Hoosic River

Hoosic River
Hoos-ick
Hoosic River in North Adams, Massachusetts
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts, Vermont, New York
RegionHudson Valley
Physical characteristics
SourceCheshire Reservoir
 • locationCheshire, Massachusetts
 • coordinates42°33′14″N 73°9′56″W / 42.55389°N 73.16556°W / 42.55389; -73.16556[3]
 • elevation970 ft (300 m)[3]
MouthHudson River
 • location
Schaghticoke, New York
 • coordinates
42°55′40″N 73°39′29″W / 42.92778°N 73.65806°W / 42.92778; -73.65806
 • elevation
65 ft (20 m)[3]
Length76 mi (122 km)[1]
Basin size720 sq mi (1,900 km2)[1]
Discharge 
 • locationEagle Bridge, New York[2]
 • minimum160 cu ft/s (4.5 m3/s)[2]
 • maximum3,300 cu ft/s (93 m3/s)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftGreen River, Little Hoosic River
 • rightNorth Branch Hoosic River, Walloomsac River

The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick (primarily in New York) and the Hoosuck (mostly archaic), is a 76.3-mile-long (122.8 km)[4] tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name. It can be translated either as "the beyond place" (as in beyond, or east of, the Hudson) or as "the stony place" (perhaps because the river's stony bottom is usually exposed except in spring, or perhaps because local soils are so stony).[5]

Watershed

The Hoosic River watershed is formed from tributaries originating in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the Taconic Mountains. The main (South) Branch of the river begins on the west slope of North Mountain and almost immediately fills the man-made Cheshire Reservoir in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. From there, the river flows north, west, and northwest, through the towns of Cheshire and Adams, the city of North Adams, and the town of Williamstown. It then travels through Pownal in the southwest corner of Vermont, after which it enters Rensselaer County, New York. There, it flows through the towns of Petersburgh and Hoosick, where it passes over a hydroelectric power dam in the village of Hoosick Falls. (There are also dams in Johnsonville, Valley Falls, and Schaghticoke.) The river provides the northwest border of the town of Pittstown, then flows through the town of Schaghticoke with its villages of Valley Falls and Schaghticoke before it terminates at its confluence with the Hudson 14 miles (23 km) above the city of Troy.

Tributaries

Map of the Hoosic River Watershed
  • North Branch Hoosic River
  • Green River
  • Little Hoosick River
  • Walloomsac River - Native American name, also Wal-loom-sac[5]
  • Owl Kill
  • Wampecack Creek - Native American name, also Po-quam-pa-cak
  • Tomhannock - Native American name, also Tom-he-nack[5]
    • Sunkouissa Creek - Native American name, also Sank-an-is-sick[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The River". hoorwa.org/. Hoosic River Watershed Association. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "USGS 01334500 HOOSIC RIVER NEAR EAGLE BRIDGE NY". waterdata.usgs.gov/. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b c http://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm (Map). Google Maps Find Altitude. Clarksburg: Daft Logic. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2014. {{cite map}}: |map-url= missing title (help)
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 3, 2011
  5. ^ a b c d William Martin Beauchamp (1907). Aboriginal Place Names Of New York (1907). New York State Education Department. pp. 181–185.