The Stroudwater River is a 15.2 miles (24.5 km) river located mostly in Cumberland County

Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland, and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the...

, Maine

Maine

Maine 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 river begins as a small stream at Duck Pond in Buxton

Buxton, Maine

Buxton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 7,452...

 and grows as it flows through Buxton, Gorham

Gorham, Maine

Gorham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 16,381 at the 2010 census. In addition to an urban village center known as Gorham Village or simply "the Village," the town also encompasses a number of smaller, unincorporated villages and hamlets with distinct...

, Westbrook

Westbrook, Maine

Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 17,494 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:...

, and finally Portland

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

 before emptying into the Fore River near Portland's Stroudwater neighborhood. Several smaller streams flow into the river in Buxton and Gorham, including Deering Brook, Gully Brook, Fogg Brook and Silver Brook.

The Fore River Sanctuary

Fore River Sanctuary

The Fore River Sanctuary is an protected area in Portland, Maine. Located in the Stroudwater neighborhood, the sanctuary is home of Jewell Falls, Portland's only natural waterfall and the former home of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal. It also includes a salt water marsh which attracts a number of...

, a nature preserve with footpaths and wooden bridges over wetlands, is located near the confluence of the Stroudwater and Fore rivers.