Moosehead Lake

Moosehead Lake

Location	Northwest Piscataquis, Maine, United States
Coordinates	45°38′N 69°39′W / 45.633°N 69.650°W / 45.633; -69.650Coordinates: 45°38′N 69°39′W / 45.633°N 69.650°W / 45.633; -69.650
Type	mesotrophic
Primary inflows	Moose River
Primary outflows	Kennebec River
Catchment area	1,268 square miles (3,280 km²)
Basin countries	United States

Max. length	40 miles (64 km)
Max. width	10 miles (16 km)
Surface area	75,451 acres (30,534 ha)
Average depth	55 feet (17 m)
Max. depth	246 feet (75 m)
Water volume	4,210,000 acre·ft (5.19×10⁹ m³)
Residence time	3.1 years
Shore length¹	280.8 miles (451.9 km)
Surface elevation	1,029 feet (314 m)

Islands	>80 (Sugar Island)
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. Situated in the Longfellow Mountains in the Maine Highlands Region, the lake is the source of the Kennebec River. Towns that border the lake include Greenville to the south and Rockwood to the northwest. There are over 80 islands in the lake, the largest being Sugar Island. The area has been the focal point of a controversy surrounding planned large scale commercial development, and the environmental practices of the developer.^[1]^[2]

History

Mount Kineo, with 700-foot (200 m) cliffs rising straight up from Moosehead Lake, has attracted visitors for centuries, from early American Indians (Red Paint People), to later tribes seeking its flint called hornstone, Penobscots and Norridgewocks, the Abenaki bands who battled here with their enemy the Mohawks, to 19th-century "rusticators" traveling by railroad and steamboat and today's hotel guests. Various species dwell among its cliffs and talus slopes, including peregrine falcons and rare plants.

The Moosehead region includes the headwaters of the Kennebec, the West Branch of the Penobscot, the Piscataquis, the Pleasant, and the Saint John rivers. Henry David Thoreau and other 19th-century visitors remarked on the beauty of the area. The region has a large moose population; moose outnumber people 3:1.^[3] However, the name of the region derives from the remarkable similarity between maps of the lake and an antlered moose.

No stranger to the natural wonders of the region, Henry David Thoreau described the lake as “...a gleaming silver platter at the end of the table.”^[4]

Hunters at Camp Russell, northeast of Moosehead Lake, 1888

Geography

Shoreline in 1912

Set at an elevation of 1,023 feet (312 m), Moosehead Lake is approx. 40 by 10 miles (64 by 16 km), with an area of 120 mile² (311 km²), and over 400 miles (640 km) of shoreline. Its major inlet is the Moose River, which, east of Jackman, flows through Long Pond to Brassua Lake. To the east of Moosehead Lake, the Roach River is its second largest tributary. Flowing out of Moosehead Lake to the southwest are its east and west outlets—the Kennebec River.

The Moosehead Lake Region encompasses 4,400 square miles (11,000 km²) of West Central Maine, and includes 127 townships in addition to Moosehead Lake. The region is drained by 330 miles (530 km) of main stem rivers, into which flow 3,850 miles (6,200 km) of smaller tributaries. During the last glacial era, more than 1,200 natural lakes and ponds were carved into its landscape, varying in size from one acre (4,000 m²) ponds to Moosehead, at 74,890 acres (303 km²) one of the largest natural freshwater lakes in the United States. The total area of all standing surface waters in the region is more than 238,000 acres (963 km²)—24% of the total area of lakes and ponds in Maine.

Development plans

Seattle-based Plum Creek Real Estate Investment Corporation, the largest private United States landowner, submitted a development proposal for the Moosehead region in April 2005. The 570-page proposal was the largest development ever proposed for the State of Maine. This development was to bring residents, money, and tourists to Maine. The initial version of the scheme called for 975 house lots, two resorts, a golf course, a marina, three RV parks, and more than 100 rental cabins. The plan was accepted by the Maine Land Use Regulatory Committee, despite public opposition.^[5] Adding to the controversy, the developer has been fined for illegally clear-cutting sections of forest.^[2]

References

↑ "Plum Creek: An Update". Natural Resources Council of Maine.
1 2 Kevin Miller (May 28, 2010). "Plum Creek's apology gets mixed responses". Bangor Daily News.
↑ http://www.visitingnewengland.com/greenville.html
↑ Weber, Alan (2003-04-09). Because It's There: A Celebration of Mountaineering from 200 B.C. to Today. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 9780878333035.
↑ Tanuki (September 29, 2008). "Another Act of Resistance to Plum Creek by Maine Earth First!". Maine Earth First.

External links

Kennebec River Watershed

Tributaries	Abagadasset River Carrabassett River Dead River East Branch Eastern River East Branch Moose River East Branch Sebasticook River Eastern River Lemon Stream Little River Moose River Moxie Falls North Branch Dead River Roach River Sandy River Sebasticook River South Branch Dead River South Branch Moose River South Branch Sandy River West Branch Carrabassett River West Branch Eastern River West Branch Moose River

Lakes	Annabessacook Lake Attean Pond Brassua Lake China Lake Cobbosseecontee Lake East Pond Embden Pond Enchanted Pond First Roach Pond Flagstaff Lake Great Moose Lake Great Pond Indian Pond Long Pond (Belgrade Lakes) Long Pond (Moose River) Maranacook Lake Messalonskee Lake Moosehead Lake Moxie Pond Narrows Pond North Pond Pleasant Pond Sebasticook Lake Spencer Lake Staples Pond Unity Pond Wood Pond Wyman Dam

Towns	Albion Anson Athens Augusta Bath Belgrade Benton Bingham Burnham Caratunk Chesterville China Clinton Corinna Detroit Dexter Embden Fairfield Farmingdale Farmington Gardiner Greenville Hallowell Harmony Hartland Jackman Kingfield Madison Manchester Monmouth Moscow New Portland New Sharon New Vineyard Newport Norridgewock Oakland Phillips Pittsfield Readfield Richmond Rockwood Rome Saint Albans Sidney Skowhegan Solon Smithfield Stratton Strong Unity Vassalboro Vienna Waterville Wilton Winslow Winthrop Woolwich

Landmarks	Mount Abraham Arnold Trail Augusta Memorial Bridge Bath Iron Works Bigelow Preserve Mount Bigelow Carlton Bridge Crocker Mountain Fort Halifax Harris Station Dam International Railway of Maine Kennebec Central Railroad Maine Kennebec Bridge Major Reuben Colburn House Pearl Harbor Remembrance Bridge Mount Redington Sagadahoc Bridge Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad Somerset and Kennebec Railroad Somerset Railroad Spaulding Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain Togus

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