Charles River
| Charles River Quinobequin | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Cities | Hopkinton, Cambridge, Boston |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Echo Lake |
| • location | Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States |
| • coordinates | 42°11′34″N 71°30′43″W / 42.19278°N 71.51194°W |
| • elevation | 350 ft (110 m) |
| Mouth | Boston Harbor |
• location | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
• coordinates | 42°22′14″N 71°3′13″W / 42.37056°N 71.05361°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 80 mi (130 km) |
| Basin size | 308 sq mi (800 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 302 cu ft/s (8.6 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 0.1 cu ft/s (0.0028 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 4,150 cu ft/s (118 m3/s) |
The Charles River (Massachusett: Quinobequin), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an 80-mile-long (129 km) river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles back on itself several times and travels through 23 cities and towns before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The indigenous Massachusett named it Quinobequin, meaning "meandering" or "meandering still water".