The St. Croix River (french: Fleuve Sainte-Croix; Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Skutik'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in northeastern North America, in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 22, 2011 that forms part of the Canada–United States border between

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

(U.S.) and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

(Canada). The river rises in the

Chiputneticook Lakes The Chiputneticook Lakes are a group of several lakes along the international boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. They are East Grand Lake, North Lake, Mud Lake, Spednic Lake, and Palfrey Lake. This lake system forms the head waters of t ...

and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen. It discharges into

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay (french: Baie de Passamaquoddy) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its w ...

, in the Bay of Fundy.

Geography

The river forms from the Chiputneticook Lakes (North Lake, East Grand Lake, Mud Lake, and

Spednic Lake Spednic Lake (sometimes Spednik Lake or Spednick Lake) is a mesotrophic lake in the Chiputneticook Lakes chain along the Canada–United States border between the state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick that is best known for its bass ...

) along the Canadian - U.S. border.

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

topographic maps show the St. Croix River as beginning at the outlet stream from East Grand Lake, then flowing through the short Mud Lake and entering Spednic Lake, extending to its outlet at

Vanceboro, Maine Vanceboro is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after landowner William Vance. The main village in town is located at the eastern terminus of Maine State Route 6. Vanceboro is across the St. Croix River from ...

, and the start of the river proper. Adding the section of river and lake from the outlet of East Grand Lake gives a total length of to the St. Croix. The total drainage area of the river is approximately . In the 20th century, the river was heavily developed for

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. The river had previously hosted a large population of Atlantic salmon; however, the salmon population was reduced after building hydroelectric

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

upriver from Calais-St. Stephen. The river is an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

between Calais-St. Stephen and the river's mouth at Robbinston and St. Andrews. This tidal area extends for approximately along this section and exhibits a

tidal bore Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (serv ...

Navigation

The Saint Croix River was an early trade corridor to interior Maine and New Brunswick from the Atlantic coast. Ocean ships could navigate upstream to Calais and St. Stephen; although tidal fluctuation made Eastport a preferred port for deeper

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

vessels. The river upstream of Calais and St. Stephen became an important transportation corridor for

log driving Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. Histor ...

to bring

wooden log Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

s and pulpwood from interior

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s to

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and paper mills built to use

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

at Calais and

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

Historical boundary issues

The boundary issues of the St. Croix River came out of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

that was signed in 1783. The geography of the river was not charted clearly until the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

(1794) provided provisions for surveying the boundary. The boundary between Maine and New Brunswick north of the headwaters of the Saint Croix took another four decades to establish. Following the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

there was a push to settle this disputed territory north of the St. Croix on the St. John watershed and it remained in dispute until 1842. During this conflict Maine,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and New Brunswick continued to issue some lumbering permits to the disputed territory. With or without a permit, lumbermen were in a race to cut the best timber from the land while it was under dispute. Although it was illegal to cut trees with no permit, the Saint John River enabled this activity because it increased business at the local mills, shipyards and timber ponds in New Brunswick so the officials were slow to halt the ongoing illegal activity. During this time, the lumbermen were very serious and competitive about the trees. Whoever got to the best trees first claimed them. Dynamite was used as a tool of

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

to blow up some of the

log booms Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathem ...

that were strung across the river to catch the recently cut trees. It is also known that at times the timber men purposely sorted their logs incorrectly to attempt to confuse local officials charged with regulating timber trade and transportation.

Water level monitoring

Canada

The Water Survey of Canada maintains six river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed: * St. Croix, New Brunswick () * Baring, Maine () * Dennis Stream near St. Stephen, New Brunswick () * East Grand Lake at

Forest City, New Brunswick Forest City (2001 pop.: 12) is a rural community in York County, New Brunswick, Canada. The community has the unusual distinction of sharing its name with the community of Forest City immediately across the Canada–United States border in the ...

() *

at St. Croix, New Brunswick () * Forest City Stream, below the Forest City Dam at

()

United States

The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

maintains two river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed. *

() where the rivershed is , downstream from the Spednik Lake Dam. *

Baring Plantation, Maine Baring Plantation is a Plantation (Maine), plantation in Washington County, Maine, Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 201 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The plantation is named for Alexander Baring, 1st Baro ...

() where the rivershed is , downstream of the nearest dam. The maximum recorded flow here is per second and the minimum per second. USGS also maintains a

water chemistry Water chemistry analyses are carried out to identify and quantify the chemical components and properties of water samples. The type and sensitivity of the analysis depends on the purpose of the analysis and the anticipated use of the water. Chemic ...

monitor at Milltown, Maine () where the rivershed is . For

water year A water year (also called ''hydrological year'', ''discharge year'' or ''flow year'') is a term commonly used in hydrology to describe a time period of 12 months for which precipitation totals are measured. Its beginning differs from the calendar ...

2001, the pH ranged from 6.6 to 7.2.

Crossings

Seven active international

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s cross the river at the following locations: * St. Croix, New Brunswick-

( Saint Croix-Vanceboro Bridge, road * St. Croix-Vanceboro ( Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge), rail * Mohannes, New Brunswick- Woodland, Maine (unnamed

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to ...

bridge), rail * Upper Mills, New Brunswick- Baring, Maine (unnamed

bridge), rail * St. Stephen, New Brunswick-

Calais, Maine Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,079, making Calais the third least-populous city in Maine (after Hallowell and Eastport). The city has three Canada–US border cro ...

International Avenue Bridge The International Avenue Bridge is an international bridge across the St. Croix River, connecting the town of St. Stephen, New Brunswick in Canada with the town of Calais, Maine in the United States. It is the third, busiest, and newest bridge ...

, road * St. Stephen, New Brunswick-

(

Milltown International Bridge The Milltown International Bridge is an international bridge and the main link of the Calais–Milltown Border Crossing, which connects St. Stephen, New Brunswick, in Canada and Calais, Maine, in the United States, across the St. Croix River. I ...

), road * St. Stephen, New Brunswick-

(unnamed

New Brunswick Southern Railway The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglo ...

bridge), rail * St. Stephen, New Brunswick-

( St. Stephen-Calais Bridge), road One defunct crossing exists: * St. Stephen, New Brunswick-

, ferry (at site of St. Stephen-Calais Bridge)

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 The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...

. 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.

Dam removal

New Brunswick Power has indicated their desire to remove the 138 year old Milltown Dam on the St Croix River between St. Stephen, New Brunswick (Canada), and Calais, Maine (USA). Currently, New Brunswick Power stakeholders, government officials, the Peskotomuhkati Tribe, locals, and the public are examining this proposed dam removal. Milltown Dam removal would restore Salmon Falls between St. Stephen and Calais. The Peskotomuhkati Tribe is also advocating for the removal of Milltown Dam and the full restoration of Salmon Falls. Milltown Dam was built in 1881 by New Brunswick Power and is the oldest operating hydro facility in Canada. Atlantic Salmon, shad,

eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, and

alewives The alewife (''Alosa pseudoharengus'') is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus ''Pomolobus'' of the genus ''Alosa''. As an adult it is a marine spe ...

would all benefit from this dam's removal and ongoing

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

. St Croix River oxygen levels would also improve with the restoration of Salmon Falls. Milltown Dam could be removed as early as 2022 pending regulatory approval.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Croix River (Maine - New Brunswick) Rivers of Maine Rivers of New Brunswick Canada–United States border Borders of Maine International rivers of North America