Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is New England's largest river ecosystem and one of the nation's first American Heritage rivers. Its watershed encompasses over 11,000 square miles of wild, rural and urban lands in parts of four states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The Connecticut River carves a sinuous pathway south from Fourth Connecticut Lake at the Canadian border -- past forested mountains and small hamlets, through rich farmlands and large cities -- to empty 410 miles later into Long Island Sound.

Since the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act in 1972, the water quality in the River and its tributaries has dramatically improved. The watershed is now home to a rich diversity of species.