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River

Connecticut River

660 km from source to mouth · United States.

United StatesUnited StatesFlows into Long Island Sound

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthSpringfield
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

660km

Average flow

520m³/s

Basin

29,137km²

Drop

552m

from 552 m to 0 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

660 km of river and 68 stops on the way: 31 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

552 m0 m
Sourceat 552 m0 km
Moore Reservoir9.8 km²159 km
Comerford Reservoir3.7 km²172 km
Post Pond0.4 km²247 km
Great Falls346 km
Connecticut River Reservoir4.7 km²403 km
Deerfield Rivertributary439 km
Springfield154,341 people515 km
Hartford121,054 people558 km
Long Island Soundat 0 m660 km
0200400660 km
  1. 0 kmSourceat 552 m
  2. 0 kmSecond Connecticut Lake3.8 km²
  3. 14 kmFirst Connecticut Lake11 km²
  4. 27 kmLake Francis6.4 km²
  5. 106 kmUpper Ammonoosuc Rivertributary
  6. 122 kmIsrael Rivertributary
  7. 138 kmJohns Rivertributary
  8. 159 kmMoore Reservoir9.8 km²
  9. 162 kmGale Rivertributary
  10. 172 kmComerford Reservoir3.7 km²
  11. 175 kmPassumpsic Rivertributary
  12. 196 kmAmmonoosuc Rivertributary
  13. 203 kmNewbury2,293 people
  14. 216 kmHaverhill4,585 people
  15. 222 kmWaits Rivertributary
  16. 235 kmOrford1,237 people
  17. 236 kmFairlee988 people
  18. 247 kmPost Pond0.4 km²
  19. 267 kmHanover9,078 people
  20. 270 kmMink Brooktributary
  21. 271 kmWilder3,071 people
  22. 274 kmWhite River Junction2,532 people
  23. 284 kmOttauquechee Rivertributary
  24. 309 kmSugar Rivertributary
  25. 330 kmBlack Rivertributary
  26. 341 kmWilliams Rivertributary
  27. 346 kmGreat Falls
  28. 349 kmSaxtons Rivertributary
  29. 390 kmWhetstone Brooktributary
  30. 390 kmWest Rivertributary
  31. 403 kmAshuelot Rivertributary
  32. 403 kmConnecticut River Reservoir4.7 km²
  33. 427 kmMillers Rivertributary
  34. 438 kmGreenfield19,753 people
  35. 439 kmDeerfield Rivertributary
  36. 444 kmMontague8,637 people
  37. 478 kmNorthampton29,571 people
  38. 480 kmMill Rivertributary
  39. 486 kmThe Oxbow0.8 km²
  40. 489 kmManhan Rivertributary
  41. 489 kmSouth Hadley17,652 people
  42. 493 kmWhiting Street Reservoir0.5 km²
  43. 497 kmHolyoke38,238 people
  44. 501 kmNorth Chicopee55,179 people
  45. 504 kmAshley Reservoir0.9 km²
  46. 508 kmChicopee Rivertributary
  47. 508 kmChicopee55,560 people
  48. 512 kmWest Springfield27,912 people
  49. 515 kmSpringfield154,341 people
  50. 516 kmWestfield Rivertributary
  51. 520 kmAgawam28,761 people
  52. 521 kmLongmeadow15,784 people
  53. 530 kmEnfield45,212 people
  54. 537 kmWindsor Locks12,613 people
  55. 547 kmScantic Rivertributary
  56. 547 kmWindsor28,778 people
  57. 549 kmSouth Windsor24,412 people
  58. 558 kmHartford121,054 people
  59. 560 kmPark Rivertributary
  60. 561 kmEast Hartford51,045 people
  61. 565 kmWethersfield26,668 people
  62. 568 kmGlastonbury31,876 people
  63. 587 kmCromwell13,750 people
  64. 589 kmPortland9,384 people
  65. 590 kmMiddletown47,717 people
  66. 616 kmEast Haddam9,042 people
  67. 617 kmSalmon Rivertributary
  68. 628 kmEightmile Rivertributary
  69. 638 kmOld Saybrook10,627 people
  70. 660 kmLong Island Soundat 0 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in the New England region of the United States

At the mouth it carries 521 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 4.8 seconds. It drops from 552 m to 0 m, 0.8 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 29,137 km², about the size of AL. 2.3 million people live in it. Highest water: from April to June; lowest: from December to March. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (23% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • SpringfieldLargest city on its banks · 154,341 people
  • Bradley International Airport (BDL)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 20 km from the cityCar hire at BDL airport (Hartford)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water134 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • Kayak and canoe4 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
  • From May to SeptemberThe best months to visit

Connecticut River, month by month

Highest water: from April to June

Lowest water: from December to March. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from December to February. Best months to visit: from May to September.

500
-7°74 mmJan
360
-6°68 mmFeb
360
0°79 mmMar
1,300
6°86 mmApr
1,300
13°94 mmMay
1,200
18°95 mmJun
660
20°94 mmJul
660
19°101 mmAug
670
15°87 mmSep
710
9°87 mmOct
770
3°97 mmNov
630
-4°88 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 360 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,300 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at BDL airport (Hartford)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Connecticut River: the basin in numbers

28,999 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Heavily regulatedReservoirs can hold 23% of a year's flow: dams shape its seasons.
  • 2.3millionpeople live in the basin
  • 80/km²people per km²
  • 357maverage altitude of the basin
  • 1,138mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 6.2°Caverage air temperature
  • 4%protected areas
  • 1.3%covered by lakes
  • 4.2km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 96% Forest
  • 4% Cropland
  • 1% Pasture
  • 6% Towns and cities

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Connecticut River: what you find on the way

  • 99DamsSecond Connecticut Lake Dam, First Connecticut Lake Dam, Murphy Dam and 96 more
  • 28WeirsGilman Project Dam, Newbury Dam, Mascoma River Dam Number 3 and 25 more
  • 2Locks
  • 29WaterfallsWaits River Falls, Glen Falls, Sumner Falls and 26 more
  • 4RapidsBailey Eddy, Enfield Falls and 2 more
  • 96Boat rampsSecond Connecticut Lake Boat Launch, First Connecticut Lake Picnic and Launch Area Ramp, Lake Francis State Park Boat Ramp and 93 more
  • 4Ferry piersGlastonbury Ferry Terminal, Historic Ferry, Chester-Hadlyme Ferry and 1 more
  • 33MarinasOxbow Marina, Brunelles Marina, Pioneer Valley Yacht Club and 30 more
  • 1Boat rentalsAmmonoosuc Outings
  • 5River beachesFairlee Town Beach, Mink Brook Swimming Area, Sandy Beach and 2 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.1 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Connecticut River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 1waterfall on the riverCascadyas
  • 10lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 31beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
  • 14mountains at the sourcePeakyas
  • 5islands off the mouthIslandyas

Waterfalls (1)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Great Fallskm 312

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (10)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Second Connecticut Lakekm 03.8km²
  2. First Connecticut Lakekm 1211km²
  3. Lake Franciskm 246.4km²
  4. Moore Reservoirkm 1439.8km²
  5. Comerford Reservoirkm 1553.7km²
  6. Connecticut River Reservoirkm 3634.7km²
  7. The Oxbowkm 4370.8km²
  8. Ashley Reservoirkm 4530.9km²

2 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Beaches (31)

At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya

  1. Shennecossett Beach23 km away21.4°C
  2. Green Harbor Beach21 km away21.4°C
  3. Great Hammock Beach5.7 km away21.8°C
  4. Grove Beach12 km away21.8°C
  5. Hammonasset Beach18 km away22.3°C
  6. Harveys Beach5.7 km away21.8°C
  7. Plum Bank Beach6.0 km away21.8°C
  8. West Beach10 km away21.8°C

23 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗

Mountains at the source (14)

Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas

  1. Montagne des Lignes3.7 km away904m
  2. Mount D'Urban9.8 km away
  3. Prospect Hill2.5 km away
  4. Bowman Hill13 km away
  5. Rump Mountain11 km away
  6. Beaman Hill10 km away
  7. Corkscrew Hill12 km away
  8. Black Cat Spur6.1 km away

6 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

Islands off the mouth (5)

Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas

  1. Plum Island19 km away3.4km²
  2. North Dumpling Island28 km away
  3. Falkner Island28 km away
  4. Gardiners Point Island25 km away
  5. Tuxis Island22 km away

Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Connecticut River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Connecticut River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth23 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Connecticut River in pictures

Pioneer Valley South From Mt. Sugarloaf
The original uploader was BenFrantzDale at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0
Connecticut River From Gillette Castle
It'sOnlyMakeBelieve · CC BY-SA 4.0
Connecticut River Newbury VT 5-8-26
Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0
MMDA-Photos - 2024-11-08 - Connecticut River at Lyme CT
MMDA-Photos · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (64)

Also: Farmington River, Ottauquechee River, Chicopee River, Mohawk River, Millers River, White River, Westfield River, Ammonoosuc River, Ashuelot River, Deerfield River, Upper Ammonoosuc River, Black River, Israel River, Passumpsic River, Waits River, Ware River, West River, Mattabesset River, Halls Stream, Quaboag River, Saxtons River, Sugar River, Williams River, Mill River

Nearby

Rivers nearby

Hudson RiverUnited StatesUnited States492 km210 m³/s154 km awayCharles RiverUnited StatesUnited States129 km9.0 m³/s160 km awayMohawk RiverUnited StatesUnited States240 km220 m³/s196 km awayMerrimack RiverUnited StatesUnited States177 km210 m³/s211 km awayDelaware RiverUnited StatesUnited States579 km220 m³/s322 km awaySusquehanna RiverUnited StatesUnited States715 km1,100 m³/s372 km awayPenobscot RiverUnited StatesUnited States563 km1,000 m³/s463 km awayRappahannock RiverUnited StatesUnited States296 km47 m³/s483 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q379648) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas, Coastya, Peakyas, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit