Housatonic River

Housatonic River
View of Housatonic River from Bull's Bridge in Kent, Connecticut.
Country	United States
States	Connecticut, Massachusetts
Counties	Fairfield, CT, Litchfield, CT, New Haven, CT, Berkshire, MA
Tributaries
- left	East Branch Housatonic River, Konkapot River, Blackberry River, Shepaug River, Pomperaug River, Naugatuck River
- right	West Branch Housatonic River, Williams River, Green River, Salmon Creek, Ten Mile River, Still River
City	Pittsfield, MA
Source	Confluence of West and East Branches Housatonic River
- location	Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
- elevation	959 ft (292 m)
- coordinates	42°26′01″N 073°15′03″W / 42.43361°N 73.25083°W / 42.43361; -73.25083
Mouth	Long Island Sound
- location	Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
- coordinates	41°10′09″N 073°06′30″W / 41.16917°N 73.10833°W / 41.16917; -73.10833Coordinates: 41°10′09″N 073°06′30″W / 41.16917°N 73.10833°W / 41.16917; -73.10833
Length	139 mi (224 km)
Basin	1,948 sq mi (5,045 km2)
Discharge	for Stratford/Milford, CT
- average	4,700 cu ft/s (133 m3/s)
- max	48,600 cu ft/s (1,376 m3/s)
- min	54 cu ft/s (2 m3/s)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- Great Barrington, MA	767 cu ft/s (22 m3/s)
Housatonic River watershed

The Housatonic River (/ˌhuːsəˈtɒnɪk/ HOOS-ə-TON-ik) is a river, approximately 149 miles (240 km) long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about 1,950 square miles (5,100 km²) of southwestern Connecticut into Long Island Sound. Its watershed is just to the west of the watershed of the lower Connecticut River. Birds and fish who live in and around the river contain significant levels of PCBs and present health risks.

Indigenous people began using the river area for fishing and hunting at least 6,000 years ago. By 1600, the inhabitants were mostly Mohicans and may have numbered 30,000.

The river's name is derived from the Mohican phrase "usi-a-di-en-uk", translated as "beyond the mountain place" or "river of the mountain place". It is referred to in the deed by which a group of twelve colonists called "The Proprietors" captured the land now called Sherman and New Fairfield as "Ousetonack". It was referred to by Samuel Orcutt as "more properly the Howsatunnuck" and an early name of "Oweantinock" is also mentioned. The river was also known as the Potatuck or the "river of the falls" until the 18th century.