Charles River

Charles River Quinobequin
Longfellow Bridge (center) connecting Boston and Cambridge crossing a frozen Charles River
Interactive map of the Charles River
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Cities	Hopkinton, Cambridge, Boston
Physical characteristics
Source	Echo Lake
• location	Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States
• coordinates	42°11′34″N 71°30′43″W / 42.19278°N 71.51194°W / 42.19278; -71.51194
• elevation	350 ft (110 m)
Mouth	Boston Harbor
• location	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• coordinates	42°22′14″N 71°3′13″W / 42.37056°N 71.05361°W / 42.37056; -71.05361
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	80 mi (130 km)
Basin size	308 sq mi (800 km2)
Discharge
• average	302 cu ft/s (8.6 m3/s)
• minimum	0.1 cu ft/s (0.0028 m3/s)
• maximum	4,150 cu ft/s (118 m3/s)

The Charles River (Massachusett: Quinobequin), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an 80-mile-long (129 km) river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles back on itself several times and travels through 23 cities and towns before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.^[1] The indigenous Massachusett named it Quinobequin, meaning "meandering" or "meandering still water".^[2]