Saint Croix River (Maine – New Brunswick)
| St. Croix River | |
|---|---|
 St. Croix River at St. Andrews, New Brunswick. |
|
| Origin | Chiputneticook Lakes |
| Mouth | Passamaquoddy Bay |
| Basin countries | Canada/United States |
| Mouth elevation | sea level |
| Basin area | 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) |
The St. Croix River is a river in northeastern North America, 71 miles (114 km) in length,[1] that forms part of the Canada – United States border between Maine (U.S.) and New Brunswick (Canada). The river rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen. It discharges into Passamaquoddy Bay, in the Bay of Fundy.
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[edit] Geography
The river forms from the Chiputneticook Lakes (North Lake, Grand Lake, Mud Lake, and Spednic Lake) along the Canadian - U.S. border. US Geological Survey topographic maps show the St. Croix River as beginning at the 1.0-mile-long (1.6 km) outlet stream from Grand Lake, then flowing through the short Mud Lake and entering Spednic Lake, extending 20 miles (32 km) to its outlet at Vanceboro, Maine, and the start of the river proper. Adding the section of river and lake from the outlet of Grand Lake gives a total length of 95 miles (153 km) to the St. Croix.[1]
The total drainage area of the river is approximately 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2). In the 20th century, the river was heavily developed for hydroelectric power. The river had previously hosted a large population of Atlantic salmon; however, the salmon population was reduced after building hydroelectric dams upriver from Calais-St. Stephen.
The river is an estuary between Calais-St. Stephen and the river's mouth at Robbinston and St. Andrews. This tidal area extends for approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) along this section and exhibits a tidal bore.
[edit] Water level monitoring
[edit] Canada
The Water Survey of Canada maintains six river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed:
- St. Croix, New Brunswick (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.5689°N 67.4297°W)
- Baring, Maine (45°08′12″N 67°19′05″W / 45.1367°N 67.3181°W)
- Dennis Stream near St. Stephen, New Brunswick (45°12′35″N 67°15′45″W / 45.2097°N 67.2625°W
- Grand Lake at Forest City, New Brunswick (45°39′54″N 67°44′10″W / 45.6650°N 67.7361°W)
- Spednic Lake at St. Croix, New Brunswick (45°34′09″N 67°25′41″W / 45.5692°N 67.4281°W)
- Forest City Stream, below the Forest City Dam at Forest City, New Brunswick (45°39′51″N 67°44′04″W / 45.6642°N 67.7344°W)
[edit] United States
The United States Geological Survey maintains two river flow gages in the St. Croix River watershed.
- Vanceboro, Maine (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.56889°N 67.42972°W) where the rivershed is 413 square miles (1,070 km2), 400 feet (100 m) downstream from the Spednik Lake Dam.
- Baring Plantation, Maine (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.56889°N 67.42972°W) where the rivershed is 1,374 square miles (3,559 km2), 5.6 miles (9.0 km) downstream of the nearest dam. The maximum recorded flow here is 23,500 cubic feet (670 m3) per second and the minimum 262 cubic feet (7.4 m3) per second.
USGS also maintains a water chemistry monitor at Milltown, Maine (45°10′11″N 67°17′50″W / 45.16972°N 67.29722°W) where the rivershed is 1,455 square miles (3,768 km2). For water year 2001, the pH ranged from 6.6 to 7.2.[2]
[edit] Crossings
Seven active international bridges cross the river at the following locations:
- St. Croix, New Brunswick-Vanceboro, Maine (Saint Croix-Vanceboro Bridge, road
- St. Croix-Vanceboro (Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge), rail
- Mohannes, New Brunswick-Woodland, Maine (unnamed Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
- Upper Mills, New Brunswick-Baring, Maine (unnamed Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
- St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine, International Avenue Bridge, road
- St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (Milltown International Bridge), road
- St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (unnamed New Brunswick Southern Railway/Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
- St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (St. Stephen-Calais Bridge), road
One defunct crossing exists:
- St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine, ferry (at site of St. Stephen-Calais Bridge)
[edit] Derived names
HMCS St. Croix (I81), previously USS McCook (DD-252), became a Canadian ship in 1940 as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. It was renamed after the St. Croix River to follow the Canadian tradition of naming destroyers after Canadian rivers while recognizing the shared national history of the ship.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed June 22, 2011
- ^ G.J. Stewart, J.P. Nielsen, J.M. Caldwell, A.R. Cloutier (2002). "Water Resources Data – Maine, Water Year 2001" (PDF). Water Resources Data – Maine, Water Year 2001. Archived from the original on 2005-11-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20051118072701/http://me.water.usgs.gov/Maine01adr.pdf. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
- ^ Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
