The Branch 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 w ...
located entirely in the city of
Keene, in southwestern
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a 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 to the nor ...
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 territori ...
. 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 drai ...
of the
Ashuelot River
The Ashuelot River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, approximately long, in southwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of , including much of the area known as the Monadnock Region. It is the longest tr ...
, itself a tributary of the
Connecticut River, which flows to
Long Island Sound.
While itself a very short river, The Branch is formed by the confluence of the much-longer
Otter Brook and Minnewawa Brook and was sometimes considered in the past to be part of Otter Brook. A 1982 decision by the federal
Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
established the name "The Branch". Variant names cited by the Board include "Branch of Ashuelot", "Otter Branch", and "Otter Brook".
The Branch is paralleled for its entire length by
New Hampshire Route 101
New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) is a state-maintained highway in southern New Hampshire extending from Keene to Hampton Beach. It is the major east–west highway in the southern portion of the state.
The western terminus of NH 101 is in Keene ...
.
See also
*
Stone Arch Bridge (Keene, New Hampshire)
*
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 Shorelan ...
References
Rivers of New Hampshire
Tributaries of the Connecticut River
Rivers of Cheshire County, New Hampshire
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