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The Mount Hope River is a river in northeastern section of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. The river is formed at the outlet of Morey Pond at the extreme northern end of
Ashford, Connecticut Ashford is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 4,191 at the 2020 Unite ...
, at the border of
Union, Connecticut Union is a New England town, town located in the northeastern part of Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States and is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Northeastern Connecticut Plan ...
, and flows about south to Mansfield Hollow Lake, just south of Mansfield, Connecticut.


Course

The Mount Hope River begins at the dam which releases water from Morey Pond, at the Ashford-Union border, adjacent to Interstate 84. From here, the river flows south through Ashford, roughly paralleling Route 89, and passing under this road several times. The Mount Hope River passes through the hamlets of Westford and Warrenville. After passing through Warrenville, the river continues to flow south, and enters
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
, still paralleling Route 89. The Mount Hope River continues flowing south through the eastern portion of Mansfield, following Route 89, and eventually reaches its mouth at Mansfield Hollow Lake, just south of where it passes under Atwoodville Road. A popular
whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...
paddling route starts along Route 89 about 1/10 of a mile north of the junction with U.S. Route 44. After about of mostly quickwater, the river flows through occasional Class II
whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...
with difficult Class III whitewater near Mansfield Hollow Lake for a total of about of whitewater paddling.


Watershed

The Mount Hope River watershed covers an area of approximately 28 square miles in northeastern Connecticut. Most of this watershed is located in
Ashford, Connecticut Ashford is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 4,191 at the 2020 Unite ...
, but portions of it also lie in the northeastern section of
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
, the northwestern section of
Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...
, and the southern section of Union. Tributaries of the Mount Hope River include (from north to south) Chaffee Brook, Urda Brook, Buck Brook, East Branch Mount Hope River, Basset Brook, Goss Brook, Gardner Brook, Bebbington Brook, Knowlton Brook, and Knowlton Pond Brook.


Pollution and habitat degradation

Almost all of the Mount Hope River in Ashford is classified as an impaired river due to elevated bacteria levels. This impaired segment runs from the river's source at Morey Pond, in the northern end of town, to the river's final crossing of Route 89, near the Mansfield border at the southern end of town. Runoff from agricultural fields, residential areas, and roads is considered to be the culprit of these higher-than-normal bacteria levels. One section of the Mount Hope River in Ashford, at its junction with Basset Brook, had been in a degraded state for a significant amount of time. This section of the river flows through a farm with free-roaming cattle. These cattle trampled the riverbanks, causing them to be unstable. This instability led to excessive erosion, which degraded fish habitat downstream of the site, and also led to excessive widening of the river where it passed through the farm. In 2006, a river restoration project was completed, in which this section of river was restored to a normal width. Large boulders, logs, erosion-control fabric, and vegetation were placed along the edge of the river where it passes through the farm, in order to stabilize its banks, and fences have been installed along the river to keep out cattle.


Recreation

The Mount Hope River is very popular with fisherman from the area. The river is stocked with
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Several other types of fish also swim in its waters. Portions of the Mount Hope River can also be used for whitewater paddling, as previously mentioned.


See also

* List of rivers of Connecticut


References


External links


Connecticut Explorer's Guide
Online paddling map of Mount Hope River {{authority control Rivers of Windham County, Connecticut Rivers of Tolland County, Connecticut Rivers of Connecticut Ashford, Connecticut Tributaries of the Thames River (Connecticut)