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118-915: Indian Stream is a tributary of the Connecticut River , approximately 19.1 miles (30.7 km) long, in New Hampshire in the United States . It rises in the mountains of extreme northern New Hampshire, in Coos County near the Canada–United States border , where the East Branch of Indian Stream joins the West Branch. Indian Stream flows south-southwest, joining the Connecticut 2 miles (3 km) downstream from

236-503: A nor'easter , such as the Blizzard of '78 and the Blizzard of 1993 , when several feet accumulated across portions of the state over 24 to 48 hours. Lighter snowfalls of several inches occur frequently throughout winter, often associated with an Alberta Clipper . New Hampshire, on occasion, is affected by hurricanes and tropical storms—although, by the time they reach the state, they are often extratropical —with most storms striking

354-643: 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,

472-525: A campaign of water conservation. Demand was reduced to sustainable levels by 1989, reaching approximately a 25% margin of safety by 2009. 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. The Connecticut River rises from Fourth Connecticut Lake ,

590-576: A center of wildlife and recreation. Starting about 1865, the river was used for massive logging drives from Third Connecticut Lake to initially water powered sawmills 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 , and

708-885: A diversity of colonial organisms including bryozoa . Freshwater sponges the size of dinner plates have been found by scuba divers at depths of more than 130 feet (40 m), 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. There are several species of anadromous and catadromous fish, including brook trout , winter flounder , blueback herring , 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. Additionally,

826-687: A growing tourism sector centered on outdoor recreation. It has some of the highest ski mountains on the East Coast and is a major destination for winter sports; Mount Monadnock is among the most climbed mountains in the United States. Other activities include observing the fall foliage , summer cottages along many lakes and the seacoast, motorsports at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon , and Motorcycle Week ,

944-600: A hundred recorded deaths among visitors, and conspicuous krumholtz (dwarf, matted trees much like a carpet of bonsai trees), the climate on the upper reaches of Mount Washington has inspired the weather observatory on the peak to claim that the area has the "World's Worst Weather". The White Mountains were home to the rock formation called the Old Man of the Mountain , a face-like profile in Franconia Notch , until

1062-407: A key state issue in the early 1900s in response to poor logging practices. In the 1970s, activists defeated a proposal to build an oil refinery along the coast and limited plans for a full-width interstate highway through Franconia Notch to a parkway. Winter season lengths are projected to decline at ski areas across New Hampshire due to the effects of climate change , which is likely to continue

1180-485: A length of 18 miles (29 km), sometimes measured as only 13 miles (21 km). The White Mountains range in New Hampshire spans the north-central portion of the state. The range includes Mount Washington , the tallest in the northeastern U.S.—site of the second-highest wind speed ever recorded— as well as Mount Adams and Mount Jefferson . With hurricane-force winds every third day on average, more than

1298-711: A less resistant eroded plain. New Hampshire has more than 800 lakes and ponds, and approximately 19,000 miles (31,000 km) of rivers and streams. Major rivers include the 110-mile (177 km) Merrimack River , which bisects the lower half of the state north–south before passing into Massachusetts and reaching the sea in Newburyport . Its tributaries include the Contoocook River , Pemigewasset River , and Winnipesaukee River . The 410-mile (660 km) Connecticut River , which starts at New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut , defines

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1416-818: A popular motorcycle rally held in Weirs Beach in Laconia . The White Mountain National Forest includes most of the Appalachian Trail between Vermont and Maine, and has the Mount Washington Auto Road , where visitors may drive to the top of 6,288-foot (1,917 m) Mount Washington . Various Algonquian -speaking Abenaki tribes, largely divided between the Androscoggin , Cowasuck and Pennacook nations, inhabited

1534-483: A relatively cooler to warmer climate as one travels southward across New Hampshire. The 1990 USDA plant hardiness zones for New Hampshire range from zone 3b in the north to zone 5b in the south. Metropolitan areas in the New England region are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs). The following is a list of NECTAs fully or partially in New Hampshire: As of

1652-671: A series of slow-flowing basins from Lake Francis Dam in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to the Holyoke Dam at South Hadley Falls in Massachusetts. 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

1770-503: A small pond 300 yards (270 m) south of the Canada–United States border in the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire , at an elevation of 2,670 feet (810 m) above sea level. It flows through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis for 14 miles (23 km), all within the town of Pittsburg, and then widens as it delineates 255 miles (410 km) of the border between New Hampshire and Vermont. The river drops more than 2,480 feet (760 m) in elevation as it winds south to

1888-654: A territory stretching roughly from the Massachusetts border with Vermont and New Hampshire, northward to the rise of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. 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

2006-482: 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. The Fort at Number 4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire , was the northernmost British colonial presence on the Connecticut River until

2124-635: A village sandwiched between the territories of the aggressive Pequots to the south and the more peaceable Mohegans to the north. 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. 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

2242-818: Is a corruption of the Mohegan word quinetucket and Nipmuc word kwinitekw , which mean "beside the long, tidal river". 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 as the Fresh River, and the Dutch called it the Verse River. Early spellings of the name by European explorers included "Cannitticutt" in French or in English. Archaeological digs reveal human habitation of

2360-513: Is a distant second. Squam Lake is the second largest lake entirely in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the United States, approximately 18 miles (29 km) long. Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. About 7 miles (11 km) offshore are the Isles of Shoals , nine small islands (four of which are in New Hampshire) known as

2478-501: Is a major component of the economy. New Hampshire experienced a major shift in its economic base during the 20th century. Historically, the base was composed of traditional New England textiles, shoemaking, and small machine shops, drawing upon low-wage labor from nearby small farms and parts of Quebec. Today, of the state's total manufacturing dollar value, these sectors contribute only two percent for textiles, two percent for leather goods, and nine percent for machining. They experienced

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2596-412: Is among the lowest in the country. It ranks among the top ten states in metrics such as governance, healthcare, socioeconomic opportunity, and fiscal stability. New Hampshire is one of the least religious states and known for its libertarian -leaning political culture; it was until recently a swing state in presidential elections. With its mountainous and heavily forested terrain, New Hampshire has

2714-769: Is an important conduit of many anadromous fish, such as American shad , lamprey , and Atlantic salmon . American eels 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 seals have been recorded traveling upriver as far north as Holyoke in pursuit of migratory fish; it

2832-874: Is bounded by Quebec, Canada, to the north and northwest; Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east; Massachusetts to the south; and Vermont to the west. New Hampshire's major regions are the Great North Woods , the White Mountains , the Lakes Region , the Seacoast , the Merrimack Valley , the Monadnock Region , and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U.S. coastal state, with

2950-693: Is now inundated by the impoundments of dams built after this time. 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

3068-652: 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 45 and 69 miles (70 and 110 km) 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. In 1997,

3186-405: Is possible that they ranged farther upstream before the dam was built. In the southernmost portions in southern Connecticut near Long Island Sound, dolphins are spotted on occasion. There are 12 species of freshwater mussels. 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

3304-418: Is the eighth-smallest by land area and the tenth-least populous , with a population of 1,377,529 residents as of the 2020 census . Concord is the state capital and Manchester is the most populous city . New Hampshire's motto , " Live Free or Die ", reflects its role in the American Revolutionary War ; its nickname , "The Granite State", refers to its extensive granite formations and quarries . It

3422-486: 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 58 miles (93 km) 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,

3540-557: Is well known nationwide for holding the first primary (after the Iowa caucus ) in the U.S. presidential election cycle , and for its resulting influence on American electoral politics. New Hampshire was inhabited for thousands of years by Algonquian -speaking peoples such as the Abenaki . Europeans arrived in the early 17th century, with the English establishing some of the earliest non-indigenous settlements. The Province of New Hampshire

3658-444: Is within commuting range of Boston and other Massachusetts cities. As indicated in the census, in 2020 88.3% of the population were White ; 1.5% were Black or African American ; 0.2% were Native American or Alaskan Native; 2.6% were Asian ; 0.0% were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander ; 1.7% were some other race; and 5.6% were two or more races . 4.3% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.6% of

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3776-469: The 2020 census , the resident population of New Hampshire was 1,377,529, a 4.6% increase since the 2010 United States Census . The center of population of New Hampshire is in Merrimack County , in the town of Pembroke . The center of population has moved south 12 miles (19 km) since 1950, a reflection of the fact that the state's fastest growth has been along its southern border, which

3894-617: The 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 3 feet (1 m) 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$ 11,000,000,000 with inflation ) in damages. Across

4012-621: The Fort Huys de Hoop ("Fort House of Hope"). Four separate 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

4130-614: The New England-Acadian forests . The southeast corner of the state and parts of the Connecticut River along the Vermont border are covered by the mixed oaks of the Northeastern coastal forests . The state's numerous forests are popular among autumnal leaf peepers seeking the brilliant foliage of the numerous deciduous trees . The northern third of the state is locally referred to as the "north country" or "north of

4248-761: The Nulhegan River basin in Essex County, Vermont , would be flushed into the main river by the release of water impounded behind splash dams . 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 400-foot (120 m) drop along the length of Fifteen-Mile Falls (now submerged under Moore and Comerford reservoirs), and through Logan's Rips at Fitzdale, Mulligan's Lower Pitch, and Seven Islands. The White River from Vermont and Ammonoosuc River from New Hampshire brought more logs into

4366-714: The Passumpsic , Ammonoosuc , White , Black , West , Ashuelot , Millers , Deerfield , Chicopee , Westfield , and Farmington rivers. The Swift River , a tributary of the Chicopee, has been dammed and largely replaced by the Quabbin Reservoir which provides water to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority district in eastern Massachusetts, including Boston and its metropolitan area . Along its southern reaches,

4484-562: The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard . The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2002, leaving ownership of the island with Maine. New Hampshire still claims sovereignty of the base, however. The largest of New Hampshire's lakes is Lake Winnipesaukee , which covers 71 square miles (184 km ) in the east-central part of New Hampshire. Umbagog Lake along the Maine border, approximately 12.3 square miles (31.9 km ),

4602-525: The Six Flags New England amusement park. The Connecticut's largest falls – South Hadley Falls – features a vertical drop of 58 feet (18 m). Lush green forests and agricultural hamlets dot this middle portion of the Connecticut River; however, the region is best known for its numerous college towns , such as Northampton, South Hadley , and Amherst , as well as the river's most populous city, Springfield. The city sits atop bluffs beside

4720-602: The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests , The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire, and others to raise around $ 42 million. A conservation easement over 146,000 acres (590 km ) of the property prohibits development of the land while allowing public access. The forest is managed by the Lyme Timber Company, and the conservation easement over the land ensures sustainable forest management of

4838-602: The Trust for Public Land purchased 171,000 acres (690 km ) of land in New Hampshire from International Paper , allowing the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Partnership Task Force to plan the future protection of the land. The property spans the towns of Pittsburg , Clarksville , and Stewartstown, New Hampshire , nearly 3 percent of the land in the state of New Hampshire. The Trust for Public Land worked in partnership with

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4956-544: The United Church of Christ with 26,321 members; and the United Methodist Church with 18,029 members. In 2016, a Gallup Poll found that New Hampshire was the least religious state in the United States. Only 20% of respondents in New Hampshire categorized themselves as "very religious", while the nationwide average was 40%. According to the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute study, 64% of

5074-482: The United States Declaration of Independence and contributed troops, ships, and supplies in the war against Britain . In June 1788, it was the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution , bringing that document into effect. Through the mid-19th century, New Hampshire was an active center of abolitionism , and fielded close to 32,000 Union soldiers during the U.S. Civil War . After the war,

5192-655: 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 damming . Several fish ladders 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 catfish , brown bullhead , fallfish , yellow perch , smallmouth bass , largemouth bass , northern pike , chain pickerel , bluegill , pumpkinseed sunfish , golden shiner , and rock bass . Much of

5310-421: The issuance of land grants by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth beginning in the 1740s. New York protested these grants, and King George III decided in 1764 that the border between the provinces should be the western bank of the Connecticut River. 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

5428-616: The American Revolution, New Hampshire was economically divided. The Seacoast region revolved around sawmills, shipyards, merchants' warehouses, and established village and town centers, where wealthy merchants built substantial homes, furnished them with luxuries, and invested their capital in trade and land speculation. At the other end of the social scale, there developed a permanent class of day laborers, mariners, indentured servants and slaves. In December 1774, Paul Revere warned Patriots that Fort William and Mary would be reinforced with British troops. The following day, John Sullivan raided

5546-430: 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. 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

5664-448: 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. Hartford kept a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook for protection against

5782-419: The Connecticut River Valley for 6,000 years before present. 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. The Pequots dominated a territory in the southern region of the Connecticut River valley, stretching roughly from

5900-702: 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, 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 , hellgramites , freshwater mussels , typical frog species, snapping turtles , brook trout , freshwater sturgeon, catfish, walleye, chain pickerel and carp. Introduced species include stocked rainbow trout . The river

6018-435: 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. The Connecticut River's flow is slowed by main stem dams, which create

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6136-504: The Connecticut River. 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 , such as the Mohawk , Mahican , and Iroquois tribes. The Pennacook tribe mediated many early disagreements between colonists and other Indian tribes, with

6254-518: The Connecticut also define part of the Canada–U.S. border. The Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the state's only significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth . The Salmon Falls River and the Piscataqua define the southern portion of the border with Maine. The Piscataqua River boundary was the subject of a border dispute between New Hampshire and Maine in 2001, with New Hampshire claiming dominion over several islands (primarily Seavey's Island ) that include

6372-419: The Connecticut's confluence with two major tributaries, the Chicopee River to the east and Westfield River to the west. 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

6490-546: 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, 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 105 °F (41 °C) degrees, with

6608-489: 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 Ox Bow. Men detailed to this work utilized Woodsville's saloons and red-light district . Some of the logs were destined for mills in 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

6726-399: The Connecticut. This resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit by the state of Connecticut against the diversion of its riparian waters. 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, but in 1986 the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority instead undertook

6844-515: The Declaration of Independence was signed by the Continental Congress. The United States Constitution was ratified by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to do so. New Hampshire was a Jacksonian stronghold; the state sent Franklin Pierce to the White House in the election of 1852. Industrialization took the form of numerous textile mills, which in turn attracted large flows of immigrants from Quebec (the "French Canadians") and Ireland . The northern parts of

6962-401: The Dutch fort. A group left the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 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. In 1635, Reverend Thomas Hooker led settlers from Cambridge, Massachusetts , where he had feuded with Reverend John Cotton , to

7080-413: 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

7198-442: 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

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7316-417: The Republican and Democratic nominations but did not necessarily guarantee victory. The media gave New Hampshire and Iowa significant attention compared to other states in the primary process, magnifying the state's decision powers and spurring repeated efforts by out-of-state politicians to change the rules. New Hampshire is part of the six-state New England region of the Northeastern United States . It

7434-514: The area before European colonization. Despite the similar language, they had a very different culture and religion from other Algonquian peoples. Indigenous people lived near Keene, New Hampshire 12,000 years ago, according to 2009 archaeological digs, and the Abenaki were present in New Hampshire in pre-colonial times. English and French explorers visited New Hampshire in 1600–1605, and David Thompson settled at Odiorne's Point in present-day Rye in 1623. The first permanent European settlement

7552-573: The area. 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 eventually became Springfield, situated on the Bay Path where the Connecticut River meets the western Westfield River and eastern Chicopee River . 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

7670-528: 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 5 miles (8 km) 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

7788-452: The border of Massachusetts where it sits 190 feet (58 m) above sea level. 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 . In 2001,

7906-403: The city of Keene , has a population of over 20,000. The four counties covering these two areas account for 72% of the state population, and one ( Hillsborough ) has nearly 30% of the state population, as well as the two most populous communities, Manchester and Nashua. The northern portion of the state is very sparsely populated: the largest county by area, Coos , covers the northern one-fourth of

8024-421: The coast to overnight lows below 0 °F (−18 °C) in the far north and at high elevations. Average annual precipitation statewide is roughly 40 inches (100 cm) with some variation occurring in the White Mountains due to differences in elevation and annual snowfall. New Hampshire's highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) in Nashua on July 4, 1911, while the lowest recorded temperature

8142-405: The college town of Northampton. New Hampshire New Hampshire ( / ˈ h æ m p ʃ ər / HAMP -shər ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States . It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Of the 50 U.S. states , New Hampshire

8260-455: The dam's powerhouse from being overwhelmed, despite blocks of ice breaking through the upstream walls. 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 (now UMass Amherst ). Unprecedented accumulated ice jams compounded

8378-407: 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. Settlement of the Upper Connecticut River Valley increased quickly, with population assessments of 36,000 by 1790. Vermont was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York , and was settled primarily through

8496-408: The establishment of the independent Vermont Republic in 1777 and its eventual accession to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth state. Boundary disputes between Vermont and New Hampshire lasted for nearly 150 years and were finally settled in 1933, when the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed King George's boundary as the ordinary low-water mark on the Vermont shore. In some places, the state line

8614-533: The formation disintegrated in May 2003. Even after its loss, the Old Man remains an enduring symbol for the state, seen on state highway signs, automobile license plates, and many government and private entities around New Hampshire. In southwestern New Hampshire, the landmark Mount Monadnock has given its name to a class of earth-forms—a monadnock —signifying, in geomorphology, any isolated resistant peak rising from

8732-606: The fort for weapons. During the raid, the British soldiers fired at rebels with cannon and muskets, but there were apparently no casualties. These were among the first shots in the American Revolutionary period, occurring approximately five months before the Battles of Lexington and Concord . On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain, almost six months before

8850-593: The highest percentage (22.9%) of residents with French/ French Canadian /Acadian ancestry of any U.S. state. In 2018, the top countries of origin for New Hampshire's immigrants were India , Canada , China , Nepal and the Dominican Republic . According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates from 2017, 2.1% of the population aged   5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 1.8% speak French . In Coös County , 9.6% of

8968-506: The historic contraction and consolidation of the ski industry and threaten individual ski businesses and communities that rely on ski tourism. Black bears , white-tailed deer , and moose can be found all over New Hampshire. There are also less-common animals such as the marten and the Canadian lynx . New Hampshire experiences a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfa in some southern areas, Dfb in most of

9086-463: The holding and releasing of water between the river's 54 largest dams. The Cabot and Turners Falls hydroelectric stations generate up to 68 MW. The Holyoke Canal System and Hadley Falls Station at Holyoke Dam are rated a combined 48 MW. The Connecticut River watershed encompasses 11,260 square miles (29,200 km ), connecting 148 tributaries, including 38 major rivers and numerous lakes and ponds. Major tributaries include (from north to south)

9204-409: The log drivers. Mount Tom was the landmark the log drivers used to gauge the distance to the final mills near Holyoke, Massachusetts . These spring drives were stopped after 1915, when pleasure boat owners complained about the hazards to navigation. The final drive included 500 workers controlling 65 million feet of logs. A final pulp drive consisted of 100,000 cords of four-foot logs in 1918. This

9322-429: The most significant influx of immigrants, and today roughly a quarter of all New Hampshire residents have French American ancestry, second only to Maine. Reflecting a nationwide trend, New Hampshire's industrial sector declined after World War II . Since 1950, its economy diversified to include financial and professional services, real estate, education, transportation and high-tech, with manufacturing still higher than

9440-525: The nation. New Hampshire and Vermont are also at the lowest levels among states in religious commitment. In 2012, 23% of New Hampshire residents in a Gallup poll considered themselves "very religious", while 52% considered themselves "non-religious". According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) in 2010, the largest denominations were the Catholic Church with 311,028 members;

9558-423: The national average. Beginning in the 1950s, its population surged as major highways connected it to Greater Boston and led to more commuter towns . New Hampshire is among the wealthiest and most-educated states. It is one of nine states without an income tax and has no taxes on sales, capital gains, or inheritance while relying heavily on local property taxes to fund education; consequently, its state tax burden

9676-530: The northeast, over 430,000 people were made homeless or destitute by flooding that year. The Connecticut River Flood Control Compact between the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont was established in 1953 to help prevent serious flooding. The creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s diverted the Swift River , which feeds the Chicopee River, a tributary of

9794-537: The notches", in reference to the White Mountain passes that channel traffic. It contains less than 5% of the state's population, suffers relatively high poverty, and is steadily losing population as the logging and paper industries decline. However, the tourist industry, in particular visitors who go to northern New Hampshire to ski , snowboard , hike and mountain bike , has helped offset economic losses from mill closures. Environmental protection emerged as

9912-452: 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 WPA and

10030-616: The population in 2010: 0.6% were of Mexican , 0.9% Puerto Rican , 0.1% Cuban , and 1.2% other Hispanic or Latino origin. As of 2020, the Hispanic or Latino population was counted as 4.3%. The Native American/Alaska native population is listed as 0.3% in the 2020 census, but may be higher. According to the 2012–2017 American Community Survey , the largest ancestry groups in the state were Irish (20.6%), English (16.5%), French (14.0%), Italian (10.4%), German (9.1%), French Canadian (8.9%), and American (4.8%). New Hampshire has

10148-566: The population speaks French at home, down from 16% in 2000. In the city of Nashua , Hillsborough County, 8.02% of the population speaks Spanish at home. Note: Percentages in the table do not add up to 100, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number. In 2022, New Hampshire had the lowest teen birth rate of any state, at 4.6 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19 years of age. Religion in New Hampshire according to PRRI American Values Atlas (2021) A Pew survey in 2014 showed that

10266-504: The population was Christian, dominated by Roman Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism . In contrast with varying studies of estimated irreligiosity, the Public Religion Research Institute reported that irreligion declined from 36% at the separate 2014 Pew survey to 25% of the population in 2020. In 2021, the unaffiliated increased to 40% of the population, although Christianity altogether made up 54% of

10384-595: The population were under 18 years of age; 19.3% were 65 years and over. The female population was 50.5%. The most densely populated areas generally lie within 50 miles (80 km) of the Massachusetts border, and are concentrated in two areas: along the Merrimack River Valley running from Concord to Nashua , and in the Seacoast Region along an axis stretching from Rochester to Portsmouth . Outside of those two regions, only one community,

10502-481: 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. 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

10620-609: 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 was essentially destroyed, and the southern parts of Holyoke were severely damaged, with 500 refugees. In Springfield, Massachusetts, 5 sq mi (13 km ), and 18 miles (29 km) of streets, were flooded, and 20,000 people lost their homes. The city lost power, and nighttime looting caused

10738-628: The property. 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. In the Middle Connecticut region, the river reaches its maximum depth – 130 feet (40 m) – at Gill, Massachusetts , around the French King Bridge , and its maximum width – 2,100 feet (640 m) – at Longmeadow , directly across from

10856-399: The religious affiliations of the people of New Hampshire was as follows: nonreligious 36%, Protestant 30%, Catholic 26%, Jehovah's Witness 2%, LDS ( Mormon ) 1%, and Jewish 1%. A survey suggests people in New Hampshire and Vermont are less likely than other Americans to attend weekly services and only 54% say they are "absolutely certain there is a God" compared to 71% in the rest of

10974-520: The river's first unnavigable waterfall. Pynchon surmised that traders using any of these routes would have to dock and change ships at his site, thereby granting the settlement a commercial advantage. It was initially named Agawam Plantation and was allied with the settlements to the south that became the state of Connecticut. In 1641, Springfield splintered off from the Hartford-based Connecticut Colony, allying itself with

11092-616: 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 Western Niantics , while maintaining an uneasy stand-off with their rivals the Mohegans . The Mattabesset (Tunxis) tribe takes its name from the place where its sachems ruled at the Connecticut River's Big Bend at Middletown, in

11210-637: 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. 15 miles (24 km) 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 in flat coastal marshlands. Due to

11328-543: The settlers but returned to Vermont. In 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block became the first European to chart the Connecticut River, sailing as far north as Enfield Rapids . 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

11446-499: The shad population has increased. The mouth of the river up to 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. In Massachusetts, the most active stretch of the Connecticut River is centered on the Oxbow , 14 miles (23 km) north of Springfield in

11564-534: The site in Connecticut of the Dutch Fort House of Hope, where he founded Newtowne. 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. The fourth English settlement along the Connecticut River came out of

11682-485: The site of a 19th-century art colony founded by poet Celia Thaxter , and the alleged location of one of the buried treasures of the pirate Blackbeard . It is the state with the highest percentage of timberland area in the country. New Hampshire is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome . Much of the state, in particular the White Mountains, is covered by the conifers and northern hardwoods of

11800-451: The southern New England coastline and moving inland or passing by offshore in the Gulf of Maine . Most of New Hampshire averages fewer than 20 days of thunderstorms per year and an average of two tornadoes occur annually statewide. The National Arbor Day Foundation plant hardiness zone map depicts zones 3, 4, 5, and   6 occurring throughout the state and indicates the transition from

11918-483: The state and has only around 31,000 people, about a third of whom live in a single community ( Berlin ). The trends over the past several decades have been for the population to shift southward, as many northern communities lack the economic base to maintain their populations, while southern communities have been absorbed by the Greater Boston metropolis. As of the 2010 census , the population of New Hampshire

12036-569: The state of New Hampshire. This article related to a river in New Hampshire is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Connecticut River The Connecticut River Valley is home to some of the northeastern United States' most productive farmland, as well as the Hartford–Springfield Knowledge Corridor , a metropolitan region of approximately two million people surrounding Springfield, Massachusetts , and Hartford, Connecticut . The word "Connecticut"

12154-428: The state produced lumber, and the mountains provided tourist attractions. After 1960, the textile industry collapsed, but the economy rebounded as a center of high technology and as a service provider. Starting in 1952, New Hampshire gained national and international attention for its presidential primary held early in every presidential election year. It immediately became an important testing ground for candidates for

12272-552: The state saw rapid industrialization and population growth, becoming a center of textile manufacturing , shoemaking , and papermaking ; the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester was at one time the largest cotton textile plant in the world. The Merrimack and Connecticut rivers were lined with industrial mills, most of which employed workers from Canada and Europe; French Canadians formed

12390-508: The state, and Dfc subarctic in some northern highland areas), with warm, humid summers, and long, cold, and snowy winters. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed all year. The climate of the southeastern portion is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and averages relatively milder winters (for New Hampshire), while the northern and interior portions experience colder temperatures and lower humidity. Winters are cold and snowy throughout

12508-482: The state, and especially severe in the northern and mountainous areas. Average annual snowfall ranges from 60 inches (150 cm) to over 100 inches (250 cm) across the state. Average daytime highs are in the mid 70s°F to low 80s°F (24–28 °C) throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the mid 50s°F to low 60s°F (13–15 °C). January temperatures range from an average high of 34 °F (1 °C) on

12626-493: The surrounding region. The high volume and numerous falls of the river 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." 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

12744-457: The thermal plume reaching 55 miles (89 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

12862-524: The total population (Catholics, Protestants, and Jehovah's Witnesses). The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Hampshire's total state product in 2018 was $ 86   billion, ranking 40th in the United States. Median household income in 2017 was $ 74,801, the fourth highest in the country (including Washington, DC ). Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, apples and eggs. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, rubber and plastic products, and tourism

12980-436: The town of Windsor Locks, Connecticut . 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. From the late 1800s until today, it has functioned largely as

13098-455: The village of Pittsburg . The area around Pittsburg was the subject of a border dispute in the 1830s between the United States and Canada, leading to the short-lived, self-proclaimed Republic of Indian Stream . The border dispute, based upon an ambiguity in the Treaty of Paris (1783) , was resolved in 1842, with the river drainage and the land lying east of Halls Stream established as part of

13216-429: 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. A number of colonial animal species make their home in the waters of the Connecticut. Deeper areas are habitat for

13334-409: The western border with Vermont. The state border is not in the center of that river, as is usually the case, but at the low-water mark on the Vermont side; meaning the entire river along the Vermont border (save for areas where the water level has been raised by a dam) lies within New Hampshire. Only one town— Pittsburg —shares a land border with the state of Vermont. The "northwesternmost headwaters" of

13452-474: Was 1,316,470. The gender makeup of the state at that time was 49.3% male and 50.7% female. 21.8% of the population were under the age of 18; 64.6% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older. Additionally, about 57.3% of the population was born out of state. According to HUD 's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report , there were an estimated 1,605 homeless people in New Hampshire. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of

13570-682: Was at Hilton's Point (present-day Dover ). By 1631, the Upper Plantation comprised modern-day Dover, Durham and Stratham ; in 1679, it became the " Royal Province ". Father Rale's War was fought between the colonists and the Wabanaki Confederacy throughout New Hampshire. New Hampshire was one of the Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against British rule during the American Revolution . During

13688-598: Was established in 1629, named after the English county of Hampshire . Following mounting tensions between the British colonies and the crown during the 1760s, New Hampshire saw one of the earliest overt acts of rebellion, with the seizing of Fort William and Mary from the British in 1774. In January 1776, it became the first of the British North American colonies to establish an independent government and state constitution; six months later, it signed

13806-490: Was to take advantage of the wartime demand. In March 1936, due to a winter with heavy snowfall, an early spring thaw and torrential rains, the Connecticut River flooded, overflowing its banks, destroying numerous bridges and isolating hundreds of people who had to be rescued by boat. The dam at Vernon, Vermont , was topped by 19 feet (5.8 m). Sandbagging by the National Guard and local volunteers helped prevent

13924-406: Was −47 °F (−44 °C) atop Mount Washington on January 29, 1934. Mount Washington also saw an unofficial −50 °F (−46 °C) reading on January 22, 1885, which, if made official, would tie the record low for New England (also −50 °F (−46 °C) at Big Black River , Maine, on January 16, 2009, and Bloomfield, Vermont on December 30, 1933). Extreme snow is often associated with

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