Piscataqua River
| Piscataqua River | |
 Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and the Piscataqua River Bridge (background)
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | New Hampshire, Maine |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Salmon Falls River |
| - right | Cochecho River, Great Bay |
| Source | Cochecho and Salmon Falls rivers |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 43°10′34″N 70°49′29″W / 43.17611°N 70.82472°W |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| - location | Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire/Maine border, United States |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 43°3′22″N 70°42′11″W / 43.05611°N 70.70306°WCoordinates: 43°3′22″N 70°42′11″W / 43.05611°N 70.70306°W |
| Length | 12 mi (19 km) |
The Piscataqua River (pronounced /pɪs'kæt.ə.kwə/) 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 Cocheco River. 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 form Portsmouth Harbor, one of the finest harbors in the northeastern United States, despite a tidal current of around 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). The cities/towns of Portsmouth, New Castle, Newington, Kittery and Eliot have developed around the harbor.
Named by the area's original Abenaki inhabitants, Piscataqua is believed to be a combination of peske (branch) with tegwe (a river with a strong current, possibly tidal). The first known European to explore the river was Martin Pring in 1603. Captain John Smith placed a spelling similar to "Piscataqua" for the region on his map of 1614. The river was the site of the first sawmill in the colonies in 1623, the same year the contemporary spelling "Piscataqua" was first recorded.
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