The Charles RiverSherborn, MA
Canoeing in Massachusetts
Canoeing Rivers
Top Ten Lists
Canoe Trip Reports
(not yet implemented)
Links To Other Sites
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And it shows. Dams and factories were thrown up anywhere someone thought enough power could be generated to make a buck.
I don't know of anything that testifies more powerfully to the resilience of Natural Places than the comeback the Rivers are making here.
(Mass Dept of Environmental Mgt)
1. Hoosic
2. Housatonic
3. Deerfield
4. Westfield
5. Farmington
6. Connecticut
7. Millers
8. Chicopee
9. Quinebaug
10. French
11. Nashua
12. Blackstone
13. Merrimack
14. Concord
14a. Assabet
14b. Concord and Sudbury
15. Shawsheen
16. Parker
17. Ipswich
18. North Coastal
19. Boston Harbor
19a. Mystic
19b. Neponset
19c. Weymouth and Weir
20. Charles
21. South Coastal
21a. North and South
21b. South Coastal Shore
22. Cape Cod
23. Islands
24. Buzzards Bay
25. Taunton
26. Narragansett Bay and
Mt. Hope Bay Shore
27.Tenmile
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Places:
- For Walking
- For Canoeing
- MA Canoeing
- Home
(US Geological Survey)
1. Merrimack
2. Coastal
3. Thames
4. Connecticut
5. Housatonic
6. Hudson
A River Basin refers to all the land drained by a River and its tributaries. The U.S. Geological Survey divides Massachusetts into 6 river basins, designated as Hydrological Units. The Mass. Dept of Environmental Management has a more detailed system of 27 Planning Basins.
Massachusetts has plenty of precipitation, keeping enough groundwater around to support an extensive network of rivers and streams. They're not the longest in the world -- since they originate so close to the ocean, there's no room to grow very large. Mostly small to medium in length, there are over 50 different rivers in Massachusetts that are, in my opinion, just perfect for recreational canoeing.
Depending on how hardy you are, the canoeing season in Massachusetts can last as long as 8 months, March - October. The water is mostly flat, with a few white water exceptions. And despite some areas of heavy development and pollution, there are plenty of excellent trips through what feels like Natural Places.
Massachusetts Now, and Then
Massachusetts has been under miles of ice for most of the last 3 million years. It is in one of the few parts of the United States that was totally covered by a glacier during the most recent ice age. Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, small Islands off the southern coast of Cape Cod, mark the furthest southern advance. The ice was there as recently as 15,000 years ago -- but when it left, it left fast. By about 10,000 years ago that glacier was safely tucked away back up in northern Canada where it belongs.
Most of Massachusetts is included in the New England physiographic province, featuring hills and valleys with a north-south orientation, parallel to the lines of tectonic collisions and rifts. The Coastal Plain province covers the southeastern part of the State, which consists primarily of lowland plains and small hills without the ridge structure of the rest of the State.
Surface and ground water in Massachusetts originates and is replenished by precipitation, which averages about 44" per year. The majority of this precipitation enters rivers and streams directly as runoff, up to 32" or more in the hillier western parts of the State. The rest evaporates back into the atmosphere or penetrates more deeply into the ground and eventually reaches wetland areas, ponds or lakes, or rivers and streams as groundwater. The amount of evaporation varies considerably with the season, causing water levels to decrease in the summer and increase in the winter and early spring.
The two rivers with the largest drainage areas in the State -- the Connecticut and the Merrimack -- also have by far the highest average discharge. The lower part of the Connecticut has been measured at about 16,500 cu ft/sec, compared to less than 100 cu ft/sec from many of Coastal River basins.
Several organizations are involved in water resources management in Massachusetts. The Dept. of Environmental Management regulates interbasin transfers, works on flood control, and handles water resources planning and data collection. The Dept. of Environmental Protection is primarily responsible for water quality -- pollution control, hazardous wastes etc. The Metropolitan District Commssion manages watersheds in the Greater Boston area, and the Army Corps of Engineers manages 8500 acres in the middle of the Charles River basin as part of a floodplain management system.