The Charles River (
Massachusett
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern
. It flows northeast from
Hopkinton to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
along a highly meandering route, that doubles back on itself several times and travels through 23 cities and towns before reaching the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
.
The indigenous Massachusett named it ''Quinobequin'', meaning "meandering".
Hydrography
The Charles River is fed by approximately 80
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
s and several major
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
s as it flows , starting at Teresa Road just north of Echo Lake () in Hopkinton, passing through 23 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts before emptying into
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
.
Thirty-three lakes and ponds and 35 municipalities are entirely or partially part of the Charles River
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
. Despite the river's length and relatively large drainage area (), its source is only from its mouth, and the river drops only from source to sea. The Charles River watershed contains more than of protected wetlands, referred to as Natural Valley Storage. These areas are important in preventing downstream flooding and providing natural habitats to native species.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
,
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
are located along the Charles River. Near its mouth, it forms the border between downtown Boston and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and
Charlestown. The river opens into a broad basin and is lined by the parks of the
Charles River Reservation
The Charles River Reservation is a urban preserve and public recreation area located along the banks of the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, and Newton, Massachusetts. The reservation is managed by the Massachusetts Department of ...
. On the
Charles River Esplanade
The Charles River Esplanade of Boston, Massachusetts, is a state-owned park situated in the Back Bay area of the city, on the south bank of the Charles River Basin.
Description
The limited-access parkway Storrow Drive forms the southern bounda ...
stands the
Hatch Shell
The Edward A. Hatch Memorial Shell (commonly referred to as the "Hatch Shell") is an outdoor concert venue on the Charles River Esplanade in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1939–1940, it is one of the city's prominent ...
, where concerts are given in summer evenings. The basin is especially known for its
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
celebration. The middle section of the river between the
Watertown Dam
The Watertown Dam spans the Charles River upstream from the Watertown Bridge near Watertown Square in Watertown, Massachusetts. The dam is located where the Charles River tidal estuary historically ended (the tides no longer reach this point bec ...
and
Wellesley is partially protected by the properties of the
Upper Charles River Reservation
The Upper Charles River Reservation is a Massachusetts state park encompassing portions of the banks of the Charles River between the Watertown Dam in Watertown and Riverdale Park in Dedham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. The park ...
and other state parks, including the
Hemlock Gorge Reservation
Hemlock Gorge Reservation is a state-owned, public recreation area and urban wild comprising on the Charles River in Newton and Needham, Massachusetts. The reservation is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
...
,
Cutler Park
Cutler Park is a state-owned nature preserve and public recreation area that lies between Route 128/I-95 and the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts. The state park's contain the largest remaining freshwater marsh on the middle Charles Ri ...
, and the
Elm Bank Reservation
The Gardens at Elm Bank, home of Massachusetts Horticultural Society, occupies of Elm Bank Reservation, a recreational area of woodlands, fields, and former estate property on the Charles River managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conserva ...
.
A detailed depth chart of the lower basin of the Charles River, from near the Watertown Dam to the New
Charles River Dam
The Charles River Dam is a flood control structure on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, located just downstream of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, near Lovejoy Wharf, on the former location of the Warren Bridge.
His ...
, has been created by a partnership between the MIT Sea Grant College Program and th
Charles River Alliance of Boaters(CRAB).
Online and hardcop
are available as a public service.
Recreation
The river is busy, apart from the winter months, with
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
,
sculling
Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...
,
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
,
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
,
paddleboarding
Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneeli ...
,
dragonboating, and
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
, both recreational and competitive. Most of the watercraft activity occurs from the
Museum of Science
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...
to the center of
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
, above which is a dam. These see motorboat traffic from two marinas and a boat ramp near Watertown, as well as two marinas downstream and boats entering from Boston Harbor through an old lock next to the Museum of Science. A canoe and kayak ADA-accessible launch at
Magazine Beach
Magazine Beach is an American riverside park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is located on the left bank of the Charles River, across Memorial Drive from Cambridgeport, and opposite Agganis Arena and other Boston University facilities on the far ...
in Cambridge opened 23 September 2019.
The Charles is renowned as a rowing and sculling locale, with many
boathouses and the three-mile
Head of the Charles Regatta
The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immedia ...
, the world's largest long-distance rowing regatta. The major boathouses, starting up stream near Watertown, are
Community Rowing, Inc., housing competitive, recreational, and learning programs along with the Boston College Crew; Northeastern University's Henderson; Cambridge Boat Club;
Newell, home of Harvard Men's Rowing;
Weld, home of Harvard Women's Rowing; Riverside Boat Club; Boston University's DeWolfe; Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Pierce; and, in the Lower Basin, Union Boat Club.
The Lower Basin between the
Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
and
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(Massachusetts Avenue) bridges has the sailing docks of
Community Boating
Community Boating, Inc. (CBI) is a private not-for-profit corporation run in association with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Located on the Charles River Esplanade between the Hatch Shell and the Longfellow Bridge C ...
, the Harvard University Sailing Center, and the MIT Sailing Pavilion. Sailboat, kayak, and paddleboard rentals are available at the Boston University Sailing Pavilion. Charles River Canoe and Kayak has four locations along the Charles, renting kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards.
Duck Boats regularly enter the Charles near the
Museum of Science
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...
and river tour boat excursions depart from a lagoon near the Museum. In early June, the Hong Kong Boston Dragon Boat Festival is held in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, near the
Weeks Footbridge.
The
Charles River Bike Path
The Charles River Bike Path is a mixed-use path in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It is named after the cardiologist Paul Dudley White, a prominent advocate of preventive medicine. His research led him to proclaim frequently "''I'd like to put ...
runs along the banks of the Charles, starting at the Museum of Science and passing the campuses of MIT, Harvard and Boston University. The path is popular with runners and bikers. Many runners gauge their distance and speed by keeping track of the mileage between the bridges along the route.
After two decades of water quality improvement efforts spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency, on July 13, 2013,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
for the general public was officially permitted for the first time in more than 50 years.
Fishing from the banks or small craft is common along the Charles. With catches from the Charles from Natick to Boston the public is advised not to eat
carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
, and for non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, to limit
large mouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...
consumption to no more than twice a month. Children and pregnant or nursing women should eat nothing from the Charles River. Both cautions are due to
PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
and pesticide contamination. Up river from Natick, similar advisories are in effect for all fish on account of
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
,
chlordane
Chlordane, or chlordan, is an organochlorine compound that was used as a pesticide. It is a white solid. In the United States, chlordane was used for termite-treatment of approximately 30 million homes until it was banned in 1988. Chlordane was b ...
, and
DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
in the fish.
History
![View of the bridge over Charles River (NYPL b13049824-424747)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/View_of_the_bridge_over_Charles_River_%28NYPL_b13049824-424747%29.jpg)
]
Pre-colonial
Long before European settlers named and shaped the Charles, Native Americans living in New England made the river a central part of their lives. At the time of European colonization in the early 1600s, settlements of
Massachusett people
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
were present along the river at ''
Nonantum
Nonantum (from Massachusett "I bless it"), also known as Silver Lake or The Lake, is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located along the Charles River at the site of a forme ...
'' in current day
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
and ''Pigsgusset'' in current day
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
.
Prior to the arrival of Puritan colonists in the 1620s,
Captain John Smith
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
of Jamestown explored and mapped the coast of New England, originally naming the Charles River the Massachusetts River, which he derived from the
Massachusett people
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
living in the region, not from their actual name for the river, ''Quinobequin''. When Smith presented his map to
King Charles I he suggested that the king should feel free to change any of the "barbarous names" for "English" ones. The king made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is the Charles River which Charles named for himself.
The native name for the Charles River was ''Quinobequin'', possibly meaning "meandering" in Massachusett from ''quinnuppe'' or "it turns." Other sources state this name was transferred from the Kennebec River in Maine to Cambridge by Prince Charles at the time he renamed this river in his name.
Still another explanation is that ''Quinobequin'' was a descriptive term for any long body of water for Eastern Algonquin peoples, which European explorers and settlers interpreted as a local proper name. Examples include not only the ''
Kennebec'' ("long water place") River and ''
Kennebunk'' in Maine, but also the ''
Quinebaug'' ("long pond") River, ''
Quinapoxet'' ("at the little long pond") River, and ''
Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: ''Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wampano ...
'' ("long pond") River elsewhere in present day Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.
Industrial
As native populations were driven out by European settlers, the Charles River became an early center for hydropower and manufacturing in North America. Although in portions of its length, the Charles drops slowly in elevation and has relatively little current, early settlers in
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
, found a way to use the Charles to power mills. In 1639, the town dug a canal from the Charles to a nearby brook that drained to the
Neponset River
The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about to its mouth at ...
. By this action, a portion of the Charles's flow was diverted, providing enough current for several mills. The new canal and the brook together are now called
Mother Brook
Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. ...
. The canal is regarded as the first industrial canal in North America. It remains in use for
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
.
Waltham was the site of the first fully integrated textile factory in America, built by
Francis Cabot Lowell
Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 – August 10, 1817) was an American businessman for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named. He was instrumental in bringing the Industrial Revolution to the United States.
Early life
Francis Cabot ...
in 1814,
and by the 19th century the Charles River was one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. Its
hydropower
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...
soon fueled many mills and factories. By the century's end, 20 dams had been built across the river, mostly to generate power for industry. An 1875 government report listed 43 mills along the tidal estuary from
Watertown Dam
The Watertown Dam spans the Charles River upstream from the Watertown Bridge near Watertown Square in Watertown, Massachusetts. The dam is located where the Charles River tidal estuary historically ended (the tides no longer reach this point bec ...
to Boston Harbor.
From 1816 to 1968, the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
operated a gun and ammunition storage and later production facility known as the
Watertown Arsenal
The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the US National ...
. While it was key to many of the nation's war efforts over its several decades in operation, not the least of which being the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, its location in
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
so near the Charles did great environmental harm. The arsenal was declared a
Super Fund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency ...
site, and after its closure by the government it had to be cleaned at significant expense before it could be safely used again for other purposes. Likewise, the many factories and mills along the banks of the Charles supported a buoyant economy in their time but left a legacy of massive pollution.
For several years, the
Charles River Speedway
The Charles River Speedway was a former bicycle and harness racing track located in Allston, Massachusetts, which has been redeveloped into an upscale market.
History
The speedway itself was constructed in 1899 along the Charles River. It bega ...
operated along part of the river.
Creation of the modern Boston-Cambridge basin
![Charles River Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Charles_River_Esplanade%2C_Boston%2C_Massachusetts.JPG)
Today's Charles River basin between
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and Cambridge is almost entirely a work of human design.
Owen A. Galvin was appointed head of the Charles River Improvement Commission by Governor
William E. Russell in 1891. Their work led to the design initiatives of noted
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
s
Charles Eliot and
Arthur Shurcliff Arthur Asahel Shurcliff (1870–1957) was a noted American landscape architect. Born Arthur Asahel Shurtleff, he changed his last name in 1930 in order, he said, to conform to the "ancient spelling of the family name". After over 30 years of success ...
, both of whom had apprenticed with
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
and
Guy Lowell
Guy Lowell (August 6, 1870 – February 4, 1927), was an American architect and landscape architect.
Biography
Born in Boston, Lowell was the son of Mary Walcott (Goodrich) and Edward Jackson Lowell, and a member of Boston's well-known Lowe ...
. This designed landscape includes over 20 parks and natural areas along of shoreline, from the New Dam at the Charlestown Bridge to the dam near Watertown Square.
Eliot first envisioned today's river design in the 1890s, an important model being the layout of the
Alster
The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...
basin in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, but major construction began only after Eliot's death with the damming of the river's mouth at today's
Boston Museum of Science
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...
, an effort led by
James Jackson Storrow. The new dam, completed in 1910, stabilized the water level from Boston to Watertown, eliminating the existing mud flats, and a narrow embankment was built between Leverett Circle and Charlesgate. After Storrow's death, his widow Mrs. James Jackson Storrow donated $1 million toward the creation of a more generously landscaped park along the Esplanade; it was dedicated in 1936 as the Storrow Memorial Embankment. This also enabled the construction of many public docks in the Charles River Basin. In the 1950s a highway,
Storrow Drive
Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not perm ...
, was built along the edge of the Esplanade to connect Charles Circle with Soldiers Field Road, and the Esplanade was enlarged on the water side of the new highway.
The
Inner Belt highway was proposed to cross the Charles River at the
Boston University Bridge
The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting the Boston University ca ...
, but its construction was canceled in the 1970s.
History of pollution and remediation efforts
As
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
,
industrial wastewater
Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment, the treated industrial wastewater (or effluent) may be reused or released to a sa ...
and
urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...
flowed freely into the river from the surrounding city, the Charles River became well known for its high level of
pollutants
A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...
, gaining such notoriety that by 1955,
Bernard DeVoto
Bernard Augustine DeVoto (January 11, 1897 – November 13, 1955) was an American historian, conservationist, essayist, columnist, teacher, editor, and reviewer. He was the author of a series of Pulitzer-Prize-winning popular histories of the Ame ...
wrote in ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
'' that the Charles was "foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water."
Fish kill
The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (2005) ''Plant Management in Fl ...
s and submerged vehicles were a common sight, along with
toxic chemical plumes that colored parts of the river pink and orange.
The Standells
The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best known ...
sang about the sorry state of the Charles in their 1965 song "
Dirty Water
"Dirty Water" is a song by the American rock band The Standells, written by their producer Ed Cobb.
The song is a mock paean to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its then-famously polluted Boston Harbor and Charles River.
History
Accordi ...
".
Once popular with swimmers, awareness of the river's high pollution levels forced the state to shut down several popular swimming areas, including Cambridge's Magazine Beach and Gerry Landing public beaches.
![BunkerHillBoats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/BunkerHillBoats.jpg)
Efforts to clean up the river and restore it to a state where swimming and fishing would be acceptable began as early as the 1960s, and the program to clean up the Charles for good took shape in 1965 with the creation of the Charles River Watershed Association.
In 1978, a new
Charles River Dam
The Charles River Dam is a flood control structure on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, located just downstream of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, near Lovejoy Wharf, on the former location of the Warren Bridge.
His ...
was constructed downstream from the Science Museum site to keep
salt water
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
out of the basin.
In 1995, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
declared a goal of making the river swimmable by 2005.
In 1996, Governor
William Weld
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
plunged, fully clothed, into the river to prove his commitment to cleaning up the river.
On November 12, 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the Charles River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness of the river's environmental health. In July 2007, the river hosted the Charles River Masters Swim Race, the first sanctioned race in the Charles in over five decades.
A combination of public and private initiatives helped drastically lower levels of pollutants by focusing on eliminating
combined sewer overflow
A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dilute ...
s and stormwater
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
. Since Weld's stunt, the river's condition has improved dramatically, although it was not deemed entirely swimmable by 2005.
![Sunset Charles River Boston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Sunset_Charles_River_Boston.jpg)
The
Conservation Law Foundation
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. Since 1966, CLF's mission has been to advocate for New England's environment and its communities. CLF's advocacy work takes place across five integr ...
opposes the permit given to
Mirant
GenOn Energy Holdings, formerly Mirant Corporation, was a subsidiary of GenOn Energy, and is now a part of NRG Energy.
The company was spun off from its former parent, Southern Company, on April 2, 2001. The company was merged into GenOn Energy o ...
for the
Veolia
Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
Energy North America
Kendall Cogeneration Station, an electricity plant near
Kendall Square
Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The square itself at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT ...
, charging that the water it releases causes blooms of hazardous
microorganism
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
s because of its warm temperature.
The water quality of the Charles River is often at its worst after a large rainfall because of pollutants carried by runoff, and sewage overflows. For 2011, the EPA reported that the Charles met state bacterial standards for boating and swimming 96% and 89% of the time on dry days, and 74% and 35% of the time on wet days, respectively.
Overall boatability and swimability of 82% and 54% in 2011 compare with 39% and 19% in 1995. In June 2018, the
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
graded the river's 2017 bacterial water quality "A−".
A study published in the ''Journal of the American Water Resources Association'' in April 2008 and completed by researchers at Northeastern University, found high concentrations of ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
''
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
in the Charles River after a long period of no rain. Using a
mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...
, the researchers then determined that two major tributaries, the
Stony Brook and
Muddy River, are the predominant sources of ''E. coli'' in the lower Charles River.
Starting in 2007, the Charles River Swimming Club has organized an annual race for its members, but obtains a special permit and must monitor water quality and rainfall in the days leading up to the race. The "first public swim" in the Charles since the 1950s was conducted on July 13, 2013, by the Charles River Conservancy,
[The Charles River Conservancy was founded by Renata von Tscharner.] Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Esplanade Association, and DCR. Both the annual race and the Conservancy event have been held in deep water with swimmers jumping in off a dock, to avoid the toxic sediments on the bottom of the river that still make beach swimming dangerous. Swimming without a permit is punishable by a fine up to $250.
Wildlife
Fish
The Charles River is home to a wide range of freshwater fish species and some diadromous species. There are over 25 species able to be found in the Charles and some of the most common freshwater fish include the Redfin Pickerel, Largemouth Bass, Golden Shiner, Yellow Perch, a variety of sunfish (such as Bluegills, Redbreast Sunfish, and Pumpkinseeds), and some species of catfish (Yellow Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, White Bullhead). The
diadromous fish
Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...
(fish that spend parts of their lives in fresh and salt water) that can be found in the Charles are mostly anadromous species (fish that migrate from sea to freshwater to spawn). These include the Alewife Herring, American Shad, White Perch, and Striped Bass. The only catadromous species (fish that migrate from freshwater to sea to spawn) in the Charles is the American Eel.
![American Shad - Alosa Sapidissima](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/American_Shad_-_Alosa_Sapidissima.jpg)
With the many initiatives to improve the health of the river in the years since the formation of the CRWA, the health and variety of fish in the river have greatly improved. One example of this is the reintroduction of
American Shad
The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. The ...
into the Charles. American Shad used to be one of the most common species in the river until the 1800s when population numbers decreased because of new dams and poor water quality. With improved water quality and partial dam breaches created in modern times, the CRWA, along with the
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
, targeted American Shad as a species to revive in the river’s ecosystem.
In the years from 2006 to 2011, the river was stocked with millions of shad fry. Research showed that these shad were in fact returning to the river to spawn, a testament to the improved health of the river.
Gallery
File:Charles River from Nonantum (January 2017).jpg, View of the Charles River, Community Rowing, Inc. and Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
from Nonantum.
File:Charles River Cambridge USA.jpg, The Charles River from the Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
side, facing Weld Boathouse
Weld Boathouse is a Harvard-owned building on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named after George Walker Weld, who bequeathed the funds for its construction.
History
Weld Boathouse is the second of two boathou ...
and the main campus of Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
File:Newton upper falls.jpg, View of Charles River at Newton Upper Falls
File:Echo Bridge.JPG, Charles River under Echo Bridge
Echo Bridge is a historic masonry bridge spanning the Charles River between Needham to Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, and Ellis Street in Newton. The bridge carries the Sudbury Aqueduct and foot traffic, and is located in the Hemlock Gorge R ...
in Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
File:Charles River Medfield-Millis.JPG, Charles River at Medfield-Millis town line
File:View of Charles River Basin.agr.JPG, Charles River basin from an office tower in Boston.
File:USA-Charles River Esplanade1.jpg, Charles River Esplanade, 2013
File:USA-Charles River Esplanade6.JPG, Charles River Esplanade, 2013
File:Boston from BU Bridge WADE.jpg, View of the Charles River and Downtown Boston from the Boston University Bridge
The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting the Boston University ca ...
File:Weeks Footbridge Cambridge, MA.jpg, John W. Weeks Bridge
See also
*
Head of the Charles Regatta
The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immedia ...
*
List of Charles River boathouses
The Charles River in Massachusetts has a significant number of boathouses on its banks, from its mouth at Boston Harbor to its source at Echo Lake in Hopkinton.
The boathouses are mostly situated along the Boston and Cambridge banks of the Charle ...
*
List of crossings of the Charles River
This is a list of the crossings of the Charles River from its mouth at Boston Harbor upstream to its source at Echo Lake (the four tunnels crossing the inner portion of Boston Harbor are not included). All locations are in Massachusetts.
__TOC_ ...
*
List of rivers of Massachusetts
List of rivers of Massachusetts (U.S. state).
All Massachusetts rivers flow to the Atlantic Ocean. The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name, arranged travellin ...
*
New Charles River Run
*
Sudbury Aqueduct Linear District which crosses the river from Needham to Newton on the Echo Bridge
Notes
References
Further reading
* ''Inventing the Charles River'', by Karl Haglund, MIT Press, 2003, in collaboration with the Charles River Conservancy. .
* ''Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston'', by Nancy S. Seasholes, MIT Press, 2003. .
* ''Omeros'', by
Derek Walcott
Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem ''Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...
, Faber and Faber (London), 1990. (Repeated references to the Charles river in descriptions of Boston life.)
*
External links
The Esplanade AssociationCharles River Watershed Association*
*
Charles River Conservancy*
ttp://www.epa.gov/boston/charles/ "Swimmable by 2005" EPA EffortCharles River Swimming ClubCharles River Museum of IndustryU.S. Geological Survey data on flow in Charles River at various measurement pointsUS Geological Survey Report on The Charles River Restoration*
{{authority control
Rivers of Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Rivers of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Rivers of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Rivers of Worcester County, Massachusetts
Rowing venues in the United States
Landforms of Boston
Watersheds of Boston Harbor
Rivers of Massachusetts
History of Dedham, Massachusetts