The Gale River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
of the
Ammonoosuc River
The Ammonoosuc River is a river in northwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. ''Ammonoosuc'' is Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place".
The Ammonoosuc ris ...
in northwestern
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by 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 nor ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. Via the Ammonoosuc, it is part of the
watershed of the
Connecticut River, which flows to
Long Island Sound.
The Gale River flows for its entire length in
Grafton County
Grafton County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices ...
. It rises in the
White Mountains in the town of
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
as two short, northward-flowing streams: its
North Branch and its
South Branch. The two streams join in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...
, and the Gale River flows thence generally westwardly. Returning to Franconia, the river collects the
Ham Branch, its most significant
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
, then passes through
Sugar Hill to
Lisbon, where it joins the Ammonoosuc River.
The 1816 State map of New Hampshire calls the Gale River the "South Branch of the Ammonoosuck River".
[Philip Carrigain, "New Hampshire by Recent Survey made under the Supreme Authority and Published According to Law by Philip Carrigain, Counselor at Law and Late Secretary of the State”; Carrigain, Philip, 1816.] It may have received its local name because it flowed through the Gale Farm, as shown in a 1796 map of Franconia.
A Henry Gale household was listed in the 1790, 1800 and 1810 Franconia NH Census.
See also
*
List of New Hampshire rivers
This is a list of rivers and significant streams in the U.S. state of New Hampshire.
All watercourses named "River" (freshwater or tidal) are listed here, as well as other streams which are either subject to thNew Hampshire Comprehensive Shoreland ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Rivers of New Hampshire
Rivers of Grafton County, New Hampshire
Tributaries of the Connecticut River
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