The Suncook 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 ...
located in central
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
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 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
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 ...
, which flows to the
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northea ...
.
Course
The Suncook River begins at the outlet of
Crystal Lake in the town of
Gilmanton, New Hampshire. The village of
Gilmanton Ironworks is located at the lake's outlet. The Suncook flows south two miles to the
Suncook Lakes (Upper and Lower) in
Barnstead. Below the lakes, the river passes through the village of
Center Barnstead and enters the town of
Pittsfield, whose
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
is centered on a 19th century dam on the river.
The river continues south through the towns of
Chichester
Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...
and
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
, and then forms the town boundary between
Pembroke and
Allenstown. Shortly before reaching the Merrimack River, the Suncook drops in , a natural waterpower site that led to the growth of the
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
of
Suncook.
2006 flood
On May 16, 2006, the Suncook River, responding to the highest rainfall amounts in at least 70 years (more than dropped by a low-pressure system in three days on
Concord, New Hampshire
Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
), rose to
flood level and backed up behind an old mill dam, which produced a shallowly-sloping pool that overtopped a sand and gravel quarry, connected with a downstream section of channel, and cut a new shorter channel at 25–50 meters per hour in the town of Epsom. Two previous channels, around Bear Island, were left dry. The new river course, approximately a mile long, is the largest channel change in a river in New Hampshire since systematic topographic mapping began in the state in the early 20th century.
On September 3, 2018, there was news that work had begun to stabilize the Suncook River in its new course.
Artistic tributes
In 1934, the American composer
Alan Hovhaness (1911–2000), who spent time with his maternal family members in
Pittsfield, New Hampshire
Pittsfield is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,075 at the 2020 census.
The main village in town, where 1,570 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Pittsfield census-designated place ...
, during his youth, wrote a fantasy for cello and piano entitled ''Legend of the Sunkook ' Valley'' (Op. 1, no. 4).
See also
*
List of rivers of New Hampshire
References
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Merrimack River
Rivers of New Hampshire
Rivers of Belknap County, New Hampshire
Rivers of Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Pembroke, New Hampshire
New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin