Mount Hope Bay
Encyclopedia
Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary
located at the mouth of the Taunton River
on the Massachusetts
and Rhode Island
border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay
. The bay is named after Mount Hope
, a small hill located on its western shore in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island
. It flows into the East Passage of Narragansett Bay and also the Sakonnet River
. Mount Hope Bay has played an important role to the history of the area, from pre-colonial times to the present. While many years of sewage and industrial pollution have severely degraded the quality of the shallow waters of the bay, there are currently major efforts underway to clean up and restore it.
terrane about 315 million years ago. It is underlaid by sedimentary rocks estimated to be several miles thick. The bay covers and area of about 13 square miles (36 square km) with an average depth of 18.7 feet, although portions of the southern end of the bay are as deep as 74 feet deep near the Mount Hope Bridge
.
At the north end of the bay are the towns of Warren, Rhode Island
, Swansea, Massachusetts
and Somerset, Massachusetts
. The eastern shore of the bay consists of the city of Fall River, Massachusetts
and the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island. Portsmouth, Rhode Island
is located at the southern end of the bay at the northern tip of Aquidneck Island
. Bristol, Rhode Island
forms the eastern shore of the bay.
Approximately 70 percent of the bay is located within Rhode Island
. However, nearly 90 percent of its drainage area is located within Massachusetts
. Aside from its main tributary the Taunton River
, several smaller rivers drain directly into the bay, including the Quequechan River
, Lee's River, Cole River
and Kickamuit River
. A small sand bar known as Spar Island is located in the middle of the bay just south of the Rhode Island border.
The perimeter of the bay is crossed by three roadway bridges: the Sakonnet River Bridge
to the southeast, the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge to the north, and the Mount Hope Bridge
to the southwest.
Mount Hope Bay contains a 35 foot deep shipping channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of their Fall River Harbor project. A privately maintained 34 feet deep channel extends from the main ACOE channel to the Brayton Point Power Station.
in 1675.
For nearly 200 years the area of the bay was part of a boundary dispute between the states of Rhode Island
and Massachusetts
, which was finally settled by the United States Supreme Court in 1862.
Mount Hope Bay has played an important part in the industrial history of the city of Fall River
, which is located on its eastern shore. The bay provides access to the city for ocean-going vessels, including for many years the passenger ships of the Fall River Line
.
In the 1960s, the 1,500 megawatt Brayton Point Power Station was built by the New England Power Company in Somerset, Massachusetts
at the north end of the bay. It has the largest capacity of any power plant in New England
. For many years, the plant has relied on the waters of the bay as part of its cooling process. This has led to severe thermal pollution, resulting in periodic fish kill
s. After years of lawsuits and various environmental government action, current owner Dominion Resources
is spending approximately $500 million building two 500-foot tall cooling towers and upgrading the cooling system to prevent pollution of the bay.
In 2009, the City of Fall River
completed the first phase of a $185 million Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) abatement project, designed to drastically reduce the amount of sewage overflows that occur during periods of heavy rains. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.
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....
located at the mouth of the Taunton River
Taunton River
The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...
on the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
. The bay is named after Mount Hope
Mount Hope (Rhode Island)
Mount Hope is a small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island overlooking the part of Narragansett Bay known as Mount Hope Bay. The elevation of the summit is 209 feet, and drops sharply to the bay on its eastern side. Mount Hope was the site of a Wampanoag village...
, a small hill located on its western shore in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....
. It flows into the East Passage of Narragansett Bay and also the Sakonnet River
Sakonnet River
The Sakonnet River is a tidal strait, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 23 km between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound...
. Mount Hope Bay has played an important role to the history of the area, from pre-colonial times to the present. While many years of sewage and industrial pollution have severely degraded the quality of the shallow waters of the bay, there are currently major efforts underway to clean up and restore it.
Physical description
Mount Hope Bay is part of the Narragansett Basin, formed as a rift in the AvalonAvalonia
Avalonia was a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. Crustal fragments of this former microcontinent underlie south-west Great Britain, and the eastern coast of North America. It is the source of many of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada, and parts of the coastal United States...
terrane about 315 million years ago. It is underlaid by sedimentary rocks estimated to be several miles thick. The bay covers and area of about 13 square miles (36 square km) with an average depth of 18.7 feet, although portions of the southern end of the bay are as deep as 74 feet deep near the Mount Hope Bridge
Mount Hope Bridge
The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge spanning the Mount Hope Bay in eastern Rhode Island, at one of the narrowest gaps in Narragansett Bay. The bridge connects the Rhode Island towns of Portsmouth and Bristol, and is part of Route 114...
.
At the north end of the bay are the towns of Warren, Rhode Island
Warren, Rhode Island
Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,611 at the 2010 census.-History:Warren was the site of the Indian village of Sowams on the peninsula called Pokanoket , and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins...
, Swansea, Massachusetts
Swansea, Massachusetts
Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts.It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, 47 miles south of Boston; and 12 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island....
and Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....
. The eastern shore of the bay consists of the city of Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
and the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island. Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
is located at the southern end of the bay at the northern tip of Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
. Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....
forms the eastern shore of the bay.
Approximately 70 percent of the bay is located within Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. However, nearly 90 percent of its drainage area is located within Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Aside from its main tributary the Taunton River
Taunton River
The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...
, several smaller rivers drain directly into the bay, including the Quequechan River
Quequechan River
The Quequechan River , is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts that flows in a northwesterly direction from the South Watuppa Pond to the Taunton River. The word Quequechan means "falling water" in Wampanoag, hence the city's name....
, Lee's River, Cole River
Cole River
The Cole River is located in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It flows from its headwaters in Dighton, Massachusetts through the towns of Rehoboth and Swansea into Mount Hope Bay, an arm of Narragansett Bay. The Cole River becomes tidal after crossing under the G.A.R. Highway The Cole River is...
and Kickamuit River
Kickamuit River
The Kickamuit River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island flowing approximately .-History:The river's name descends from a Narragansett dialect and has numerous spellings...
. A small sand bar known as Spar Island is located in the middle of the bay just south of the Rhode Island border.
The perimeter of the bay is crossed by three roadway bridges: the Sakonnet River Bridge
Sakonnet River Bridge
The Sakonnet River Bridge is a four-lane truss bridge spanning the Sakonnet River in eastern Rhode Island. The bridge carries RI 24 and RI 138 between the communities of Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island...
to the southeast, the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge to the north, and the Mount Hope Bridge
Mount Hope Bridge
The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge spanning the Mount Hope Bay in eastern Rhode Island, at one of the narrowest gaps in Narragansett Bay. The bridge connects the Rhode Island towns of Portsmouth and Bristol, and is part of Route 114...
to the southwest.
Mount Hope Bay contains a 35 foot deep shipping channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of their Fall River Harbor project. A privately maintained 34 feet deep channel extends from the main ACOE channel to the Brayton Point Power Station.
History
Once part of the Wampanoag Nation, Mount Hope Bay was the site of early events of King Philip's WarKing Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
in 1675.
For nearly 200 years the area of the bay was part of a boundary dispute between the states of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, which was finally settled by the United States Supreme Court in 1862.
Mount Hope Bay has played an important part in the industrial history of the city of Fall River
Fall River
-Cities and towns:In Canada:*Fall River, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:*Fall River, Kansas*Fall River, Massachusetts, the largest city with this name*Fall River, Tennessee*Fall River, Wisconsin*Fall River County, South Dakota-Rivers:In Canada:...
, which is located on its eastern shore. The bay provides access to the city for ocean-going vessels, including for many years the passenger ships of the Fall River Line
Fall River Line
The Fall River Line was a combination steamboat and railroad connection between New York City and Boston that operated between 1847 and 1937. It consisted of a railroad journey between Boston and Fall River, Massachusetts, where passengers would then board steamboats for the journey through...
.
In the 1960s, the 1,500 megawatt Brayton Point Power Station was built by the New England Power Company in Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....
at the north end of the bay. It has the largest capacity of any power plant in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. For many years, the plant has relied on the waters of the bay as part of its cooling process. This has led to severe thermal pollution, resulting in periodic fish kill
Fish kill
The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...
s. After years of lawsuits and various environmental government action, current owner Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources Inc. , commonly referred to as Dominion, is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina...
is spending approximately $500 million building two 500-foot tall cooling towers and upgrading the cooling system to prevent pollution of the bay.
In 2009, the City of Fall River
Fall River
-Cities and towns:In Canada:*Fall River, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:*Fall River, Kansas*Fall River, Massachusetts, the largest city with this name*Fall River, Tennessee*Fall River, Wisconsin*Fall River County, South Dakota-Rivers:In Canada:...
completed the first phase of a $185 million Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) abatement project, designed to drastically reduce the amount of sewage overflows that occur during periods of heavy rains. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.
See also
- Battleship CoveBattleship CoveBattleship Cove, located in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial that traces its origins to the wartime crew of the World War II battleship . This dedicated veterans group was responsible for the donation of the decommissioned vessel from the Navy and its...
- Borden Flats LightBorden Flats LightBorden Flats Light is an historic lighthouse on the Taunton River in Fall River, Massachusetts. It is a tower-on-caisson type known as a sparkplug lighthouse....
- Fall River Heritage State ParkFall River Heritage State ParkFall River Heritage State Park sits on the shoreline of the Taunton River in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge and across from the World War II Battleship the USS Massachusetts . Eight and a half acres in size, it is a common place for residents of the...
- Mount Hope FarmMount Hope FarmMount Hope Farm is an historic estate on Metacom Avenue in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA.The farm is located near the Mount Hope Bridge in Bristol, Rhode Island, and the grounds have been farmed since the 1680s...
- Ocean Grove, MassachusettsOcean Grove, MassachusettsOcean Grove is a census-designated place in the town of Swansea in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States on the north shore of Mount Hope Bay near the Cole River. The population was 3,012 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...