Baker Branch Saint John River

(Redirected from Baker Lake (Maine)) River in the United States

Baker Branch Saint John River
International Paper Company Bridge at Baker Lake
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Location
Country	United States
Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Maine

Mouth
• location	SW Branch Saint John River
• coordinates	46°28′28″N 69°54′11″W / 46.4744°N 69.9030°W / 46.4744; -69.9030
• elevation	1,100 feet (340 m)
Length	48.0 mi (77.2 km)
Basin features
Progression	SW Branch – Saint John River
Tributaries
• left	Sweeney Brook, Brailey Brook
• right	Span Brook, Beaver Brook, Lost Pond Brook, Higgins Brook, Spruce Brook, Gray Brook, Campbell Brook, Turner Brook

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 (Bay of Fundy), flowing in the Maine North Woods, in Maine, in the Northeastern United States.

Hydrography

The Baker Stream originates in Upper First Saint John Pond (46°01′50″N 69°58′56″W / 46.03045°N 69.98235°W / 46.03045; -69.98235 (Baker Stream source)) northeast of Truesdale Mountain in the northwest corner of Maine Township 4, Range 17, WELS. The stream flows sequentially through Lower First Saint John Pond, Second Saint John Pond, and Third Saint John Pond before entering T.5 R.17, WELS, to flow into Fourth Saint John Pond. The outflow of 4th St. John Pond (46°04′00″N 69°54′26″W / 46.0668°N 69.9071°W / 46.0668; -69.9071 (Baker Branch Saint John River source)), now the Baker Branch, flows into Fifth Saint John Pond on the boundary with T.6 R.17, WELS. In 1939, Fifth Saint John Pond was impounded in T.6 R.17 to form a diversion into the North Branch Penobscot River, but most flow follows the original channel north to Baker Lake at the confluence with Sweeney Brook in T.7 R.17, WELS. Turner Brook and Brailey Brook are tributary to the branch in T.8 R.17, WELS, before the Baker Branch's confluence with the Southwest Branch Saint John River in T.9 R.17, WELS.

History

The Baker Branch drains a portion of the Maine North Woods utilized for 20th century pulpwood production. Spruce and Balsam Fir trees were bucked into 4-foot (1.2-meter) lengths beginning in 1917 and loaded onto sleds towed by draft animals or log haulers to the nearest river or lake. Log drives would float the pulpwood logs to a downstream paper mill when the snow and ice melted. A problem arose because pulpwood growing around the Saint John Ponds was destined for Great Northern Paper Company's Millinocket mill on the West Branch Penobscot River. The Seboomook Lake and Saint John Railroad was built in 1921 to carry pulpwood southerly from Fifth Saint John Pond to Seboomook Lake. The railroad followed the east bank of the Baker Branch between the 4th and 5th Saint John Ponds. The railroad was dismantled and converted to a truck road in the 1950s after the canal was constructed to convey floating pulpwood from Fifth Saint John Pond to the North Branch Penobscot River.

Baker Lake

Baker Lake
Baker Lake
Location	Somerset County, Maine
Coordinates	46°16′N 69°55′W / 46.267°N 69.917°W / 46.267; -69.917
Basin countries	United States

Max. length	3 mi (4.8 km)
Max. width	1,300 yd (1.2 km)
Surface area	1,255 acres (508 ha)
Max. depth	33 feet (10 m)
Water volume	13,929 acre⋅ft (17,181,000 m)
Surface elevation	1,181 ft (360 m)

Baker Lake is the largest lake on the Baker Branch. The lake was originally populated with brook trout, yellow perch, fallfish, and white sucker. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stocked the lake with land-locked Atlantic salmon in 1967, and then with rainbow smelt in 1970 as a food source for the salmon. Canadians introduced muskellunge into Lac Frontière in Quebec; and by 1986, muskellunge had entered Baker Lake by swimming down the Northwest Branch and up the Baker Branch.

Lower course of the river

The mouth of the Baker Lake has a bridge on the road linking the summit of Mount Brailey (altitude: 451 metres (1,480 ft)) located on the west side and the summit of Mount Baker (elevation: 480 metres (1,570 ft) located on the east side. The "Baker Lake North Campsite" is located on the west side of the mouth.

From the mouth of Lac Baker, the "Baker Branch Saint John River" flows over 28.2 kilometres (17.5 mi) according to the following segments:

7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) Northward through several rapids up to the confluence of the Turner creek (from the Southeast);
2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) Northward forming a curve toward West, crossing the Township 8, Range 17 WELS, up to the confluence of the Brailey creek (from the West);
3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) to the Northeast, up to the confluence of a stream (from the East);
1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) Northward, up to an island;
2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi) to the Northwest bypassing an island (length: 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi); maximum width: 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi));
9.9 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the Northwest then the Northeast, crossing several rapids up to the confluence of the river in the T9 R17 WELS

The confluence of the "Baker Branch Saint John River" is in the Somerset County, Maine in Maine to:

9.9 kilometres (6.2 mi) East of the Canada-US border;
9.1 kilometres (5.7 mi) South of the confluence of the Southwest Branch Saint John River.

References

U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 22, 2011
"Fifth St. John Pond" (PDF). Maine Lake Survey Maps. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
"The Northern: The Way I Remember" (PDF). John E. Mcleod. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
Gove, William G. The Railroad that went Nowhere in Down East magazine
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Baker Lake
^ The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (Thirteenth ed.). Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping Company. 1988. p. 54. ISBN 0-89933-035-5.
^ Maine Depts. of Environmental Protection and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (2005-08-04). "Maine Lakes: Morphometry and Geographic Information". Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, The University of Maine. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
^ "Baker Lake" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. State of Maine. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
Segments of the river measured from the Atlas of Canada (posted on Internet), Ministry of Natural Resources Canada

"Baker Branch Saint John River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 30 September 1980. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
Maine Streamflow Data from the USGS
Maine Watershed Data From Environmental Protection Agency

Saint John River Watershed

Tributaries

Maine

New Brunswick

Lakes

Towns

Landmarks

Rivers of Maine by drainage system

Bay of Fundy

Passamaquoddy Bay

Saint John River Watershed

Casco Bay

Fore River Watershed	Fore River Long Creek Stroudwater River South Branch Stroudwater River
Presumpscot River Watershed	Bear River Chute River Crooked River East Branch Piscataqua River Little River Muddy River North Branch Little River Northwest River Piscataqua River Pleasant River Presumpscot River Songo River Sticky River Tenny River
Others	Cousins River Harraseeket River Little River New Meadows River Royal River

Gulf of Maine

Blue Hill Bay (Union River Watershed)	Bog River East Branch Union River Little Bog River Middle Branch Union River Union River West Branch Union River
Chandler Bay	Sandy River
Dennys Bay	Dennys River Hardscrabble River Orange River
Englishman Bay	Chandler River East Branch Chandler River Englishman River
Frenchman Bay	Jordan Stream Skillings River
Harrington Bay	Harrington River Mill River
Little River Watershed	Little River (Drakes Island) Merriland River
Machias Bay (Machias River Watershed)	Crooked River East Machias River Machias River Maine River Middle River West Branch Machias River
Mousam River Watershed	Littlefield River Middle Branch Mousam River Mousam River
Narraguagus Bay (Narraguagus River Watershed)	Little Narraguagus River Narraguagus River Spring River West Branch Narraguagus River (Cherryfield) West Branch Narraguagus River (Hancock County)
Pleasant Bay (Pleasant River Watershed)	Little River Pleasant River West Branch Pleasant River Western Little River
Piscataqua River Watershed	Great Works River Little River Neoutaquet River Piscataqua River Salmon Falls River
Sheepscot River Watershed	Back River Cross River Dyer River Marsh River Sasanoa River Sheepscot River West Branch Sheepscot River
Wohoa Bay	Indian River Southwest Branch Indian River West River
Others	Batson River Benjamin River Cape Neddick River Damariscotta River Johns River Jordan River Josias River Kennebunk River Little River (Boothbay) Little River (Georgetown) Little River (Goosefare Bay) Little River (York) Morse River Ogunquit River Pemaquid River Sprague River Webhannet River York River

Merrymeeting Bay

Androscoggin River Watershed

Kennebec River Watershed

Muscongus Bay

Saint George River Watershed	Back River Dead River East Branch Oyster River Mill River Oyster River Saint George River West Branch Oyster River
Others	Back River (Medomak) Back River (Meduncook) Goose River Medomak River Meduncook River

Penobscot Bay

Penobscot River Watershed

Others

Saco Bay

Saco River Watershed	Charles River Cold River Hancock Brook Kezar River Little Cold River Little Ossipee River Little River Little Saco River Mad River Middle Branch Mad River Old Course Saco River Ossipee River Saco River Shepards River South Branch Mad River South River Tenmile River West Branch Tenmile River
Others	Dunstan River Libby River Nonesuch River Scarborough River Spurwink River

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