The Big River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the

U.S. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

state 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 ...

. It flows .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 There are no dams along the river's length.

Course

The river is formed in

West Greenwich West Greenwich is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 6,528 at the 2020 census. West Greenwich was named for the historic town of Greenwich, Kent, England. It was separated from East Greenwich in 1741. Stude ...

by the confluence of the Congdon and Nooseneck rivers. From there, it flows due north through West Greenwich and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

to its confluence with the Flat River, in the area now flooded by the

Flat River Reservoir Flat River Reservoir is a large lake in Kent County, Rhode Island Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,363, making it the second-most populous county in Rhode Island ...

, to form the

South Branch Pawtuxet River The South Branch Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 There are 11 dams along ...

Crossings

Below is a list of all crossings over the Big River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream. *West Greenwich **Nooseneck Hill Road ( RI 3) **

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

*Coventry **Harkney Hill Road ( RI 118) **Hill Farm Road

Tributaries

The

Carr River The Carr River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 6 km (4 mi). There are three dams along the river's length. Course The river rises from Carr Pond in West Greenwich. It flows roughly due west past Tarbo ...

is the Big River's only named tributary, though it has many unnamed streams that also feed it.

References

*Maps from the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

{{authority control Rivers of Kent County, Rhode Island West Greenwich, Rhode Island Coventry, Rhode Island Rivers of Rhode Island Tributaries of Providence River

Course

Crossings

Tributaries

See also

References