Information AboutMerrimack River |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MERRIMACK RIVER | |
| rivers of massachusetts | |
| rivers of new hampshire | |
|
The Merrimack River (or '''Merrimac River''', an earlier spelling that is sometimes still used) is a 110-mile-long (177-kilometer-long) river in the Northeastern United States . It rises in central New Hampshire at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers, flows southward into Massachusetts , and then flows northeast, near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport . Several U.S. naval ships have been named the USS ''Merrimack'' and USS ''Merrimac'' in honor of this river. 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. examines the flooded Merrimack]] The total watershed of the river is approximately 5,000 , Manchester , and Nashua in New Hampshire, and Lowell , Lawrence , and Haverhill in Massachusetts. The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic ''A Week on the Concord and Merrimac 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. ETYMOLOGY The name ''Merrimack'' is believed to have been adopted by early European settlers from ''Merruasquamack,'' a name meaning "swift water place" that given by Native American tribes for the portion of the river between Manchester, New Hampshire and Lowell, Massachusetts . A number of tribes occupied the watershed and gave the river several different names. The original Euro-American spelling of the river's name was ''Merrimac''. West Amesbury, Massachusetts , a former part of Amesbury, Massachusetts , contained the village of Merrimacport ; it later separated from Amesbury and was incorporated in 1876 as Merrimac, Massachusetts . Amesbury was incorporated long before Merrimack, New Hampshire , which is also named for the river. Since Merrimack is closer to the source of the river, many assume that the river receives its name from this community; however, early maps and documents clearly refer to the river as the ''Merrimac''. It is unclear when, where, and why the name was officially recognized as ''Merrimack''. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|