Squam River

Squam River
The Squam River approaching the mill in Ashland, NH
Squam River is located in New Hampshire
Squam River
Squam River is located in the United States
Squam River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Hampshire
CountiesGrafton, Belknap
TownsAshland, New Hampton
Physical characteristics
SourceLittle Squam Lake
 • locationAshland
 • coordinates43°43′7″N 71°37′7″W / 43.71861°N 71.61861°W / 43.71861; -71.61861
 • elevation570 ft (170 m)
MouthPemigewasset River
 • location
New Hampton
 • coordinates
43°40′59″N 71°38′54″W / 43.68306°N 71.64833°W / 43.68306; -71.64833
 • elevation
450 ft (140 m)
Length3.6 mi (5.8 km)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftAmes Brook
 • rightOwl Brook

The Squam River is a 3.6-mile-long (5.8 km)[1] river located in central New Hampshire in the United States. The river is the outlet of Squam Lake, the second-largest lake in New Hampshire, and it is a tributary of the Pemigewasset River, which itself is a tributary of the Merrimack River.

The Squam River first appears as a narrow channel in Holderness, New Hampshire, between Squam Lake and Little Squam Lake downstream. The two lakes have the same elevation, due to a dam below the outlet to Little Squam, so the river in Holderness village is not free-flowing. Below Little Squam Lake the river proceeds south for over a mile before reaching the dam which controls the two lakes' water level. Below this point, the river quickly reaches the backwater from a mill dam in the town of Ashland.

In Ashland, the river drops 50 feet (15 m) in 0.2 miles (0.3 km), sufficient to provide hydropower for numerous industries when the town originally grew in the 19th century. Below the center of town, the river wanders southeast under railroad tracks and Interstate 93 and past the Ashland sewage treatment plant before entering the Pemigewasset River in the northwest corner of the town of New Hampton.

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