For inquiries contact Ed Klekowski, Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

As is the case with most rivers, nearly all of the water flowing in the Connecticut originates from its tributaries. These streams and small rivers channel the rainfall and snowmelt from 11,250 square miles (29,138 sq km) in four states (New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut) into the Connecticut River. But the tributaries bring more than water into the river. Often, especially before the implementation of the Clean Water Act of 1965, the tributaries dumped vast amounts of industrial wastes, which poisoned the river for miles.

Millers River, Erving, MA in 1975. The river is discolored with wastes from paper recycling mills. Recycling saved a tree but killed a river.

The mouth of the Millers River where it enters the Connecticut (1975). The arrow marks the plume of pollution entering the Connecticut. Fortunately, because of the Clean Water Act, there are now waste water treatment facilities on the Millers River and water quality has greatly improved.

Tributaries also bring new forms of life into the Connecticut.

Green snow on the water. Millions (billions) of Wolffia brasiliensis plants floating out of the mouth of the Mill River in Hadley, MA. These microscopic plants are the world's smallest flowering plants. There are no leaves, stems or roots. The plant is an amorphous blob of green cells and sometimes (rarely) forms a very small flower. Essentially all reproduction is asexual. The plant is a DNA cloning machine.

So as you can see, the tributaries can play very significant roles in what we find in the river's mainstem. The following essays will give some impression of the river's tributaries.

• Quabbin Reservoir

  The Quabbin Reservoir, nestled in the lovely Swift River Valley in western Massachusetts, was formed by damming the Swift River system, which was a tributary of the Connecticut River. The damming of the river system led to the destruction of four towns and the diversion of its waters into the Boston drinking supply.

• Deerfield River

  From Stratton Mountain in Southern Vermont to Greenfield in Massachusetts, the Deerfield River watershed typifies rural New England at its best. The rugged topography boasts spectacular scenic settings and exciting recreational opportunities. This topography has also attracted large electric utilities and their accompanying dams: ten hydrolelectric developments were built on the mainstem, some as far back as 1911. One of the coldest and cleanest rivers in the region, the Deerfield River is home to native and stocked trout and is the site for Atlantic salmon restoration.

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