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bed narrow, the valley slopes cut sharply in crystalline rocks, and the tributaries small and torrential. In the 273 M. of this upper portion of its course the See also:

AVERAGE

average descent is 15 to 34 ft. a mile. In Massachusetts and Connecticut the river flows through a basin of weaker Triassic shales and sandstones, and the valley consequently broadens out, making the finest agricultural region of large extent in New England. Near See also:

HOLYOKE

Holyoke and at other points rugged hills of harder See also:

TRAP (0. Eng. treppe or traepee, properly a step, as that or which an animal places its foot and is caught, cf. Ger. Treppe flight of stairs)

trap See also:

rock rise so high above the valley See also:

LOWLAND

lowland that they are locally called mountains. From their crests there are beautiful views of the fertile Connecticut valley lowland and of the more distant enclosing hills of crystal-line rocks. The river winds over this lowland, for the most See also:

PART

part flowing over alluvial bottoms.

The valley sides rise from the river channels by a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of steps or terraces. These terraces are noted for their perfection of See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form; being among the most perfect in the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. They have been cut by the river in its See also:

WORK

work of removing the heavy deposits of See also:

GRAVEL, or PEBBLE BEDS

gravel, See also:

sand and See also:

clay that were laid down in this lowland during the closing stages of the Glacial See also:

Period, when See also:

GREAT

great volumes of See also:

WATER

water, heavily laden with sediment, were poured into this valley from streams issuing from the receding See also:

ICE (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Eis)

ice front. In the course of this excavation of glacial deposits the river has here and there discovered buried spurs of rock over which the water now tumbles in rapids and falls. For example, 11 m. above Hartford are the See also:

ENFIELD

Enfield Falls, where a descent of 31.8 ft. in See also:

low water (17.6 in highest water) is made in 5.25 M. At See also:

MIDDLETOWN

Middletown, See also:

Conn., the river turns abruptly S.E., leaving the See also:

belt of Triassic rocks and again entering the See also:

AREA

area of crystalline rocks which border the lowland. Therefore, from near Middletown to the See also:

sea the valley again narrows. The river valley is a great manufacturing region, especially where there is a See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good water-See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power derived from the stream, as at Wilder and See also:

Bellows Falls, Vt., at Turners Falls and Holyoke, See also:

Mass., and at See also:

Windsor Locks, Conn. Five See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles below See also:

BRATTLEBORO

Brattleboro, Vt., a huge power See also:

dam was under construction in 1909. Efforts have been made by the. See also:

UNITED

United States See also:

government to open the river to Holyoke, and elaborate surveys were made in 1896-1907. At Enfield Rapids is a privately built See also:

canal with locks 8o ft. long and 18 ft. wide, handling boats with a draft of 3 ft.

From Hartford seaward the Connecticut is a tidal and navigable stream. Bars form at the mouth and have had to be removed annually by dredging. From 1829-1899 the Federal government expended $585,640 on the improvement of the river. During the colonial period the Connecticut river played an important part in the See also:

settlement of New England. The See also:

RIVAL

rival See also:

ENGLISH

English and` Dutch' See also:

FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur traders found it a convenient See also:

HIGHWAY

highway, and English homeseekers were soon attracted to its valley by the fertility of the meadow lands. From the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the 17th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century until the See also:

ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

advent of the railway the stream was a great thoroughfare between the seaboard and the region to, the See also:

north. Its valley was consequently settled with unusual rapidity, and is now a thickly populated region, with many flourishing towns and cities. See See also:

ANNUAL

Annual Reports of the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

Chief of See also:

ENGINEERS, MILITARY

Engineers, U.S. See also:

Army, passim (See also:

INDEX

index, two) ; E. M. See also:

Bacon's Connecticut River and the Valley of the Connecticut (New See also:

York, 19(36); G. S.

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