   #copyright

Merrimack River

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

   Merrimack River
   A man on the waterfront of downtown Lowell, Massachusetts examines the
   flooded Merrimack

   A man on the waterfront of downtown Lowell, Massachusetts examines the
                              flooded Merrimack

   Origin Franklin, New Hampshire
   Mouth Atlantic Ocean
   Basin countries USA
   Length 110 miles (177 km)
   Source elevation n/a
   Avg. discharge 7,562 ft3/s
   Basin area Approx. 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²)

   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 at the confluence of the
   Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, 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 honour of this river.

History and details

   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.

   The total watershed of the river is approximately 5,000 square miles
   (13,000 km²), covering much of southern New Hampshire and a portion of
   northeastern Massachusetts. On its banks are a number of cities built
   to take advantage of water power in the 19th-century, when textile
   mills dominated the New England economy: Concord, Manchester, and
   Nashua in New Hampshire, and Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill in
   Massachusetts. At the mouth of the river is the small city of
   Newburyport. Prior to the construction of the Middlesex Canal,
   Newburyport was an important ship-building city, since it was in a
   location to receive New Hampshire timber that had been floated
   downriver.
   The Merrimack River, formed by the confluence of the Pemigewasset River
   (left) and Winnipesaukee River (right) is shown on a map of the
   northeastern United States
   Enlarge
   The Merrimack River, formed by the confluence of the Pemigewasset River
   (left) and Winnipesaukee River (right) is shown on a map of the
   northeastern United States

   The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic
   A Week on the Concord and Merrimack 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,
   but the river is now named Merrimack. Both variants were used in early
   days and can continue to be seen in the present day in the names of two
   New England towns. Merrimac, Massachusetts, settled in 1638 and
   originally part of Amesbury, Massachusetts, was called West Amesbury
   until 1876, at which time it adopted its current name and spelling.
   Merrimack, New Hampshire was incorporated in 1746, spelling its name
   "Marrymac" in the record of its first town meeting. It is referred to
   as Merrimac into the early 19th century: in the 1810 decennial census,
   it was spelled Merrimac, but in the 1820 and afterwards, Merrimack.
   When, where and why the names of this town and the river became
   standardized as Merrimack is unknown.

May 2006 Flooding

   While the Merrimack River is prone to minor flooding, on May 15, 2006
   rainfall raised the river more than 8 feet above flood stage, forcing
   evacuations, damaging property, and breaking the main sewage pipeline
   in the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts, dumping 35 million gallons of
   raw sewage waste into the river per day. Reports of total rainfall
   vary, but most areas appear to have received around a foot of rain with
   some areas receiving as much as 17 inches.

   According to The Boston Globe, around 1,500 people evacuated their
   homes to escape the flood.

   This flood also prompted the city of Lowell, Massachusetts to drop the
   flood-controlling Francis Gate for only the third time in its 150 years
   of service. When lowered, the Francis gate seals the city's canal
   system off from its source on the Merrimack. The Great Gate, as it is
   also called, was built in 1850 under the direction of James B. Francis.
   Considered unnecessary when it was first constructed, "Francis' Folly"
   saved the centre of Lowell from overflowing canals in 1852 and 1936.
   However, technically, the gate was not dropped in 2006 since a more
   modern bulkhead of 16 inch by 16 inch steel beams constructed against
   the side of the Francis Gatehouse was used instead.

   The most significant flood in the recorded history of the Merrimack was
   in March of 1936, when a double flood of rain and melting snow and ice
   swelled the Merrimack to 68.4 feet, 10 feet higher than the 2006 flood.
   The Jack Kerouac book Doctor Sax is set during this event.

   The flooded Merrimack River, as seen from Haverhill, Massachusetts on
   River Street.

   The flooded Merrimack River, as seen from Lowell, Massachusetts on
   University Ave Bridge looking down river.

   The flooded Merrimack River, as seen from Lowell, Massachusetts on Hunt
   Falls Bridge looking Up river towards downtown.The Concord River is on
   the left at the end of the mill.

   The flooded Merrimack River, as seen from Arms park in Manchester, New
   Hampshire looking down river. At normal levels, the bank of the river
   can be seen at the bottom of this stairwell.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrimack_River"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
