The Ammonoosuc River is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in northwestern
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
in the United States.
It is a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...
of the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
, which flows to
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
. ''Ammonoosuc'' is
Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place".
The Ammonoosuc rises on the western slope of
Mount Washington,
[ in Sargent's Purchase in the White Mountains of southern Coos County. One branch of the river is the outlet of the ]Lakes of the Clouds
The Lakes of the Clouds are a set of tarns located at the col between Mount Monroe and Mount Washington in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lakes form the source of the Ammonoosuc River, a tributary of the Con ...
in the saddle between Mount Washington and Mount Monroe
Mount Monroe is a mountain peak southwest of Mount Washington in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, United States. It is named for American President James Monroe and is the fourth highest mountain on the 4000 fo ...
. Leaving the vicinity of the Presidential Range
The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It contains the highest peaks of the Whites, the most notable of which are named for American presidents, followed by prominent ...
, the river flows westwardly into Grafton County, where it turns southwestwardly. Along its course the Ammonoosuc passes through Chandler's Purchase, Bean's Grant, and Crawford's Purchase; and the towns of Carroll, Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, Littleton, Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Landaff, Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, and Haverhill to the village of Woodsville, where it flows into the Connecticut River. It collects the Gale River in Lisbon, and the Wild Ammonoosuc River in Bath.DeLorme
DeLorme Publishing Company is a producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company's main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and rec ...
(1999). ''New Hampshire Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme.
Variant names and spellings
The United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...
settled on "Ammonoosuc River" as the stream's name in 1936. According to the Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...
, it has also been known as:[
*Amminoo Suck River
*Amonoosuck River
*Amonsook River
See also Defunct placenames of New Hampshire.
]
See also
* List of New Hampshire rivers
* Upper Ammonoosuc River
References
{{authority control
Rivers of New Hampshire
Rivers of Coös County, New Hampshire
Rivers of Grafton County, New Hampshire
Tributaries of the Connecticut River
New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin