Features of the Charles!

Although, Boston is the first thought most have at the mention of the Charles River, there is a lot more than just the city! Here are some of the features of the watershed.

Mapping the Charles!

As I look at the Charles River watershed, it is important to map it out!

The Charles River watershed covers 310 square miles and supplies one of the largest cities in the US, so it's no surprise that such a map from the EPA showing the full watershed already exists. They divide the map into Upper and Lower watersheds starting at the Watertown Dam.

Image Source: EPA

In order to practice mapping more of the watershed, I looked through the existing map until I found a smaller area that would be interesting to model. Let me introduce you to a tiny branch of the Charles near the southwestern corner of the watershed where a the West Branch Charles River (WBCR) unites with the main river. Using Google's MyMaps, I created the model for the WBCR watershed you can see below. 

Image Source: P. Radomski

The purple watershed has an area of 227 acres and a perimeter of 2.81 miles. At the end of this watershed, the West Branch Charles flows inti Wildcat Pond to unite with the Charles River. To the east of the WBCR watershed, precipitation will likely flow directly into the Charles. To the west, water will flow into Huckleberry Brook and connect with the Charles at Milford Pond. 

My WBCR watershed map is hard to put into context of the wider watershed, so I created a second layer with the full watershed to demonstrate the scale and positioning for the WBCR. You can find both maps at in the slides below.

Local Trees - Part 1

The first step on my journey around the Charles River is to look at the local trees! One of the first things about Boston that I came to appreciate was the trees. Before I moved to the Charles watershed, I was working at a summer camp in eastern Mass. When I had days off from leading hiking trips teaching young naturalists, I would drive across the beautiful Route 2 all the way to Boston to tour apartments and explore the city. That drive is fantastic and I enjoyed the hours of windy road and greener than green foliage, but the trees didn't end when I arrived and I found Boston to be shockingly covered in leaves and shade. There are plenty of areas where trees are sparce, but in much of the city you can find green spaces easily.

I currently live on the outskirt of the city and see the most trees as I enjoy a (when I can) daily walk around my local reservoir. Over the next few weeks, I hope to learn more about the trees I might see in my neighborhood, around the reservoir, and further beyond into the watershed of the Charles.

The first trees I will learn to identify and are the most common species for my area according to a city wide audit of the street tree inventory by the Boston Parks and Restoration Department. The order of these change depending on where you are in the city, but I would like to be able to identify the common trees all over the city and then learn more about what trees are natural to these areas.

• Honeylocust
• Littleleaf Linden
• Norway Maple
• Red Maple
• Pin Oak
• Northern Red Oak
• Japanese Zelkova
• London Planetree
• Hedge Maple
• Accolade Elm

From there, I will investigate what trees are natural to this area and ideally should be on that list but are not. The first few weeks of fall are really beautiful here and I am just in time to see some leaves change. I will fit in as much walking and picture taking as I can! 

Why the Charles?

My name is Paul Radomski. I am a naturalist with a background of environmental education. Up until a few years ago, I lived and worked in the panhandle of Florida within the Choctawhatchee River Watershed. In 2021, I moved to Boston and have since been surrounded by the Charles River Watershed. 

This blog is my attempt to learn more about my new home, and hopefully find a smaller part to deeply explore. Thank you for going on this journey with me!