the Charles River.
Harvard University, Brandeis University, Boston University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located along the Charles River. Near its mouth, it forms the border between downtown Boston and Cambridge and Charlestown.
Why dont you swim in the Charles River?
Swimming has been prohibited in the Charles since the 1950’s when a growing awareness of the health risks posed by pollution in the Charles caused the beaches and bathhouses lining the river to close.
What river runs through Cambridge MA?
The Charles River Watershed
The entire Charles River drains rain and melted snow from a watershed area of 310 square miles. Two hundred and sixty-eight square miles of that watershed area drain over the Watertown Dam into the Lower Charles River.
Is Cambridge separate from Boston?
Cambridge and Boston are separated by the Charles River, but share a vibrant student population, an exciting blend of cultures, and a stimulating urban pulse. These two cities will host some of your most cherished memories.
What is the main river that runs through Boston?
Charles River, river, eastern Massachusetts, U.S. It is the longest river wholly within the state, meandering slightly more than 80 miles (130 km) from its source in Hopkinton, southern Middlesex county, to its mouth on Boston Harbor.
Are there eels in the Charles River?
16 Distribution: The American Eel is currently abundant in the Charles. Ecological Role in the Charles: The only eel and catadromous fish (a fish that lives in freshwater and breeds in the ocean) found in the Charles River.
Why is the Charles River so clean?
The level of bacteria in the Charles has dropped significantly over the past 30 years. Thirty million gallons of wastewater containing untreated human waste, industrial waste, and other debris was discharged into the river in 2017, down from 1.7 billion gallons in 1988.
Where does Cambridge MA get its water?
Stony Brook Watershed
Cambridge water is supplied from the Stony Brook Watershed, nested within the Charles River Basin, in the towns of Lincoln, Lexington, Weston, and the City of Waltham. The water makes its way through tributaries and a series of reservoirs to its final destination in Fresh Pond.
Was Cambridge ever a part of Boston?
Politically, no. The city of Cambridge and the city of Boston are separate entities. Originally Answered: Is Cambridge in America part of Boston? Americans formally consider Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and others to be different cities.
What are the people of Cambridge Massachusetts called?
An individual resident of Cambridge is known as a Cantabrigian.
How far apart are Cambridge and Boston?
There are 2.76 miles from Boston to Cambridge in northwest direction and 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) by car, following the Hampshire Street route. Boston and Cambridge are 7 minutes far apart, if you drive non-stop .
Is Cambridge safer than Boston?
Crime Rate
Both property crime and violent crime are below the national average, and Neighborhoodscout.com has found that Cambridge is 21% safer compared to other major US cities. On the other hand, Boston has not fared so well with the city’s crime rate.
What 3 cities make up Cambridge?
The City of Cambridge was incorporated in 1973, when the three municipalities of Galt, Preston and Hespeler and the settlement of Blair were amalgamated into a single legal entity under a new name.
Why is Boston called dirty water?
“Dirty Water” was the rock band, The Standells, famous ode to Boston in the 1960s. The song title referred to the then-famously polluted Charles River. At the time, the water was considered too dirty to drink so the fine residents of Boston started using beer instead of water to make bread.
Does the blue line in Boston go underwater?
The East Boston Tunnel under Boston Harbor was the first North American subway tunnel to run beneath a body of water when it opened in 1904, and the second underwater vehicular tunnel of significant length built in the United States.
What are the three main waterways in Massachusetts?
The Connecticut, Charles and Housatonic are three of the state’s major rivers, but others are found in every corner of Massachusetts. The Merrimack River begins in New Hampshire, flows into northeast Massachusetts and empties into the Atlantic.
Can you eat fish from the Charles River?
Mother Brook (between Charles River and Knight Street Dam), Dedham, Boston. Because of mercury and DDT pollution, children younger than 12 years of age, pregnant women, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, and nursing mothers should not eat any carp, largemouth bass, or white sucker from this water body.
Should you swim in the Charles River?
Progress. Today we have a river that is safe for recreational boating virtually all of the time, and safe for swimming 70% of the time. It is a river that is now a resource for an active wind surfing community, an annual swim race and catch and release fishing.
Does the Charles River ever freeze?
While the Charles River can ice over in the winter, and the ice may look very stable, walking on the frozen River could be dangerous and deadly.
Is the Charles River Drying Up?
The summer 2022 drought is heavily impacting Boston’s Charles River, which has receded by at least 6 feet in neighborhoods such as West Roxbury.
Is the Charles River freshwater or saltwater?
freshwater
Saltwater Wedge
The original Charles River Dam built in 1908 helped solve one of Boston’s major sanitary problems – the accumulation of untreated sewage on the tidal flats of the Charles River estuary during the low tide. But, by building the dam it created a freshwater impoundment.