Powwow River
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The Powwow 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 ...
located in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, 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 t ...
and
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It 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 drainage ...
of the
Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...
, part of the
Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...
watershed.


River course

The Powwow River rises in the center of
Danville, New Hampshire Danville is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,408 at the 2020 census. Danville is part of the Timberlane Regional School District, with students attending Danville Elementary School, Timberlane Regio ...
, and flows southeasterly through Long Pond into Kingston, where it enters Great Pond, a water body in the center of the town. Leaving Great Pond, the river enters an extensive network of wetlands and receives a major tributary from the southwest, the outlet of Country Pond, situated in Kingston and
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 ( ...
. Continuing east, the Powwow River enters
Powwow Pond Powwow Pond is a water body in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire, United States. The outlet of the pond is located in the town of East Kingston, but most of the lake lies in the town of Kingston. The Powwow River, the outlet of th ...
and passes into the southwest corner of East Kingston, flowing over Trickling Falls Dam at Route 107. The river turns southeast and enters South Hampton, where it flows into
Tuxbury Pond Tuxbury Pond is a lake which straddles the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, abutting the towns of Amesbury, Massachusetts and South Hampton, New Hampshire. It is located along the Powwow River The Powwow River is a river located in New Hamps ...
and crosses into
Amesbury, Massachusetts Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 2020 ...
. Below the outlet of the pond, the river winds easterly along the state line before entering Massachusetts for good at Lake Gardner. The river then flows through the center of Amesbury, where it drops over falls and rapids before reaching the Merrimack River.


Falls at Amesbury

The river drops approximately through the center of Amesbury, providing ample water power for the early industrial development of the town. The falls in the center of Amesbury present interesting views, with a variety of machinery, dams, and houses surrounding the falls. The river flows under a historic building in the center of the town. During flooding, the Powwow River has made national news due to the potential destruction of historic buildings in Amesbury.


Atlantic white cedar swamp

Between Country Pond and Powwow Pond, the river is home to the most extensive complex of
Atlantic white cedar ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...
swamp forest wetlands in New Hampshire.New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
/ref> Atlantic white cedar swamps are a globally rare type of natural community. Of the of wetlands in New Hampshire, only about are Atlantic white cedar swamps. In 2004,
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
purchased , including more than of frontage on the Powwow River and nearly all of a large Atlantic white cedar basin swamp. In 2006, The Nature Conservancy acquired four more tracts, totaling and providing of river frontage, adding further protection to the swamp. The partners eventually hope to conserve a contiguous block of more than , safeguarding the river and its special habitats and providing opportunities for public boating, hunting, fishing and wildlife observation. The area of the river between Country Pond and Powwow Pond is also an excellent example of a streamside
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...
ecosystem and is situated over one of southeastern New Hampshire's largest and most productive
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.


See also

*
List of rivers of New Hampshire 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

{{authority control Tributaries of the Merrimack River Rivers of Essex County, Massachusetts Rivers of New Hampshire Amesbury, Massachusetts Rivers of Massachusetts Rivers of Rockingham County, New Hampshire