 Although the Chicopee River itself is only long, its basin (drainage area) is —the largest in all of Massachusetts, and the largest tributary area (basin) to the Connecticut River.A basin tributary to the Connecticut River represents a geographical area with a stream or other body of water, surface or underground, that contributes water to the Connecticut River.With so many streams and rivers that deliver water to the Connecticut River, the scale of the Chicopee River's basin is extraordinarily voluminous.