletown CT
  | year = 2009
  | url = https://www.google.com/products?q=9780819568953&tiled=1&scoring=p
  | isbn =  978-0-8195-6895-3 }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Delany
  | first = Edmund Thomas
  | title = The Connecticut River: New England's Historic Waterway
  | publisher = The Globe Pequot Press
  | year = 1983
  | isbn = 978-0-87106-980-1}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Hard
  | first = Walter R.
  | title = The Connecticut (Rivers of America)
  | publisher = Rinehart & Company, Inc
  | location = New York, Toronto
  | year = 1947
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dm4NAAAACAAJ
  | id = {{LCC|F12.C7 H3}}
  | isbn = 0-932691-27-7 }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Roth
  | first = Randolph A.
  | title = The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791–1850
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | location = Cambridge
  | year = 2003
  | isbn = 978-0-521-31773-3 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Vogel |first1=Eve |first2=Alexandra |last2=Lacey |title=The New Deal Versus Yankee Independence: The Failure of Comprehensive Development on the Connecticut River, and Its Long-Term Consequences |journal=Northeastern Geographer |volume=4 |issue=2 |year=2012 |pages=65–94 |url=http://www.nacehf.org/uploads/3/1/5/0/3150800/Papers/vogel2.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wardner|first1=Henry Steele|title=The Birthplace of Vermont: A History of Windsor to 1781|url=https://archive.org/details/birthplaceofverm00ward|date=1927|publisher=Scribner's|location=New York|lccn=27014536|asin=B00086X8BY}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Connecticut River}}
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle = Connecticut River |volume = 6 |short = x }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151230125819/http://www.ctriver.org/ Connecticut River Watershed Council]
* [http://www.crvfcc.org/ Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission]
* [http://www.ctrivermuseum.org/ Connecticut River Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190119045753/http://www.ctriverfest.org/ Connecticut Riverfest]
* [http://www.uvtrails.org Upper Valley Trails Alliance]
* [http://www.crjc.org/ Connecticut River Joint Commissions]
* [http://www.cesd.umass.edu/twi/ Tri-state Connecticut River Watershed Initiative]
* {{cite Collier's |wstitle = Connecticut (river) |display = Connecticut, a river of the United States |short = x }}

{{Connecticut River}}
{{AHR}}
{{Ramsar sites in the United States}}
{{Rivers of Connecticut}}
{{Massachusetts rivers}}
{{Rivers of New Hampshire}}
{{Vermont rivers}}
{{Coastal waterbodies of Connecticut}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Connecticut River| ]]
[[Category:American Heritage Rivers]]
[[Category:Borders of New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Borders of Vermont]]
[[Category:Connecticut placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Estuaries of Connecticut]]
[[Category:Geography of New England]]
[[Category:Long Island Sound]]
[[Category:Massachusetts placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Northern Forest Canoe Trail]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in the United States]]
[[Category:Rivers of Connecticut]]
[[Category:Rivers of Coös County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of Franklin County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Rivers of Grafton County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of Hampden County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Rivers of Hampshire County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Rivers of Hartford County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Rivers of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Rivers of Middlesex County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Rivers of New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Rivers of New London County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Rivers of Orange County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Rivers of Vermont]]
[[Category:Rivers of Windsor County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Rivers with fish ladders]]
[[Category:Vermont placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Water law in the United States]]