Fort River

{{Short description|Tributary of the Connecticut River, located in Western Massachusetts}}

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

{{more footnotes|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Fort River

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| map =

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| image = Looking upstream on Fort River, Amherst Massachusetts.JPG

| image_caption = Fort River in Amherst

| pushpin_map = Massachusetts

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| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Fort River within Massachusetts

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Massachusetts

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| subdivision_type4 = County

| subdivision_name4 = Hampshire

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| source1 = Fort River at Adams Brook (location where Amythest Brook flows into Adams Brook)

| source1_location = Pelham, Massachusetts

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| mouth =

| mouth_location = Hadley, Massachusetts

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|42.3261|-72.5843|display=inline,title}}

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Image:Fort River Lenticular Bridge, Amherst MA.jpg}}]]

The Fort River is a river in Western Massachusetts and is a tributary of the Connecticut River and runs through the towns of, Amherst, Massachusetts, and ends in Hadley, Massachusetts.{{GNIS|609009|name=Fort River}}

The Fort technically begins as Adams Brook which begins at a pond near Atkin's Reservoir in Shutesbury, Massachusetts (however the ponds aren't part of the reservoir), and flows south-west ward until it reaches the spot where Amythest Brook flows into it, where it becomes the "Fort River." Although it has no dams or man-made structures on the river, some of the Fort's tributaries have reservoirs.

The Fort River has a wide variety of wildlife due to it being the longest free-flowing tributary (having no dams or other man made changes made to the rivers shape or flow) of the Connecticut River. Because of this there is a lot of wildlife making it one of the 3 most diverse rivers in the state. Mussels, Eastern Pearlfish, Sea Lampreys, and American Eel's.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hitchcockcenter.org/earth-matters/fort-river-rich-resource-in-our-own-backyard/|title = Hitchcock Center for the Environment | Education for a Healthy Planet}}