The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick (primarily in New York) and the Hoosuck (mostly archaic), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in the northeastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name. It can be translated either as "the beyond place" (as in beyond, or east of, the Hudson) or as "the stony place" (perhaps because the river's stony bottom is usually exposed except in spring, or perhaps because local soils are so stony).

Watershed

The Hoosic River watershed is formed from tributaries originating in the

Berkshire Hills The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, the

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Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, and the Taconic Mountains. The main (South) Branch of the river begins on the west slope of North Mountain and almost immediately fills the man-made Cheshire Reservoir in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

. From there, the river flows north, west, and northwest, through the towns of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and Adams, the city of North Adams, and the town of Williamstown. It then travels through Pownal in the southwest corner of Vermont, after which it enters Rensselaer County,

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. There, it flows through the towns of Petersburgh and Hoosick, where it passes over a

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dam in the village of

Hoosick Falls Hoosick Falls is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,501 at the 2010 census. During its peak, in 1900, the vill ...

. (There are also dams in Johnsonville, Valley Falls, and Schaghticoke.) The river provides the northwest border of the town of Pittstown, then flows through the town of Schaghticoke with its villages of Valley Falls and Schaghticoke before it terminates at its confluence with the Hudson above the city of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Tributaries

* North Branch Hoosic River * Green River * Little Hoosick River * Walloomsac River - Native American name, also Wal-loom-sac * Owl Kill * Wampecack Creek - Native American name, also Po-quam-pa-cak * Tomhannock - Native American name, also Tom-he-nack ** Sunkouissa Creek - Native American name, also Sank-an-is-sick

References

External links

Hoosic River Watershed Association

Hoosuck Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Hoosic River Nature Trail in Williamstown
{{authority control Tributaries of the Hudson River Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of Vermont Rivers of Berkshire County, Massachusetts Rivers of Washington County, New York Rivers of Rensselaer County, New York Rivers of Bennington County, Vermont Rivers of Massachusetts New York (state) placenames of Native American origin Vermont placenames of Native American origin

Watershed

Tributaries

See also

References

External links