Piscataqua River

Piscataqua River
Pskehtekwis[citation needed]
Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the former Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and the Piscataqua River Bridge (background)
Piscataqua River is located in Maine
Piscataqua River
Location of mouth
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Hampshire, Maine
Physical characteristics
SourceCochecho and Salmon Falls rivers
 • locationNew Hampshire/Maine border, United States
 • coordinates43°10′34″N 70°49′29″W / 43.17611°N 70.82472°W / 43.17611; -70.82472
 • elevation0 ft (0 m)
MouthAtlantic Ocean
 • location
Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire/Maine border, United States
 • coordinates
43°3′22″N 70°42′11″W / 43.05611°N 70.70306°W / 43.05611; -70.70306
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length12 mi (19 km)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftSalmon Falls River
 • rightCochecho River, Great Bay

The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: Pskehtekwis) is a 12-mile-long (19 km) tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River to the Atlantic Ocean. The drainage basin of the river is approximately 1,495 square miles (3,870 km2), including the subwatersheds of the Great Works River and the five rivers flowing into Great Bay: the Bellamy, Oyster, Lamprey, Squamscott, and Winnicut.

The river runs southeastward, with New Hampshire to the south and west and Maine to the north and east, and empties into the Gulf of Maine east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The last 6 miles (10 km) before the sea are known as Portsmouth Harbor and have a tidal current of around 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).[1] The cities/towns of Portsmouth, New Castle, Newington, Kittery and Eliot have developed around the harbor.[2]

  1. ^ NOAA "Tides & Currents fact sheet" - "Nobles Island, north of"
  2. ^ DeLorme Mapping Company The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (13th edition) (1988) ISBN 0-89933-035-5 map 1