The Saint John River (French: Fleuve Saint-Jean) is a river, approximately 418 miles (673 km) long, located principally in the Canadian province of New Brunswick but also in, and arising from the province of Quebec and the U.S. state of Maine. It forms part of the Canada – United States border in two different places along its length. The river drains an area of approximately 55,000 square kilometres (21,000 sq mi), of which slightly more than half is located in New Brunswick. Along that portion of the Atlantic shoreline of North America that lies between the St. Lawrence River and the Mississippi River, the Saint John River is the second longest waterway; only the Susquehanna is longer. The lower section of the Saint John River (extending from Fredericton to the City of Saint John) is nicknamed the "Rhine of North America" in reference to its popularity for recreational boating. The head pond of the river is located in Mactaquac, New Brunswick and is very popular for boating, water skiing and swimming. [1]
The branches combine to form the main river flowing northeastward through western Aroostook County (46°33′47″N69°53′06″W / 46.5630°N 69.8850°W / 46.5630; -69.8850 (Saint John River source)). The Lacroix road built in 1923 from Lac-Frontière crosses the river at Ninemile Bridge.[2] Near Seven Islands the river was crossed by an 18th century trail from the St. Lawrence River.[3] There is an Abenaki burial site containing a large number of graves where the Big Black River joins the Saint John in township 18, range 13, WELS. Local legend maintains the confluence is haunted by the spirits of Abenaki killed by an epidemic of European disease.[4] Near Allagash, the Saint John is joined by the Allagash River. The whole portion of the Saint John River that lies entirely in Maine is essentially a wilderness waterway, although many smoothly weathered granite boulders within the channel were broken by blasting during early 20th century log driving.[5] Below St. Francis, the Saint John begins to form part of the International Boundary between Maine and New Brunswick.
Further south at Woodstock, the river leaves the Upper Valley and turns east, heading away from the border region. It is joined by the Nackawic stream at Nackawic and passes small communities such as Bear Island. After passing the Mactaquac Dam it continues eastward until it eventually reaches New Brunswick's capital city Fredericton (where it becomes navigable), and then the military town of Oromocto. Turning south from Oromocto, the river is joined by the short Jemseg River which empties New Brunswick's largest lake, Grand Lake. This part of the river valley becomes broad and shallow and the river meanders through many low islands used for pastureland during dry periods in the summer and fall.
South of the Jemseg, the Saint John River is surrounded by the low hills of the St. Croix Highlands. It is joined by several lateral bays; including Belleisle Bay, the Nerepis River and the Kennebecasis River. The Saint John River finally discharges into the Bay of Fundy. The industrial city of Saint John is located at the mouth of the river. Near the river's mouth, there is a unique phenomenon (the Reversing Falls), caused by the high tides of the Bay of Fundy. These tides are the highest in the world and cause the river to reverse its flow twice a day in a narrow gorge in the city's centre.
The Saint John River has a maximum depth of 50 metres.[citation needed]
History
Members of the Wolastoqiyuk Nation, known also as Maliseet, whose lands and culture have been and still are centered on the Saint John River, have historically called the river Wolastoq, translating to "good and beautiful river".
The lower river valley formed an important part of the French colony of Acadia. Acadian settlements developed along the lower river during the 17th and 18th centuries; including at Fort la Tour (Saint John) and Fort Sainte-Anne (Fredericton).
In 1758, during the French and Indian War, Colonel Robert Monckton began the St. John River Campaign, in which the British burned the Acadian villages along the river, forcing the inhabitants to flee or taking them prisoner prior to deportation. The entire area fell under English control after the English captured Fort Sainte-Anne in Fredericton at the end of the St. John River Campaign (1759).
In 1784, many loyalist refugees from the American Revolutionary War settled in Saint John, Fredericton, and along the river at other settlements such as Queensbury and Woodstock. The arrival of the Loyalists precipitated the creation of the new English colony of New Brunswick. Fredericton was named the capital. English settlement of the fertile Upper River Valley would not occur until the early-to-mid-19th century. A Danish community (New Denmark) was established in the late 19th century.
In 1785, Acadians returning from the deportation settled in the Upper Saint John River valley, near what is now Edmundston. Somewhat later on in the mid-19th century francophone Quebecers also settled the Madawaska region, travelling southwards along traditional portage routes from the Saint Lawrence River valley. They joined the Acadians who were already settled in the area. The Madawaska section of the river valley remains heavily francophone to this day.
The river was an important trade route for French, English and First Nations traders throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The tremendous flow rate of the river and its tributaries during the spring freshet aided the development of the timber industry in western New Brunswick, and the river became a conduit for log drives to saw and pulp mills in the south. The spring freshet can prove disastrous to property owners along portions of the river, particularly when ice jams cause extensive flooding during the spring break-up.
Spring freshet and ice break up near Westfield on the Saint John River, 1936.
With the development of lumbering and agricultural resources, the upper river valley area, by the 1820s and 1830s, became increasingly economically important. Both American and British citizens settled the area and, since the international boundary in this area was poorly defined, conflict between the British colony of New Brunswick and the State of Maine inevitably erupted. The Aroostook War developed when the respective state and colonial militias were called out. The border was ultimately defined by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
The Saint John River in the 19th century was of tremendous importance in the development of western New Brunswick. It served as the principal transportation artery to the region, particularly prior to the era of rail transport when paddle wheelers plied its waterways.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the river became a major source of hydroelectric power with the opening of the Beechwood Dam in 1955 and the Mactaquac Dam in 1968, where large reservoirs have been created by damming its flow. These massive projects followed the construction of a smaller dam at Grand Falls in 1925, where the river descends in a steep cataract. A consequence of the latter two dams has been a severe decline in migrating Atlantic Salmon, and the flooding of farmland to create the headponds.
In recent years, the river has seen a rise in recreational boating and ecotourism. The rich soil of the Upper Saint John River Valley in Carleton and Victoria counties, as well as Aroostook County, Maine, is also an important area for the cultivation of potatoes.
At the most upstream gauge the riverflow has ranged from 44,400 cubic feet per second (1,260 m3/s) to 59 cubic feet per second (1.7 m3/s). At the Dickey gauge flow has ranged from 91,700 cubic feet per second (2,600 m3/s) to 129 cubic feet per second (3.7 m3/s). At the Clair gauge flow has ranged from 151,000 cubic feet per second (4,300 m3/s) to 510 cubic feet per second (14 m3/s). Water flow is highest during the spring freshet and lowest in the fall. In early spring, upper sections of the river can experience ice jams causing flooding,[7] while in the lower sections in the broader floodplain, flooding may occur during late spring from the sheer volume of water which must make its way through the narrow gorge at the Reversing Falls.
View of the railroad bridge at Woodstock looking South
^Wolastoq. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
^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. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2006-05-07.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
References
Jackson, Annette (2007). My Life in the Maine Woods. Islandport Press. ISBN0-9763231-9-2.
