Mystic River

Mystic River
River
A quiet afternoon on the Mystic River, as seen from very close to Grandfather's House, Medford, Massachusetts
Name origin: from Wampanoag Muhs-uhtuq meaning "big river"
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
District	Middlesex County
Municipalities	Everett, Somerville, Medford, Arlington
Tributaries
- left	Alewife Brook
- right	Chelsea Creek, Malden River
Source	Lower Mystic Lake
Mouth	Boston Harbor
Length	7 mi (11 km), roughly east-west
Basin	76 sq mi (197 km2)
Boston Harbor basin, showing the Mystic River drainage
Website: http://www.mysticriver.org/

The Mystic River is a 7.0-mile-long (11.3 km) river in Massachusetts, in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river." In an Algonquian language, "Missi-Tuk" means "a great river whose waters are driven by waves", alluding to the original tidal nature of the Mystic. It lies to the north of and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of the Charles River.

The Mystic River has a long history of industrial use and a continuing water quality problem. Encompassing 76 square miles (200 km²) of watershed, the river flows from the Lower Mystic Lake and travels through the Boston-area communities of Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, Charlestown, Chelsea, and East Boston. The river joins the Charles River to form inner Boston Harbor. Its watershed contains 44 lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells, with an area of 307 acres (124 ha). Significant portions of the river's shores are within the Mystic River Reservation and are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which include a variety of recreation areas.