Saint John River
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Saint John River Rivière Saint-Jean |
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 Saint John River at Fredericton |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 581558 | |
| location | Maine (USA), New Brunswick (Canada) | |
| River system | Saint John River | |
| Confluence of |
Northwest Branch and Southwest Branch Saint John River 46 ° 41 ′ 52 " N , 69 ° 42 ′ 55" W |
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| Source height | 319 m | |
| muzzle | in the Bay of Fundy near Saint John Coordinates: 45 ° 15 '26 " N , 66 ° 3' 38" W 45 ° 15 '26 " N , 66 ° 3' 38" W. |
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| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | 319 m | |
| Bottom slope | 0.47 ‰ | |
| length | 673 km (including source rivers) | |
| Catchment area | 55,200 km² | |
| Drain |
MQ |
1130 m³ / s |
| Left tributaries | Madawaska River , Tobique River , Nashwaak River , Salmon River , Canaan River , Kennebecasis River , Green River | |
| Right tributaries | Fish River , Allagash River , Aroostook River , Oromocto River | |
| Medium-sized cities | Saint John , Fredericton | |
| Small towns | Fort Kent , Edmundston , Grand Falls | |
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The Saint John River ( French Rivière Saint-Jean ) is a 673 km long river in northeastern North America . It rises in the US state of Maine , flows through the Canadian province of New Brunswick and flows into the Atlantic Ocean in the Bay of Fundy . Partly it forms the border between the United States and Canada . To avoid confusion with the St. Johns River in Florida , the "Saint" is often written out in the case of the river that flows into Canada.
The river drains around 55,000 km² and is the second longest watercourse on the American northeast coast after the Susquehanna River . The lower reaches of the river between Fredericton and Saint John is sometimes referred to as the "North American Rhine" in reference to shipping traffic.
The Saint John River has its source in Somerset County in northwest Maine and flows northeast towards the Canadian border. Below St. Francis, the river forms the border between Canada and the United States for 130 km. Initially flowing in a northeasterly direction, the Edmundston and Madawaska rivers pass and then bend to the southeast. At Grand Falls it leaves the border, flows south through New Brunswick and crosses the mountains of the Appalachian Mountains . After taking up the Aroostook and Tobique Rivers , it flows under the longest covered wooden bridge (390 m) in the world at Hartland and turns southwest at Woodstock. It passes New Brunswick's capital Fredericton and is now navigable. The river becomes noticeably wider and is covered by many flat islands that are used as pastures in summer and autumn.
The river passes the hills of the St. Croix highlands, forms several side bays and lakes, until it flows through a short valley at Saint John into the Bay of Fundy . In the bay, the tidal range is about seven meters, which affects the river mouth up to above the valley. In front of the valley, the water accumulates both at low tide (flowing to the bay) and at high tide (flowing back from the bay). The resulting gradient (up to about five meters at low tide and up to about 3½ meters at high tide) leads to a rapids in the river in both periods , the so-called Reversing Falls .
Settlement and usage history
The catchment area of the Saint John River was the traditional residential area of the Maliseet. Welàstekw is the Maliseet name for the Saint John River and can be translated as beautiful river . In 1604, Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain explored parts of the lower Saint Croix River and Champlain named it after John the Baptist , on whose memorial day (June 24th) they discovered the estuary.
The river valley lay in the French colony of Akadien and in the 17th and 18th centuries a number of white immigrant settlements emerged on the banks of the river, for example Fort la Tour (now Saint John) and Fort Sainte-Anne (now Fredericton). During the French and Indian War , the area came under British control in 1759 after the British captured Fort Sainte-Anne. The French defeat was sealed with the Peace of Paris in 1763 . With the cession of New France , France finally renounced its colonial territories in northeast North America. This also marked the end of the history of Acadia.
After the American Revolutionary War in 1784, many loyalists fled to Canada and settled in Saint John, Fredericton, Queensbury and Woodstock. Shortly thereafter, the new British colony of New Brunswick emerged and Fredericton became its capital.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the river was an important route for French, British and Native American fur traders , on which goods were transported by canoe. In the case of rapids and waterfalls, portage was necessary, during which the watercraft had to be unloaded and all goods and the boats had to be carried over land. The rapid flow of the Saint Croix and its tributaries during the spring floods encouraged the development of the timber industry when the river was used to float tree trunks to the sawmills and pulp mills. The regular spring floods caused great damage to many residents when ice floes piled up and the water dammed up.
Before the railway was built around 1850, the Saint John River was the most important route in western New Brunswick and contributed significantly to its development. In the 20th century a number of hydroelectric power stations were built, such as the Beechwood Dam in 1955 and the Mactaquac Dam in 1968, which dammed the river into large lakes. The construction of the dams resulted in a massive decrease in salmon , which could no longer reach their spawning grounds in the upper reaches.
In recent years the river has developed into a recreation and vacation area for tourists mainly from the neighboring cities.
Web links
- Map of the Saint John River basin information
- Canadian Council for Geographic Education
- Images from the Saint John River
- The Upper St. John River Valley History and Genealogy.
- river levels and flow weather forecast
- WebCam
Individual evidence
- ↑ Northwest Branch Saint John River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- ↑ a b c d Natural Resources Canada - The Atlas of Canada - Rivers
- ^ Günther Sager: Mensch und Gezeiten , Leipzig 1988, p. 18.
- ↑ Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Vol. 15. Northeast, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1978, pp. 123f., ISBN 0-16-004575-4