Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes

Last updated
Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
South Twin .jpg
Evening light, South Twin Lake
USA Maine relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
Location Penobscot County, Maine Piscataquis County, Maine
Coordinates 45°42′N68°57′W / 45.700°N 68.950°W / 45.700; -68.950
Type Natural lake
Basin  countries United States
Max. length14 miles (23 km)
Max. width2.5 miles (4 km)
Surface area18,300 acres (7,400 ha)
Average depth35 feet (11 m)
Max. depth103 feet (31 m)
Shore length165 miles (100 km)
Surface elevation492 feet (150 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes are a set of large lakes in north-central Maine in the United States.

Contents

Name

Thoreau's Pamadumcook or Joseph Chadwick's Bennedumcook [1] is rendered by the United States Geographical Board in an 1897 decision as "Pemadumcook Lake".

Geography

The Pemadumcook chain of lakes forms the largest body of water in view as one gazes south from Mount Katahdin. If one takes a landscape picture from that summit, these lakes span the distance from the Piscataquis Mountains in the west to North Twin dam on Elbow Lake in the east. It is the fifth-largest lake system in Maine, exceeded only by Moosehead Lake at 74,890 acres (303 km2), Sebago Lake at 28,771 acres (116 km2), Chesuncook Lake at 23,070 acres (93 km2), and Flagstaff Lake at 20,300 acres (82 km2). The Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes occupy 18,300 acres (74 km2). [2] Individually Mooselookmeguntic Lake is larger than Pemadumcook, but it is not larger than the chain.

The series of lakes are named Ambajejus, Elbow, North Twin, Pemadumcook and South Twin Lake. The lakes are part of the West Branch of the Penobscot River. The West Branch enters the northwest corner of Ambajejus, and the current flows south through that lake. The channel passes Deep Cove on the east and Porus Islands to the west. The river channel then passes east through the east end of Pemadumcook into the head of North Twin Lake at Indian Point. The channel then follows a southeasterly course across North Twin Lake, staying between Perrow Point and Spring Island, and then veering eastward past Snake Point in sight of the settlement of Norcross. The channel then passes due east through the Elbow to North Twin dam. The length of the channel is about 11.5 miles (20 km). The combined length of the lake from the North Twin Dam, following the channel in reverse to the Porus Islands and thence to the northwest corner of Pemadumcook at Nahmakanta Stream, is nearly 14 miles (23 km). There is a large boulder in Nahmakanta Stream where the Appalachian Trail appears on the south bank of the stream. It is not prudent to take a motorboat west of the boulder.

The meaning of Pemadumcook in Penobscot is "lake with gravelly or sandy bottom or sand bars". The principal islands in the lake include the Porus Islands in Pemadumcook, Jo Mary Island on the south side of that lake and Moose Island and Gull Rock on the north side of the lake. The Porus islands, while principally in Pemadumcook, do divide Pemadumcook to the west and south from Ambajejus to the north. The islands separating North Twin Lake from South Twin Lake are all south of Spring Island. The channel between North and South Twin Lake between the western shore and these islands runs north and south and is called the Narrows. The islands in South Twin include the Rock Pile which marks the southwest corner of the archipelago of islands separating North and South Twin Lakes, Peanut Island, and the reef that runs between it and the Rock Pile to the north. There are a couple of islands in Partridge Cove at the southeast corner of the lake, and Oak Island and several other islands are on the south side of the lake at the mouth of Ragged Brook.

The deepest parts of the lake are 101 feet (31 m), about 0.5 miles (800 m) southwest of Moose Island in Pemadumcook, and 92 feet (28 m), just north of the ridge in Ambajejus Lake. [2] There are numerous rocks in the lake, and the spring runoff brings many logs floating about. If the water is quite high one need not concern oneself about boulders in the middle of the lake. Exceptions include but are not restricted to a large reef at the west end of South Twin Lake that runs north and south and a large rock pile 1 mile (1.6 km) north-northwest of Partridge Cove which is usually marked. There are a couple of reefs in North Twin and a long reef about 600 feet (180 m) north of Indian Point Island. The Porus Islands and Deep Cove have plenty of boulders. There is a surprising rock pile about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Jo Mary island.

View up the Narrows into North Twin North Twin Lake, looking north.jpg
View up the Narrows into North Twin

Watershed

The inlets to the lake are at Ragged Brook and Lincoln Brook on South Twin, the West Branch of the Penobscot at Ambajejus, Jo Mary Stream on the south side of Pemadumcook, and Nahmakanta Stream at the northwest corner of Pemadumcook. Twitchell Brook enters the lake near a point where the Appalachian Trail provides a view of the lake, but there is no inlet.

Road access to the lake is provided by Maine State Route 11 on the east side. This runs past Partridge Cove at the southeast corner of South Twin Lake and then serves the area up to Norcross. Millinocket is about 5 miles (8 km) east of Norcross on Maine Route 11. The paved portion of the Millinocket–Baxter State Park road gives access to Spencer Cove at the northeast end of Ambajejus Lake about 8 miles (13 km) from Millinocket. A dike at Spencer Cove created by the Great Northern Paper Company prevents water from flowing from Ambajejus Lake, spillway elevation 492 feet (150 m), into adjacent Millinocket Lake, elevation 478 feet (146 m).

To the north of the chain of lakes, but not contiguous with it, is Baxter State Park 209,000 acres (850 km2), and to the west are the 43,000-acre (170 km2) Nahmakanta Public lands. There is a state-sponsored boat access ramp in Partridge Cove off Route 11 at 45°35′57″N68°49′15″W / 45.59920°N 68.82070°W / 45.59920; -68.82070 . Water clarity as indicated by the Secchi Disk: Range of 2007 Average Secchi Disk Transparency is 4.8 meters. The above indicates how far down one can see. [3]

Fish

Fish include Brook Trout, Togue Lake Trout, Atlantic Salmon (landlocked type), Whitefish, Chain Pickerel, American Eel, white perch, yellow perch, chubs, minnows, sunfishes, hornpout (Brown bullhead), large mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and small mouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu).

History

An early document about this lake is the Large Crown Map from the 1764 Chadwick Survey by Joseph Chadwick, a surveyor for the British. Chadwick undertook a survey of the Penobscot River. The chain of lakes appears under the name "Bennedumcook" as a large lake in the Penobscot River above Quakish Lake. [4]

Charles Turner, Jr., on the view from Katahdin in 1804 describes it by writing, "and south of it (Chesuncook); a large lake N. of. The E. end of the Piscataquis Mountains." [5]

Henry David Thoreau crossed the lake in September 1846, writing in The Maine Woods:

"After poling up half a mile of river, or thoroughfare we rowed a mile across the foot of Pamadumcook Lake, which is the name given on the map to this whole chain of lakes, as if there was but one, though they are, in each instance distinctly separated by a reach of the river, with its narrow and rocky channel and its rapids. This lake which is one of the largest, stretched northwest ten miles, to hills and mountains in the distance." [6]

Theodore Winthrop, in Life in the Open Air (1856?) wrote:

"At noon we floated out upon Lake Pemadumcook, the largest bulge of the Penobscot, and irregular as the verb To Be. Lumbermen name it Bammydumcook : Iglesias insisted upon this as the proper reading; and as he was the responsible man of the party, I accepted it. Woods, woody hills, and woody mountains surround Bammydumcook. I have no doubt parts of it are pretty, and will be famous in good time; but we saw little. By the time we were fairly out in the lake and away from the sheltering shore, a black squall to windward, hiding all the West, warned us to fly, for birches swamp in squalls. We deemed that Birch, having brought us through handsomely, deserved a better fate : swamped it must not be. We plied paddle valiantly, and were almost safe behind an arm of the shore when the storm overtook us, and in a moment more, safe, with a canoe only half- full of Bammydumcook water. It is easy to speak in scoffing tone; but when that great roaring blackness sprang upon us, and the waves, showing their white teeth, snarled around, we were far from being in the mood to scoff. It is impossible to say too much of the charm of this gentle scenery, mingled with the charm of this adventurous sailing." [7]

Charles E. Hamlin wrote in 1881 in Appalachia, the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club:

"After a short run through rapid water in the river, the way lies through Quakish Lake, two miles; thence one mile through furious rapids, that require all the strength and skill of practised boatmen to ascend them by poling, to North Twin Dam; thence a mile more of river, or — as a reach of running stream connecting two lakes is here termed — of "thoroughfare," leads into North Twin Lake, four miles long, from which another of a few rods only opens into Pemadumcook Lake, largest of the chain and ten miles in length. About three miles of boating in this lake reaches a part of it called Deep Cove, two miles long and terminating in a passage into Ambejijis Lake, which is two miles long. It may be approached also by running on Pemadumcook about four miles, nearly to Gull Rock, opposite the outlet of Lower Joe Merry Lake; and thence by a channel, sometimes troublesomely shallow, two miles to the entrance into Ambejijis. Here on a point stands a log camp, dignified with the name of the Ambejijis House or Boom House, from the boom that stretches across the passage. This and a similar one at North Twin Dam, are the only roofs between the Head of Chesuncook and 'Old Fowler's,' a distance of more than sixty miles." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penobscot County, Maine</span> County in Maine, United States

Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot people in Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199, making it the third-most-populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part of Hancock County when the area was still part of Massachusetts. Penobscot County is home to the University of Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooksville, Maine</span> Town in the state of Maine, United States

Brooksville is a town on Penobscot Bay in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 935. It contains the villages of North Brooksville, South Brooksville, West Brooksville, Brooksville Corner, and Harborside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millinocket, Maine</span> Town in the state of Maine, United States

Millinocket is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penobscot River</span> River in the U.S. state of Maine

The Penobscot River is a 109-mile-long (175 km) river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to 264 miles (425 km), making it the second-longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains 8,610 square miles (22,300 km2).

Baker Mountain is a wild, trail-less mountain located in Beaver Cove, Piscataquis County, Maine. It is flanked to the northwest by Lily Bay Mountain. Elephant Mountain is about 2 miles (3 km) to the southwest, and White Cap Mountain is about 5 miles (8 km) to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Twin Lake (Maine)</span> Natural Lake in Penobscot County, Maine

South Twin Lake having about 3,200 acres (13 km2) is wholly within Penobscot County, Maine. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Millinocket, Maine and is part of the Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes. The lake is centered at 45°37.25′N68°51′W and has spillway elevation 492 feet (150 m) above sea level. It is part of the watershed of the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Branch Saint John River</span> River in the United States

The Baker Branch Saint John River is a 48.0-mile-long (77.2 km) river. This river is a tributary of the Saint John River, flowing in the Maine North Woods, in Maine, in the Northeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Branch Penobscot River</span> River in the United States

The West Branch Penobscot River is a 117-mile-long (188 km) tributary of the Penobscot River through the North Maine Woods in Maine. The river is also known as Abocadneticook, Kahgognamock, and Kettegwewick.

Castine is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Castine in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The CDP population was 1,029 at the 2010 census, out of 1,366 people in the town as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ripogenus Gorge</span> Canyon in Maine, USA

Ripogenus Gorge is a rock-walled canyon formed in Maine where the West Branch Penobscot River crosses the Caribou Lake anticline. Ripogenus Falls controlled discharge from Ripogenus Lake until Ripogenus Dam was completed at the upstream end of the gorge in 1916. The dam forms a hydroelectric reservoir raising the level of Ripogenus Lake to include the upstream Chesuncook Lake, Caribou Lake, and Moose Pond. The resulting reservoir is often identified by the name of the largest included lake: Chesuncook. The gorge provides an unusual exposure of Maine North Woods bedrock typically covered by saturated glacial till. The Silurian Ripogenus Formation of weakly metamorphosed shallow marine siliciclastics and fossiliferous limestone has been described from investigation of the gorge.

Gero Island is a large island on Chesuncook Lake in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The island is 3,175 acres (1,285 ha) in area, with all but 133 acres (54 ha) regulated. It is known for exemplary natural communities of slender rush as well as white pine forest and lower elevation spruce-fir forest. Chesuncook Lake was created by damming the West Branch Penobscot River in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambajejus Boom House</span> United States historic place

The Ambajejus Boom House is an historic logging facility in remote central Maine. Built in 1907 on a small island in Ambajejus Lake, it is the only surviving structure associated with the great logging drives that drove the economy of inland Maine for decades. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The building has been rehabilitated and can be visited by boat from various launch points on the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesuncook, Maine</span> United States historic place

Chesuncook is a small unincorporated settlement on the northwestern shore of Chesuncook Lake in rural central Piscataquis County, Maine. A small village, originally supporting logging operations in the area, has existed here since at least the time of Henry David Thoreau, who wrote about it in The Maine Woods. The village is now a primarily seasonal settlement that caters principally to outdoors enthusiasts. Seven historic properties on or near the "Main Street" fronting the lake were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millinocket Lake (Penobscot River)</span> Lake in Maine, USA

Millinocket Lake is 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Millinocket, Maine, United States, and is drained by Millinocket Stream, which flows through the town of Millinocket into the West Branch Penobscot River 2 miles (3.2 km) south of town. The lake is fed by Sandy Stream, which drains the southeastern slopes of Mount Katahdin by tributaries including Roaring Brook, Avalanche Brook, Spring Brook, Beaver Brook, and Rum Brook. Sandy Stream is a good spawning habitat for rainbow smelt, which are a primary prey for lake trout and land-locked Atlantic salmon living in the lake.

Rainbow Lake is the source of Rainbow Stream in Rainbow township in the North Maine Woods. Rainbow Stream discharges over a dam at the west end of the lake and flows 4 miles (6.4 km) south to Nahmakanta Lake. Nahmakanta Lake overflows through Nahmakanta Stream and Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes to the Penobscot River. The Appalachian Trail follows Rainbow Stream and the south shore of the lake; but the old logging road to the dam has deteriorated with boggy areas no longer passable by four-wheel drive vehicles. The lake has a small catchment basin and is surrounded by large granite boulders. The low nutrient input in this setting produces unusually clear water. The lake has a native population of brook trout.

A chain of three Jo-Mary Lakes along the border of Penobscot County and Piscataquis County drain into the Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes in the North Maine Woods. The flow sequence is from Upper Jo-Mary Lake into Middle Jo-Mary Lake and then through Lower Jo-Mary Lake into Pemadumcook Lake.

The Saint John Ponds are a chain of shallow lakes at the headwaters of the Baker Branch Saint John River in the North Maine Woods. The flow sequence is from the Upper First Saint John Pond, through the Lower First Saint John Pond, Second Saint John Pond, Third Saint John Pond, and Fourth Saint John Pond to the Fifth Saint John Pond. Flow from one pond to the next is sometimes called Baker Stream rather than the Baker Branch Saint John River. Great Northern Paper Company dug a canal from Fifth Saint John Pond 2 miles (3.2 km) westward to the North Branch Penobscot River in 1939, and built a dam at the north end of Fifth Saint John Pond so pulpwood logs harvested in the upper Saint John River watershed could be floated down the Penobscot River to Millinocket, Maine. The canal and dam have fallen into disrepair so most drainage from the ponds again flows down the Saint John River. All upstream ponds with the exception of the first had dams to regulate discharge flow for log driving, but those dams have similarly fallen into disrepair. Moose use the ponds as summer refuge from heat and biting insects.

Mattawamkeag is a census-designated place (CDP) and the primary village in the town of Mattawamkeag, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is in the southwestern corner of the town, where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot. The community is bordered to the south by the town of Winn and to the west, across the Penobscot, by the town of Woodville.

William Hilton II was an American business executive and engineer who worked as the Vice President of the Maine-based Great Northern Paper Company from 1929 to 1957, and then as the company's Director from 1957 until his retirement on January 1, 1960. He is also known as one of the first forest fire lookouts in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ Sprague, John Francis (1913). Sprague's journal of Maine history.
  2. 1 2 "Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes" (PDF). State of Maine. 1954. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-05-14.
  3. ↑ "Maine Lakes Report 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  4. ↑ Joseph Chadwick. "Large Crown Map". Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  5. ↑ "A Description of Natardin or Catardin Moun- -tain – being an extract from a letter written by Charles Turner Jun. Esq. in the summer of 1804 which was one of the several seasons in which he has been employed in the interior, and North of the District of Maine, as a Surveyor" (PDF). Maine Memory. 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-12-28.
  6. ↑ Thoreau, Henry David (1864). "Warping Up". The Main Woods.
  7. ↑ Winthrop, Theodore (1863). Life in the Open Air: And Other Papers.
  8. ↑ Hamlin, Charles (1881). Paddling Northwest from Millinocket.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.