The Hampton River is a tidal inlet

Tidal river

A tidal river is a river, or more typically a stretch of a river, whose flow and level is influenced by tides. An example of a tidal river is the portion of the Connecticut River flowing from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, to the Atlantic Ocean. The Brisbane River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean...

 in the towns of Hampton

Hampton, New Hampshire

Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....

 and Hampton Falls

Hampton Falls, New Hampshire

Hampton Falls is a New England town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is surrounded by the largest salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

 in New Hampshire, covering over 3800 acres (15.4 km²).

The river is formed by the confluence of the Taylor and Hampton Falls

Hampton Falls River

The Hampton Falls River is a 5.6 mile long river in southeastern New Hampshire in the United States. Its lower reaches are tidal, as part of the Hampton salt marsh close to the Atlantic Ocean....

 rivers. The Hampton River flows for one mile (1.6 km) before broadening into Hampton Harbor, an estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 which also receives flow from small tidal channels such as the Browns River and the Blackwater River. Hampton Harbor exits to the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 through the Hampton Harbor Inlet, a dredged channel between Hampton Beach

Hampton Beach, New Hampshire

Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort within the town of Hampton, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located on the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2010 census was 2,275. Hampton Beach is located in Rockingham County, approximately south of Portsmouth...

 and Seabrook

Seabrook, New Hampshire

Seabrook is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,693 at the 2010 census. Located at the southern end of the coast of New Hampshire on the border with Massachusetts, Seabrook is noted as the location of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, the third-most...

 which is spanned by the Hampton Bridge

Hampton Bridge

The Hampton Bridge is a bridge that spans the Hampton River near Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Today, this bridge stands constructed with steel and concrete. Initially it was constructed of wood by Wallace D. Lovell and referred to as The Mile Long Wooden Bridge...

.