Androscoggin River

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Androscoggin River
At Errol, NH.

At Errol, NH.

Data
Water code US580918
location Maine , New Hampshire (USA)
River system Kennebec River
Drain over Kennebec River  → Atlantic Ocean
source Umbagog Lake , Coos County , New Hampshire
44 ° 46 ′ 59 ″  N , 71 ° 3 ′ 41 ″  W
Source height 379  m
muzzle Merrymeeting Bay Coordinates: 43 ° 57 '2 "  N , 69 ° 52' 39"  W 43 ° 57 '2 "  N , 69 ° 52' 39"  W.
Mouth height m
Height difference 379 m
Bottom slope 1.4 ‰
length 264 km
Catchment area 8936 km²
Drain MQ
175 m³ / s
Left tributaries Sunday River
Right tributaries Magalloway River , Peabody River , Wild River , Nezinscot River , Little Androscoggin River
Medium-sized cities Auburn , Lewiston , Berlin , Brunswick
Communities Gorham , Bethel , Rumford , Dixfield , Livermore Falls , Lisbon Falls
Course of the Androscoggin River

Course of the Androscoggin River

Canal to a hydroelectric power station in Gorham, New Hampshire

Canal to a hydroelectric power station in Gorham, New Hampshire

The Androscoggin River is a river in the United States and is located in the northern New England states of New Hampshire and Maine .

It has a length of 287 km and drains a catchment area of 8936 km². It flows into the Kennebec River at sea level before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean in Merrymeeting Bay in the Gulf of Maine .

course

The Androscoggin River has its origin in the state of New Hampshire near Errol in Coos County at the point where the Magalloway River meets the natural runoff of Umbagog Lake . The river then takes a southerly course, but flows around the cities of Errol, Milan and Berlin in many bends .

It then turns east near Gorham and cuts through the northern end of the White Mountains . Then the river leaves the county and New Hampshire.

It continues eastward, flowing past Bethel , Rumford and Dixfield , before turning south at Livermore Falls , leaving the mountains behind. It flows between the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn before passing Lisbon Falls in a southeastern direction . It then reaches the city of Brunswick , from there its water level is already influenced by the tides . Merrymeeting Bay is a freshwater estuary about 16 km long , in which the Androscoggin River and Kennebec River meet, just over 30 km from the open Atlantic Ocean .

In Maine it flows through the counties of Oxford , Androscoggin - which is named after the river - and Sagadahoc . Here it flows into the Kennebec River .

Hydrology

The United States Geological Survey maintains four gauges on the Androscoggin River , all of which are immediately below one or more dams.

The first, top level, is in Errol, New Hampshire. ( ). The catchment area up to this point covers 2708 km². The flow rate here ranged from a maximum value of 467 m³ / s to a minimum of 0 m³ / s when the dam is completely closed. The average annual runoff here between 1905 and 2005 was 54.3 m³ / s.

The second monitoring station is located near Gorham, New Hamspire ( ) and covers a catchment area of ​​3523 km². The extreme values ​​here range from the maximum value of 620 m³ / s to the lowest flow rate of 22.5 m³ / s when the dam is completely closed. The average discharge at this level is 71 m³ / s between 1905 and 2005.

The third level measures the data in Rumford, Maine. ( ) These are based on a catchment area of ​​5354 km². The historical flow here reaches a maximum value of 2094 m³ / s and a lowest value of 18 m³ / s. The long-term average annual mean is 108 m³ / s.

The fourth and final measuring station in Auburn, Maine ( ) corresponds to a catchment area of ​​8,448 km². The maximum flow rate here on March 31, 1998 was 3820 m³ / s, the lowest was 9.6 m³ / s. The long-term average is 175 m³ / s.

The river has a gradient of eight feet per mile (about 1.5 m / km) and is therefore suitable for water management use by adjacent industrial companies. It is therefore used in Lewiston and Auburn to generate hydropower.

Water quality

The water of the Androscoggin River was quite heavily polluted years ago. This pollution was caused by the various textile mills, paper mills and other industrial operations on its banks and was one of the catalyst for the Clean Water Act . The river has benefited from environmental protection and the disappearance of certain industries from the region; however, there are still problems with untreated industrial wastewater and exposure to mercury . On an approximately 22 km long section of the river, artificial aeration of the river with oxygen is necessary so that the fish population does not suffocate. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to force paper mills on the river to purify their sewage.

Fishing on the river

The Androscoggin River is a popular destination for anglers . They are primarily interested in catching fish species such as brook trout , rainbow trout and brown trout , but also Atlantic salmon and black bass . The upper reaches of the river near Errol, New Hampshire is particularly popular for fly fishing from a drifting boat. The water temperature rises in the course of the river and the main fish species on the lower reaches are black bass.

Name variants

In GNIS the USGS, a number of name variants are listed. They include:

  • Amasagu'nteg
  • Amascongan
  • Ambrose Coggin
  • Ammeriscoggin
  • Ammoscoggin
  • Amos Coggin
  • Amoscommun
  • Anasagunticook
  • Anconganunticook
  • Andrews Coggin
  • Andros Coggan
  • Andros Coggin
  • Androscoggen
  • Andrus Coggin
  • Aumoughcaugen
  • Pescedona
  • Ameriscoggin River

Main tributaries

The most important tributaries of the Androscoggin River are the following, whereby the place of the confluence is indicated:

No. Surname Bank side of
the confluence
Catchment area
in km²
location
01 Magalloway River right Errol NH
02 Clear Stream right Errol NH
03 Mollidgewock Brook Left Errol NH
04 Chickwolnepy Stream Left Errol NH
05 Dead River, New Hampshire right Berlin NH
06 Moose Brook right Gorham NH
07 Moose River right Gorham NH
08 Peabody River right 120 Gorham NH
09 Wild River right Gilead ME
10 Pleasant River right Bethel ME
11 Alder River right Bethel ME
12 Sunday River Left 130 Bethel ME
13 Bear River Left Newry ME
14th Ellis River Left Rumford ME
15th Concord River right Rumford ME
16 Swift River Left Rumford and Mexico ME
17th Webb River Left Dixfield ME
18th Dead River (Maine) Left Leeds ME
19th Nezinscot River right Gymnast ME
20th Little Androscoggin River right Auburn ME
21st Sabattus River Left Lisbon ME
22nd Little River Left Lisbon Falls ME

Hydropower plants

There are numerous hydropower plants along the Androscoggin River.

The hydropower plants in the downstream direction:

Surname Power
in MW
Number of
turbines
location operator
Errol 3 1 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Pontook 10.5 3 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Sawmill 3 4th ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Riverside 8th 2 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Smith 15th 1 ( ) Public Service Co of NH
Cross 3 5 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Cascade 8th 3 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Gorham 5 4th ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Gorham Hydro 2.2 4th ( ) Public Service Co of NH
Shelburne 4th 3 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Upper Rumford 28 4th ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Lower Rumford 15th 2 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Riley 6.6 6th ( ) Verso paper Androscoggin
Jay 3.1 6th ( ) Verso paper Androscoggin
Otis 10.2 2 ( ) Verso paper Androscoggin
Livermore 9.2 9 ( ) Verso paper Androscoggin
Gulf Island 19.2 3 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Androscoggin 3 3.6 1 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Deer rep 6.5 7th ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Charles E. Monty 28.4 2 ( ) Brookfield Renewable
Bates Mill Upper 3.9 3 Lewiston
Hill Mill 1.8 6th Lewiston
Upper Androscoggin 0.4 3 ( ) City of Lewiston
Whatumbo 19.4 2 ( ) Miller Hydro Group
Pejepscot 13.7 4th ( ) Topsham Hydro Partners
Brunswick 19.6 3 ( ) Brookfield Renewable

Web links

Commons : Androscoggin River  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. a b USGS . Water Resources Data - Maine, Water Year 2005 . Water Data Reports for the United States. 2005.
  2. ^ Androscoggin River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  3. http://mainerivers.org/androscoggin.htm Androscoggin Watershed
  4. ^ National Public Radio . May 17, 2007. Cities Battle Over River's Pollution Level . Audio file on the NPR website (accessed January 26, 2008)
  5. brookfieldrenewable.com
  6. energyjustice.net
  7. hydroreform.org