Pawtuxet River
The Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows 12.3 miles (19.8 km) and drains a watershed of 231.6 square miles (600 km2). There are four dams along the river's length.
The area around the river was occupied by members of the Patuxet tribe, who were part of the larger Narragansett tribe. In the native language, the word "pawtuxet" means "little falls."
In 1638, Roger Williams purchased the land north of the Pawtuxet, thus founding Providence. In 1642, Samuel Gorton purchased the land south of the river, thus founding Warwick.
The Pawtuxet River Valley played an important role in the early development of the textile industry in New England during the 19th century.
The river is formed by the confluence of North and South branches of the river at River Point village in West Warwick. From there the river continues roughly east, through West Warwick, Warwick and Cranston, emptying into the Providence River at Pawtuxet Village. The last three miles (5 km) of the river form the boundary between Cranston and Warwick.
Below is a list of all crossings over the Pawtuxet River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream:
Water St.
Three Ponds Brook and the Pocasset River are the Pawtuxet River's only named tributaries, though it has many unnamed streams that also feed it.
The Pawtuxet River is impacted by cadmium, mercury, pathogens, low dissolved oxygen and nutrients. It shows biodiversity impacts (Rhode Island 2006 List of Impaired Waters). The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management [1] has issued new discharge permits to the three major municipal wastewater treatment plants that discharge to the River (West Warwick, Rhode Island, Warwick, Rhode Island and Cranston, Rhode Island).
...
Wikipedia