Lake Francis, New Hampshire
| Lake Francis Murphy Dam |
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| Coordinates | 45 ° 2 '24 " N , 71 ° 19' 48" W | ||||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||||
| Construction time: | 1940 | ||||||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 35 m | ||||||||
| Operator: | TransCanada | ||||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||||
| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 420 m | ||||||||
| Water surface | 7.83 km² | ||||||||
| Reservoir length | 8.7 km | ||||||||
| Reservoir width | 2.1 km | ||||||||
| Storage space | 162 million m³ | ||||||||
The Lake Francis is a 7.83 km² large artificial lake in the north of the State of New Hampshire , more precisely in the local Coös County .
The 655 km long Connecticut River flows through the lake , whose upper reaches previously filled two more reservoirs. Pittsburg, with a population of almost 900, is located northwest of Lake Francis . The lake forms the core of Lake Francis State Park .
history
Indian Stream Territory (1832–1835), annexed to USA (1842)
The northern New Hampshire region has long been disputed between Canada and the United States. On July 9, 1832, the settlers there founded their own government and named themselves after a river in the area; Indian Stream Territory . It existed until 1835. In 1840, the Pittsburgh settlement was incorporated, so it could now administer itself and elect a mayor. In 1842, the area was transferred to the state of New Hampshire with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty .
Construction of the dam, power generation, TransCanada (from 1940)
In 1940, the Murphy Dam was built to compensate for fluctuating energy needs by holding back the water during times of low electricity consumption in order to allow it to flow away to generate electricity during times of high demand. Some of the neighboring lakes, such as First Connecticut Lake and Second Connecticut Lake , which lie further on the upper reaches of Connecticut and which are owned by TransCanada, serve to balance fluctuating electricity needs over one-year cycles; they have a large reservoir available. Others, however, only have smaller reservoirs and accordingly have a weekly or even daily cycle. None of the dams in northern New Hampshire is used to continuously generate electricity from the otherwise freely flowing river. The Francissee dam with a height of around 40 m is the only one of the dams owned by the New Hampshire DES Water Division , but operated by the energy company TransCanada . In addition to the energy supply, it is primarily used to store water. TransCanada maintains a total of eight reservoirs in New Hampshire, six of which are primarily used for electricity generation and two for water storage. No devices have been put in place for fish to pass, either upstream or downstream.
geography
Flora and fauna
More than 100 species of birds have been observed at Lake Francis. Occasionally, moose and black bears are spotted.
literature
- Rebecca A. Brown (Ed.): Where the Great River Rises. An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River Watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire , University Press of New England 2009.
Web links
- Lake Francis State Park , Parks & Recreation New Hampshire
- Lake Francis in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Remarks
- ^ Rebecca A. Brown (ed.): Where the Great River Rises. An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River Watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire , University Press of New England 2009, p. 65.
- ^ Rebecca A. Brown (ed.): Where the Great River Rises. An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River Watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire , University Press of New England 2009, p. 233.
- ^ Rebecca A. Brown (ed.): Where the Great River Rises. An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River Watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire , University Press of New England 2009, p. 117.