Piscataqua River Pskehtekwis[citation needed] | |
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![]() Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the former Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and the Piscataqua River Bridge (background) | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | New Hampshire, Maine |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Cochecho and Salmon Falls rivers |
• location | New Hampshire/Maine border, United States |
• coordinates | 43°10′34″N 70°49′29″W / 43.17611°N 70.82472°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Mouth | Atlantic 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 |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Length | 12 mi (19 km) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Salmon Falls River |
• right | Cochecho 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]