Five Fun Facts

Conversing with my friend, Coleman, the other day, we came upon a question that stumped us both...where exactly does the Charles River begin? Seems an easy enough question, but neither of us could confidently say we knew the correct answer! It was kind of surprising considering that he's spent his entire life in the Boston area right next door to the Charles while I've been in the area for three years now and am interning for an organization that aims to protect, preserve, and enhance the river! It turns out that the source of the Charles River is a  place called Echo Lake in Hopkinton, MA and that the river is also fed by about 80 brooks, streams, and several major aquifers. Regardless, my point is, it can be astounding how little you may actually know about a place that you see everyday and think you know so well.

One of CRWA’s Fall 2011 interns, Ian MacLellan, did a great job of teaching us all what a watershed is, but what makes the Charles River watershed stand out?

Here are a five fun facts about the Charles River that I recently learned and thought I would share...

1. We aren't the first to see the value of the river; Native Americans and early European settlers have been utilizing the river for centuries! 

2. The Charles River watershed contains over 8,000 acres of protected wetlands, referred to as Natural Valley Storage. These areas are important in preventing downstream flooding, filtering pollutants, providing natural habitats to native species, and replenishing water supplies.

3. Though the river was first thought to be named the Quinobquin, it turns out that when Captain John Smith first explored New England he named the it the Massachusetts River after a native tribe, but King Charles I of England changed the name to be after himself.

4. No matter how clean, the Charles River will always be a brownish color because of the slow pace that it flows at. 

5. It's taken a lot of hard work and funding for the watershed to reach the great condition it's in today. The most recent winner of the International Riverprize, the Charles River is definitely no longer "that dirty water" that was sung about by the rock and roll band The Standells in the 1960s. In 1996 Governor William Weld even jumped into the river with his clothes on to prove his committment to the cleanup effort! $100 million dollars and years of clean up hours later, the Charles River is finally swimmable, so get out and enjoy it!

- Ingrid