Gondola on the Providence River in Providence, Rhode Island

The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. 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 approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the

Fox Point Hurricane Barrier The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is a long tidal flood barrier spanning the Providence River in Providence, Rhode Island, located upstream from Fox Point. It was constructed between 1960 and 1966 to protect the low-lying downtown area of the ci ...

is located south of downtown to protect the city of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

from damaging tidal floods. The southern part of the river has been dredged at a cost of $65 million in federal and state funds to benefit nearby marinas and commercial shipping interests. Downtown_Providence_Rhode_Island_2008

The Dutch called the Providence River the ''Nassau River''. It was the northeastern limit of Dutch claims in the colonial era, owing to Adriaen Block's exploration of Narragansett Bay, from 1614 until the Hartford Treaty of 1650. It can, therefore, be regarded as the original boundary between the English

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 ...

colonies and the Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

Course

The river is formed by the confluence of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck rivers in downtown Providence. One half mile downstream, it is joined from the east by the Seekonk River and continues south. The cities of Providence, Cranston, and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

lie to the west of the river, while the city of East Providence and the town of Barrington lie to the east. At the narrows between Conimicut Point, in Warwick to the west and Nayatt Point in Barrington to the east, the Conimicut Shoal Lighthouse marks the entrance to the river from

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 ...

Recreation

Since the late 1990s, the Providence River has been known for gondola rides, which can be enjoyed by tourists and locals daily in season. Providence's three gondolas and one sandolo are hand made in Italy

Crossings

Point_Street_Bridge_viewed_from_the_south_-_Providence,_RI

Below is a list of all crossings over the Providence River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream. *Providence **Washington Place **College Street **

Crawford Street Crawford Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster, London. The street contains two grade II listed public houses. Location The street runs from the junction of Homer Row and Crawford Place in the west to the ...

**Old Interstate 195 ** Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge ** Point Street Bridge **

** Providence River Bridge ( I-195)

Tributaries

* Seekonk River *

Pawtuxet River The Pawtuxet River, also known as the Pawtuxet River Main Stem and the Lower Pawtuxet, is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

* Moshassuck River * Woonasquatucket River

References

External links