The Sebasticook River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 30, 2011 river in the central part of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. From its source () in

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

, the upper "Main Stream" section flows generally west and south to Great Moose Lake. From the outlet of the lake in Hartland, the Sebasticook flows south to the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 natural river within the U.S. state of Ma ...

in Winslow. According to the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust:

The Sebasticook River is the largest
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
(985 square miles) to the Kennebec and thus plays an important role in the restoration of both the
anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...
and resident aquatic
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
of the Kennebec basin and the
Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northea ...
ecosystem. Due to its relatively close proximity to the lower Kennebec, large drainage area, and low gradient, this watershed historically contributed a major percentage of available spawning and nursery habitat for anadromous runs of alewife,
blueback herring The blueback herring, blueback shad, or summer shad (''Alosa aestivalis'') is an anadromous species of herring from the east coast of North America, with a range from Nova Scotia to Florida. Blueback herring form schools and are believed to mi ...
,
American shad The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. T ...
,
rainbow smelt The rainbow smelt (''Osmerus mordax'') is a North American species of fish of the family (biology), family Osmeridae. Walleye, trout, and other larger fish prey on these smelt. The rainbow smelt prefer juvenile cisco (fish), ciscoes, zooplankton ...
, and
striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
associated with the Kennebec River watershed and Gulf of Maine ecosystems. To a lesser extent, the river provided habitat for
Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...
.

Great Moose Lake

Great Moose Lake (formerly known as ''Moose Pond'') is the second-largest lake in the Sebasticook River watershed, and the largest on the main stem of the river. The lake is a good habitat for

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

white perch The white perch (''Morone americana'') is not a true Percidae, perch but is a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America. In some places it is referred to as "Silver Bass". The common ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (biology), family (family Esocidae) of order (biology), order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox ...

, and

rainbow smelt The rainbow smelt (''Osmerus mordax'') is a North American species of fish of the family (biology), family Osmeridae. Walleye, trout, and other larger fish prey on these smelt. The rainbow smelt prefer juvenile cisco (fish), ciscoes, zooplankton ...

. Lake tributaries Black Stream, Wichee Brook, Brown Brook, Higgins Brook, Goodwin Brook, and Little Ferguson Brook provide smelt spawning habitat. Despite marginal summer conditions of warm surface waters and low dissolved

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

concentrations below the

thermocline A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a distinct layer based on temperature within a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) with a high gradient of distinct te ...

, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has attempted to stock the lake with salmon.

References

* *

External links

Sebasticook Regional Land Trust
Tributaries of the Kennebec River Rivers of Kennebec County, Maine Rivers of Penobscot County, Maine Rivers of Piscataquis County, Maine Rivers of Somerset County, Maine Rivers of Waldo County, Maine North Maine Woods Winslow, Maine Dexter, Maine Pittsfield, Maine Rivers of Maine {{Maine-river-stub

Great Moose Lake

See also

References

External links