The Podunk River is a stream in

Hartford County, Connecticut Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...

. It is a tributary to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

.''Hartford North CT'', 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1964 (1992 rev.) The stream

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

arise at at an elevation of . The stream flows to the southwest and enters the Connecticut River just northwest of

East Hartford East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospac ...

at and an elevation of . The name is derived from the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

words ''pod'' for ''low'' and ''unk'' for ''beyond'' or "the low land beyond" or along the Connecticut and its tributary the Podunk River where they farmed the fertile soil along the streams.Shea, Jim (January 22, 2007)
"Proud to Be Podunk"
''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

''.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Connecticut Rivers of Hartford County, Connecticut