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Mount Hope Bay is a tidal
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
located at the mouth of the
Taunton River The Taunton River (historically also called the "Taunton Great River"), is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater. From t ...
on the
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
border. It is an arm of
Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is now
Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...
. It flows into the East Passage of Narragansett Bay and also the
Sakonnet River The Sakonnet River is a tidal strait in the state of Rhode Island which flows approximately 14 miles between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound. It separates Aquidneck Island from the eastern portion of Newport County. Crossings Below is ...
. Mount Hope Bay has played an important role to the history of the area, from pre-colonial times to the present. While many years of sewage and industrial pollution have severely degraded the quality of the shallow waters of the bay, there are currently major efforts underway to clean up and restore it.


Geography

Mount Hope Bay is part of the Narragansett Basin, formed as a rift in the Avalon terrane. It is underlaid by
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
rocks estimated to be several miles thick. The bay covers an area of about 13 square miles (36 square km), with an average depth of 18.7 feet, although portions of the southern end of the bay are as deep as 74 feet near the Mount Hope Bridge. At the north end of the bay are the towns of
Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The re ...
, Swansea, Massachusetts, and Somerset, Massachusetts. The eastern shore of the bay consists of the city of Fall River, Massachusetts and the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island. Portsmouth, Rhode Island is located at the southern end of the bay at the northern tip of
Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. ...
.
Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...
forms the western shore of the bay. Approximately 70 percent of the bay is located within
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. However, nearly 90 percent of its drainage area is located within
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Its main tributary is the
Taunton River The Taunton River (historically also called the "Taunton Great River"), is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater. From t ...
, and several smaller rivers drain directly into the bay, including the Quequechan River,
Lee's River The Lees River or Lee's River, shown on federal maps as the Lee River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal river that forms part of the boundary b ...
,
Cole River The Cole River is located in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 from its headwaters in Dighton, Massachusetts through t ...
, and
Kickamuit River The Kickamuit River (often called the ''Kickemuit River'') is a river in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island flowing approximately .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , acce ...
. A small
sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
known as Spar Island is located in the middle of the bay just south of the Rhode Island border. The perimeter of the bay is crossed by three roadway bridges: the
Sakonnet River Bridge The Sakonnet River Bridge is a four-lane bridge spanning the Sakonnet River in eastern Rhode Island. The bridge carries RI 24 and RI 138 between the communities of Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island. The current bridge is a box girder b ...
to the southeast, the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge to the north, and the Mount Hope Bridge to the southwest. Mount Hope Bay contains a 35 foot-deep shipping channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of their Fall River Harbor project. A privately maintained, 34 feet-deep channel extends from the main ACOE channel to the Brayton Point Power Station.


History

Mount Hope Bay was once part of the
Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. ...
Nation, and the site of early events of
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
in 1675. For nearly 200 years, the area of the bay was part of a boundary dispute between the states of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, which was finally settled by the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in 1862. Mount Hope Bay has played an important part in the industrial history of the city of
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census, making it the List of municipaliti ...
, which is located on its eastern shore. The bay provides access to the city for ocean-going vessels, including for many years the passenger ships of the Fall River Line. In the 1960s, the 1,500 megawatt Brayton Point Power Station was built by the New England Power Company in Somerset, Massachusetts at the north end of the bay. It has the largest capacity of any power plant in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. For many years, the plant has relied on the waters of the bay as part of its cooling process. This has led to severe thermal pollution, resulting in periodic
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. After years of lawsuits and various environmental government action, current owner Dominion Resources spent approximately $500 million building two 500-foot tall cooling towers and upgrading the cooling system to prevent pollution of the bay. The Brayton Point Cooling Towers were demolished in April 2019. In 2009, the City of
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census, making it the List of municipaliti ...
completed the first phase of a $185 million
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 dil ...
(CSO) abatement project, designed to drastically reduce the amount of sewage overflows that occur during periods of heavy rains. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.


See also

* Battleship Cove * Borden Flats Light * Fall River Heritage State Park *
Mount Hope Farm Mount Hope Farm (also known as Gov. William Bradford House) is a historic estate on Metacom Avenue in Bristol, Rhode Island, United States. Description and history The farm is located near the Mount Hope Bridge in Bristol, Rhode Island, and the gr ...
*
Ocean Grove, Massachusetts Ocean Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Swansea in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the north shore of Mount Hope Bay near the Cole River. The population was 2,811 at the 2010 census, and 2,904 as of the 202 ...


References

{{Authority control Estuaries of Massachusetts Estuaries of Rhode Island Fall River, Massachusetts Bodies of water of Bristol County, Massachusetts