Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Upstream In Vermont




When I was in college, a friend and I spent a Columbus Day weekend paddling a canoe down a portion of the Connecticut River. My memory is fuzzy on the specifics, but we launched the canoe on a tributary somwhere near Ryegate, Vermont; paddled our way to the Connecticut River; then worked our way south to Bradford. When our arms were tired, we would try to calculate how long it would take to reach the mouth of the river by simply flowing along with the current. We concluded that the numerous dams above Hartford, and the tides below, made it impossible to determine. We then returned to more serious conversations about baseball, girls, and music.

Ninety percent of the freshwater that enters Long Island Sound comes from three sources: The Connecticut, Housatonic, and Thames Rivers. Extending 400 miles from Old Saybrook to Quebec, the Connecticut is by-far the largest in both volume and distance. As the map above illustrates, there are many streams in Massachusetts and Vermont that are part of the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound watershed. This year I thought it would be interesting to occasionally post a story about the tributaries that feed into the Sound. Posts labeled UPSTREAM  will look at places within the Long Island Sound watershed.

Despite having attended school in Vermont, I only seem to get back there infrequently these days. My sister Erica however, works for the VT Department Of Tourism and started a blog this year entitled Happy Vermont. The photo above is from her story about Quechee Gorge and the Ottauquechee River that feeds into the Connecticut River. Vermont is a beautiful state! Whether you visit often, or are someone who has never been, be sure to check out her site.

Happy Vermont Travel Blog
Soundkeeper: LIS Watershed
Quechee Gorge: Map
image credit: Happy VT (top); Wikipedia (bottom)

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Vermont is lovely. I have had the fortune to visit during the fall (incredible).

Anonymous said...

I agree, Erica's Happy VT blog is wonderful and helps me reconnect with a my homeland. I haven't lived in Vermont for 23 years.It is really great to see something that I recognize on Happy VT.

Erica Houskeeper said...

Thanks for the nice plug, Matt! Much appreciated.

Steve -- I'm flattered! Thank you.

Anonymous said...
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Julie Kelliher said...

Great website and links to sailing sites. I have a schooner on Lake Champlain in Vermont and love sailing there. I checked out Happy Vermont and love it! Such beautiful pictures and informative posts. It really provides a deeper understanding of the places I've heard of but didn't know much about. Thanks so much!

Jeannette StG said...

Awesome birds eye view!
Hope you have some more serious conversations than the baseball, girls and music on Thanksgiving! (just teasing) - I'll check out your sister's site before the week is over.

WeSailFurther said...

Great blog! Good looking and interesting. The pics are really great. I've added it to my Reader.

@Julie: Did you say schooner? YOu have a blog or a facebook for the boat?

babYpose said...

beautiful view.

Baydog said...

Got it now!

Sildenafil said...

some of my closest friends have been in Vermont and they have told me amazing things about that place, especially about the nature and excellent areas to go camping!