Shetucket River

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title: "Shetucket River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-windham-county,-connecticut", "rivers-of-new-london-county,-connecticut", "rivers-of-connecticut", "connecticut-placenames-of-native-american-origin", "tributaries-of-the-thames-river-(connecticut)", "national-recreation-trails-in-connecticut"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetucket_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Shetucket River
image	Shetucket River, Baltic, CT.jpg
image_caption	The river at Salt Rock State Park in Sprague
map	Shetucket River (Connecticut) map.jpg
map_caption	Shetucket River and environs
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	United States
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Connecticut
subdivision_type3	Counties
subdivision_name3	Windham, New London
length	20 mi
discharge1_location	Willimantic, CT
discharge1_min	337 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1965
discharge1_avg	718 cuft/sAverage, 1929-2005
discharge1_max	1243 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1938
source1	Confluence of Willimantic River and Natchaug River
source1_location	Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States
source1_coordinates
mouth	Confluence with Yantic River to form Thames River
mouth_location	Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States
mouth_coordinates
tributaries_right	Quinebaug River, Little River (Shetucket River)
::

| name = Shetucket River | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = Shetucket River, Baltic, CT.jpg | image_caption = The river at Salt Rock State Park in Sprague | map = Shetucket River (Connecticut) map.jpg | map_size = | map_caption = Shetucket River and environs | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Connecticut | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Windham, New London | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 20 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= Willimantic, CT | discharge1_min = 337 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1965 | discharge1_avg = 718 cuft/sAverage, 1929-2005 | discharge1_max = 1243 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1938 | source1 = Confluence of Willimantic River and Natchaug River | source1_location = Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = Confluence with Yantic River to form Thames River | mouth_location = Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = Quinebaug River, Little River (Shetucket River) | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =

The Shetucket River is a tributary of the Thames River, 20.4 mi long, in eastern Connecticut in the United States.

It is formed at Willimantic by the junction of the Willimantic and Natchaug rivers. It flows southeast and south. Approximately 4 mi northeast of Norwich it receives the Quinebaug River and broadens into a wide estuary which stretches southeast for approximately 5 mi and joins the Thames estuary on the south side of Norwich.

The river flows through a rural section of New England, despite the historical presence of industry in the surrounding region. Parts of the rivers have been designated by the federal government as the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor. The National Park Service describes the river valley as the "last green valley" in the Boston-to-Washington megalopolis. In nighttime satellite photos, the valley appears distinctively dark amidst the lights of the surrounding urban and suburban regions.

Crossings

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Carries	Location
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 2.svg	20px]] Route 2
Providence and Worcester Railroad
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 12.svg	20px]][[Image:Connecticut Highway 2.svg
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 2.svg	20px]] Route 2
8th Street
Providence and Worcester Railroad	Norwich/
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 12.svg	20px]] Route 12
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 169.svg	20px]] Route 169
[[Image:I-395.svg	20px]] Connecticut Turnpike
Bridge Street/Main Street	Norwich/
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 97.svg	20px]] Route 97
[[Image:Connecticut Highway 203.svg	20px]] Route 203
Providence and Worcester Railroad
Plains Road
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Environmental issues

The Shetucket River has been tested for the presence of PFAS following the June 8, 2019 incident that spilled thousands of gallons of firefighting foam in the Farmington River. Elevated levels of PFAS were found in bass collected in the Shetucket River, Natchaug River and the Willimantic River. As of 2023, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection still mentions a fish consumption advisory in effect for those three rivers.

Paddling the River

The entire length of the river, as well as the lower part of the Natchaug River flowing into it, is a popular recreational paddling route. The water trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail.

Canoe/Kayak launch sites are located at the following locations:

• Lauter Park off Route 195 - Willimantic (on Natchaug River 1 mile above Shetucket River)
• Recreation Park on Plains Road - Windham
• Baltic Riverside Park on Route 97 - Sprague
• Occum Dam canoe portage - Sprague
• Lisbon Canoe Launch off Route 169 - Lisbon
• Greenville Dam canoe portage - Norwich
• Howard Brown Park - Norwich

Short, marked portages are required at four hydroelectric dams: Scotland Dam, Occum Dam, Taftville Dam, and Greenville Dam.

References

References

1. Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey. (September 12, 1979). "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Shetucket River".
2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ The National Map], accessed April 1, 2011
3. (2019-07-26). "Three eastern Connecticut rivers will be tested this summer for PFAS chemical pollution".
4. "Warning Issued Over PFAS Levels in Fish in 3 Connecticut Rivers".
5. "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)".
6. "Shetucket River Water Trail".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::