The St. Croix River is a river in northeastern North America, 62 miles (102 km) in length, that forms part of the International Boundary between Maine (U.S.) and New Brunswick (Canada). It rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes near at Forest City, New Brunswick and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen. It empties into Passamaquoddy Bay, in the Bay of Fundy.
St. Croix Island in its lower estuary was the site of the 1604 Acadian settlement founded by Pierre Dugua de Monts (Sieur de Monts) and Samuel de Champlain.
The total drainage area of the river is approximately 1,500 square miles. In the 20th century, the river was heavily developed for hydroelectric power. The river had previously hosted a large population of Atlantic salmon, although salmon runs were reduced after building power dams upriver from Calais-St. Stephen. The tidal area of the river extends from St. Stephen to Passamaquoddy Bay and the river exhibits a tidal bore.
The United States government maintains two river flow gages on the St. Croix river. The first is in Vanceboro, Maine ( ) where the rivershed is 413 square miles, 400 feet downstream from the Spednik Lake Dam. The second is in Baring Plantation, Maine ( ) where the rivershed is 1,374 square miles, 5.6 miles downstream of the nearest dam. The maximum recorded flow here is 23,500 cubic feet per second and the minimum 262 cubic feet per second. There is also a water chemistry monitor at Milltown, Maine ( ) where the rivershed is 1,455 square miles. For water year 2001, the pH ranged from 6.6 to 7.2.[1]
See also
External links
- Canadian Heritage River System St. Croix River
- MaineRivers.org St. Croix watershed.
- St. Croix River Light
- St. Croix Island International Historic Site
- Real time water conditions - flow at Vanceboro or Baring, Maine.
References
- ^ 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. Retrieved on 2006-05-07.
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