Contoocook River

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Contoocook River

| name_native =

| name_native_lang =

| name_other =

| name_etymology =

| image = Bridges over the Contoocook River in Contoocook, New Hampshire.jpg

| image_caption = Covered railroad bridge in village of Contoocook

| map =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_map = New Hampshire#USA

| pushpin_map_size = 250 px

| pushpin_map_caption=

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = New Hampshire

| subdivision_type3 = Counties

| subdivision_name3 = Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack

| subdivision_type4 = Towns

| subdivision_name4 = Jaffrey, Peterborough, Bennington, Antrim, Hillsborough, Henniker, West Hopkinton, Contoocook, Penacook

| subdivision_type5 =

| subdivision_name5 =

| length = {{convert|71|mi|km|abbr=on}}

| width_min =

| width_avg =

| width_max =

| depth_min =

| depth_avg =

| depth_max =

| discharge1_location=

| discharge1_min =

| discharge1_avg =

| discharge1_max =

| source1 = Contoocook Lake

| source1_location = Jaffrey

| source1_coordinates= {{coord|42|48|4|N|72|1|38|W|type:river|display=inline}}

| source1_elevation = {{convert|307|m|ft|order=flip|abbr=on}}

| mouth = Merrimack River

| mouth_location = Penacook

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|43|17|11|N|71|35|23|W|type:river|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|242|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| progression =

| river_system =

| basin_size =

| tributaries_left = Nubanusit Brook, North Branch, Warner River, Blackwater River

| tributaries_right = Gridley River

| custom_label =

| custom_data =

| extra =

}}

The Contoocook River ({{IPAc-en|audio=Contoocook_pronunciation.wav|k|ə|n|'|t|ʊ|k|ə|k|}}) is a {{convert|71|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}[http://www.granit.unh.edu New Hampshire GRANIT state geographic information system] river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that flow in a predominantly northward direction. Four covered bridges span the river, one in the town of Henniker, one on the Hancock-Greenfield line, and two in the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire with one being in the village of Contoocook, and the other in the populated place of West Hopkinton. Residents and tourists have made the Contoocook popular for fishing and whitewater boating.

The name Contoocook came from the Pennacook tribe of Native Americans and perhaps means "place of the river near pines". Other variations of the name include the Abenaki meaning "nut trees river" or Natick language meaning "small plantation at the river."{{Cite book| last = Coolidge| first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield| title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n462 424]–426| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.}}{{Cite book| last = Day| first = Gordon M. |author2=Michael K. Foster |author3=William Cowan| title = In Search of New England's Native Past| year = 1998| location = United States of America| pages = 61–64| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-9Afcy47XgC&q=meaning+of+contoocook&pg=PA61| isbn = 1558491511 }}

The river gives its name to Contoocook, New Hampshire, a census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Hopkinton.