St. John River
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The St. John River is a river, approximately 418 mi (673 km) long, in the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, forming part of the Canada-US border in two places along its length. The river drains an area of 54,500 kmē, of which slightly more than half is in New Brunswick.
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Description
It rises in Somerset County in northwestern Maine and flows northeast, forming approximately 15 miles of the International Boundary between Maine and Quebec before flowing entirely through northern Maine in western Aroostook County for a distance. Near Allagash, it is joined by the Allagash River. Below St. Francis, the St. John forms part of the International Boundary between Maine and New Brunswick.
Flowing northeast, it passes Fort Kent, Maine, and between Edmundston, New Brunswick and Madawaska, Maine, where it turns southeast, flowing between Van Buren, Maine and St. Leonard, New Brunswick. Near Grand Falls, New Brunswick it enters New Brunswick, continuing to flow south through the fertile valley framed by the rising hills of the Appalachian range in Victoria and Carleton counties. For the rest of its journey, the river flows entirely within New Brunswick, although it roughly parallels the International Boundary. At Perth-Andover, the river is joined by the Aroostook and the Tobique rivers.
Further south at Woodstock the river turns southeast away from the border region, flowing past Fredericton, where it becomes navigable, and Oromocto. Turning south from Oromocto, the river is joined by the short Jemseg River which empties New Brunswick's largest lake, Grand Lake and its various tributaries. South of Fredericton the river's flow rate is diminished due to the gently sloping river bottom and it meanders through many low islands used for pastureland during dry periods in summer and fall.
South of the Jemseg, the St. John River is surrounded by the low hills of the St. Croix Highlands - another component of the Appalachian range and it is joined by several lateral bays, including Belleisle Bay and the Kennebecasis River. The St. John River meets the Bay of Fundy at Saint John where the river changes direction diurnally due to the exceptionally strong tides, causing a unique phenomena called the Reversing Falls Rapids in a gorge running through the centre of the city.
History
Members of the Maliseet Nation have historically called the river "Wolastoq" meaning "good and beautiful river". In 1604, parts of the river were explored by Samuel de Champlain and Sieur de Monts. Champlain named it after John the Baptist because he reached the river's mouth on the saint's feast day, June 24.
The river became an important trade route for French, English and First Nations traders throughout the 17th and 18th centuries of European exploration and settlement. The tremendous flow rate of the river and its tributaries during the spring freshet led to the development of the timber industry in western New Brunswick as the river became a conduit for log drives to saw and pulp mills in the south.
It is this same spring freshet which has proved disastrous to property owners along portions of the river over the years, particularly when ice jams can cause extensive flooding. The St. John River has also been of tremendous importance to the development of western New Brunswick in the form of a transportation artery, particularly prior to rail transport when paddle wheelers clogged its waterways.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the river became a major source of hydroelectric power which the construction of dams at Beechwood and Mactaquac where large reservoirs have been created by damming its flow. These massive projects followed the construction of a smaller dam at Grand Falls, where the river descends in a steep cataract, in 1925. A consequence of the latter two dams has been a severe decline in migrating Atlantic Salmon, as well as removing the ability to conduct log drives.
In recent years, the river has seen a rise in recreational boating and ecotourism. The rich soil of the Upper St. John Valley in Aroostook, Carleton, and Victoria counties is also an important area for the cultivation of potatoes.
See also
External Link
- Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the St. John River (http://www.ccge.org/ccge/english/Resources/rivers/tr_rivers_stJohnRiver.asp)