Chelsea Creek, shown on federal maps as the Chelsea River, is a waterway that runs along the shore of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and separates that community from the cities of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Revere, as well as feeding part of the current Belle Isle Marsh Reservation that separates Boston from Revere. It is one of 10 designated port areas in Massachusetts. The creek starts as Mill Creek at a former pond at the intersection of Revere Beach Parkway ( Massachusetts Route 16) and

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

, now a shopping center. Mill Creek meanders east for 0.5 mile, then takes a sharp turn south, becoming Chelsea Creek, and widens significantly as it runs between Chelsea and the neighborhood of

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...

. In that area, the waterway is used by

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

s to transport fuel to adjacent oil tanks. The creek then turns southwest and runs into the Mystic River shortly before it empties into

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

. All of the jet fuel used at

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

is stored along the Chelsea Creek, with 70–80 percent of the heating fuel in

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 (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, and

road salt Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g/ ...

for approximately 350 communities across the region. In May 1775, the American colonists won the first offensive victory of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

over the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, in a naval battle known as the

Battle of Chelsea Creek The Battle of Chelsea Creek was the second military engagement of the Boston campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It is also known as the Battle of Noddle's Island, Battle of Hog Island and the Battle of the Chelsea Estuary. This battle ...

Crossings

* Chelsea Parkway Plaza, between Chelsea and Revere (source) * Broadway, between Chelsea and Revere * former Slade Mill at Mill Street, Revere * MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line * Chelsea Street Bridge *

Andrew P. McArdle Memorial Bridge The Andrew P. McArdle Memorial Bridge is a steel truss bascule bridge over the Chelsea Creek, just upstream of its confluence with the Mystic River and the Tobin Bridge. Also known as the Meridian Street Bridge, it connects Meridian Street in Eas ...

References

Rivers of Suffolk County, Massachusetts Mystic River Rivers of Massachusetts Geography of Suffolk County, Massachusetts Chelsea, Massachusetts Revere, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-river-stub