Ottauquechee River

North Hartland Lake formed by the dam in the front of the photo

The Ottauquechee River (pronounced AWT-ah-KWEE-chee) is a 41.4-mile-long (66.6 km)^[1] river in eastern Vermont in the United States.^[2] It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound.

The Ottauquechee rises in the Green Mountains^[2] in eastern Rutland County in the town of Killington, and flows generally eastwardly into Windsor County, where it passes through or along the boundaries of the towns of Bridgewater, Woodstock, Pomfret, Hartford and Hartland; and the villages of Woodstock and Quechee. It joins the Connecticut River in the town of Hartland, about 4 miles (6 km) south-southwest of White River Junction.^[3]

A headwaters tributary known as the North Branch Ottauquechee River flows southeastwardly through the towns of Killington and Bridgewater.^[3]^[4]

Quechee State Park is located along the river near the village of Quechee. Near the river's mouth the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' North Hartland Dam impounds the river to form North Hartland Lake.^[3]

Near the state park, the river flows through the 165-foot-deep (50 m) Quechee Gorge. The U.S. Rt. 4 bridge crosses over the gorge and provides good viewing down into its depths.[1]

In late August 2011, Hurricane Irene swept through the Ottauquechee River watershed, raising the water level in the river to far beyond its normal height. Houses and towns along the river were devastated.

Variant names and spellings

[edit]

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names settled on "Ottauquechee River" as the stream's name in 1908. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as:^[5]

Otta Quechee River
Ottaquechee River
Ottaqueeche River
Queechee River
Queechy River
Water Quechee River
Waterchuichi River
Waterqueechy River
Waterqueechy

References

[edit]

^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
^ ^a ^b Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
^ ^a ^b ^c DeLorme (1996). Vermont Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-016-9
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: North Branch Ottauquechee River
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ottauquechee River

External links

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Media related to Ottauquechee River at Wikimedia Commons

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

v t e Rivers of Vermont by drainage system
Connecticut River Watershed	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River
Hudson River Watershed	Batten Kill Hoosic River Walloomsac River
Saint Lawrence River Watershed	Barton River Black River Brownington Branch Browns River Coaticook River Cold River Clyde River Jail Branch River Johns River Lamoille River Lemon Fair River Mad River Mettawee River Mill River Missisquoi River Otter Creek Pherrins River Poultney River Rock River Stevens Branch Tomifobia River Willoughby River Winooski River

43°39′54″N 72°46′52″W / 43.6651023°N 72.7811448°W / 43.6651023; -72.7811448

Variant names and spellings

See also

References

External links