The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 km (5 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk, or for black goose. The river is home to the

Brown University men's rowing The Brown University men's rowing team represents Brown University in men's intercollegiate rowing and is the oldest organized intercollegiate sport at the university. Since its revival in 1949, the Brown University rowing program has become one ...

team, India Point Park, Blackstone Park,

Crook Point Bascule Bridge The Crook Point Bascule Bridge (or the Seekonk River Drawbridge) is a defunct Scherzer rolling lift railway bridge which spans the Seekonk River, connecting the city of Providence, Rhode Island, to the city of East Providence. Stuck in the open ...

, Narragansett Boat Club (the oldest rowing club in the country), Swan Point Cemetery, and the Bucklin Point waste-water treatment facility. The River is listed by RIDEM as an impaired waterway.

Course

The river begins where the Blackstone River reaches sea level below Pawtucket Falls. From there it flows due south between Providence and East Providence, picks up flow from the Ten Mile River, and eventually flows into the Providence River between

Bold Point Bold Point is an area of East Providence, Rhode Island protruding into the Providence River. It was home to Providence Dry Dock and Marine Railway Co. around the turn of the 20th century, and today is home to Bold Point Park. History Bold Point ...

and India Point. The Seekonk River is the northernmost point of Narragansett Bay tidewater.

Slate Rock

A prominent boulder on the west shore of the Seekonk River (near the current Gano Park) was once one of Providence's most important historic landmarks. Slate Rock was said to be the spot where a group of Narragansetts first welcomed the exiled

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...

in 1636 with the famous phrase "What cheer, netop?", and directed him to his eventual settlement location at the fork of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers. The historic rock was accidentally blown up by city workers in 1877. They were attempting to expose a buried portion of the stone, but used too much dynamite and the stone was "blasted to pieces." Pieces of the stone were later sold for souvenirs. A monument in nearby Slate Rock Park commemorates the location.

Flora and fauna

The Seekonk River is home to numerous fauna that either migrate to the bay at some point during the year or live there year-round. There are several species of fish,

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

and

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

that have been documented. Birds include

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

, Cormorants, Herons, Gulls, Terns,

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s and Geese. Numerous flora also make the Seekonk River their home both on land and underwater. Common aquatic vegetation includes grasses like spartina grass and phragmites in most high marsh areas and brown and green

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

in the intertidal zone. Other vegetation that makes its home along the river include shrubs like rosa rugosa, various trees like the willow, oak and

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

Crossings

Blackstone Park, Providence Rhode Island-bench

Below is a list of all crossings over the Seekonk River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream. *Pawtucket ** Main Street Bridge **

Pawtucket River Bridge The Pawtucket River Bridge is a twin span, six-lane highway bridge that carries Interstate 95 (I-95) over the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The original bridge was built in 1958 and rehabilitated in 1996. The bridge was demolishe ...

; Carries

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

and

U.S. 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, ...

Division Street Bridge The Division Street Bridge is an historic roadway and sidewalk stone arch bridge in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, carrying Division Street over the Seekonk River. The structure was built in 1875–1877 at a cost of USD$95,000. It is a nine-span ston ...

*Providence ** Henderson Bridge **

Washington Bridge The Washington Bridge is a -long arch bridge over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The crossing, opened in 1888, connects 181st Street (Manhattan), 181st Street and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Am ...

; Carries Interstate 195, U.S. 6 and

U.S. 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 209, US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) ...

Tributaries

* Blackstone River * Ten Mile River *

Bucklin Brook Bucklin Brook is a brook in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It is 3 miles long and was at one time the source of drinking water for the city from a reservoir that was located at present day McCoy Stadium. The upper portion of the stream up to the stadiu ...

References