The
Swift River is a 25.6 miles (41.2 km)
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in the
White MountainsThe White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
of
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a
tributaryA tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the
Saco RiverThe Saco River is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
, which flows to the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
The Swift River rises in the township of
Livermore, New HampshireLivermore is an unincorporated civil township in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It was briefly inhabited as a logging town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The site of the logging town is about east of Lincoln on NH Route 112...
, on the eastern side of Kancamagus Pass, and flows east into a broad valley, surrounded by mountains, known as the Albany Intervale. Leaving the intervale, the river enters a narrow gorge, passing over two sets of small waterfalls, and continues east through the town of
AlbanyAlbany is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 735 at the 2010 census.Albany includes Mount Chocorua and Mount Paugus, as well as the southeastern corner of the White Mountain National Forest. Albany is the entrance to the Mount Washington Valley, and features...
to the Saco River at
ConwayConway is a town, the largest in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,115 at the 2010 census. Parts of the White Mountain National Forest are in the west and north. Cathedral Ledge and Echo Lake State Park are in the west...
.
The river is paralleled for its entire length by
New Hampshire Route 112New Hampshire Route 112 is a long east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway via the scenic and mountainous area of the White Mountain National Forest. Part of this highway, which runs through the White Mountains, is known as...
, the scenic Kancamagus Highway.
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