The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of

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 ...

, the

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 ...

. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately .New Hampshire GRANIT state geographic information system
/ref> The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

word ''bemijijoasek'' əmidzidzoasək meaning "where side (entering) current is".

Geography

The Pemigewasset originates at Profile Lake in Franconia Notch State Park, in the town of

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

. It flows south through the White Mountains and merges with the Winnipesaukee River to form the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

at Franklin. The Merrimack then flows through southern New Hampshire, northeastern

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 ...

and into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

The

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

highway runs parallel with the river between

Franconia Notch Franconia Notch (elev. ) is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed b ...

and New Hampton. The river passes through the communities of Lincoln, North Woodstock,

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, Thornton, Campton,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

, Ashland, Bridgewater,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, New Hampton,

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

, Sanbornton, and Franklin. The river descends over waterfalls in Franconia Notch, including "The Basin", passes cascades in North Woodstock, and drops over Livermore Falls north of Plymouth. The remainder of the northern Pemi, from Lincoln to Ashland, passes over copious gravel bars and attracts numerous boaters and fishermen. Below Ashland, the river is impounded by the Ayers Island Dam, a

hydroelectric 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 ...

facility, for over five miles. A short stretch of heavy whitewater is found below the dam, before the river reaches the impoundment zone for the ''Franklin Falls'' flood control

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

. The river crosses one additional hydroelectric dam below Franklin Falls before joining the Winnipesaukee River in the center of Franklin, becoming the Merrimack River. The Pemigewasset watershed consists of over of rivers and of lake, pond, and reservoir area. The watershed comprises about 20 percent of the Merrimack's total watershed area.

Tributaries

Major tributaries include (from north to south): * East Branch of the Pemigewasset River. The East Branch is larger and longer than the main branch of the river. * Moosilauke Brook ( Lost River) * Mad River * Beebe River * Baker River * Squam River (outlet of

Squam Lake Squam Lake is a lake located in the Lakes Region (New Hampshire), Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton County, New Hampshire, Grafton ...

) * Newfound River (outlet of Newfound Lake) * Smith River

References

External links

EPA report on watershed status
* {{authority control Tributaries of the Merrimack River Rivers of New Hampshire Rivers of Merrimack County, New Hampshire Rivers of Grafton County, New Hampshire Rivers of Belknap County, New Hampshire New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin

Geography

Tributaries

See also

References

External links