The Monatiquot River is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 river in
Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and ...
, formed by the confluence of the
Farm River and
Cochato River () in the Braintree Municipal Golf Course, flowing in swampy meanders to the northeast, and emptying into the tidal
Weymouth Fore River estuary. The name roughly translates to either “at the deep tidal place” or “lookout place”. Its drainage area is .
The river was a key aspect of colonial Braintree for its river
herring. Later its strong flow was useful for early industry such as
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
s. It has remained a relatively clean river to date, with wildlife including birds,
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
s,
muskrats and fish, but recently has been polluted by sediments from the Graziano Inc. concrete batching operation.
The river was also where Paul Revere opened a nail mill, which remained open after his death until the 1860s, when the Mill was retooled. That nail company has since moved to southeastern Massachusetts and is still in business today producing nails on the same equipment installed during that 1860s retooling.
The river is home to a variety of aquatic life. Rainbow smelt use the river as a spawning ground and the smelt that spawn here provide fishing opportunities in the surrounding area.
References
Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Geological Survey*
Landforms of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Watersheds of Boston Harbor
Rivers of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Rivers of Massachusetts
Geography of Braintree, Massachusetts
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