Chesuncook Lake
| Chesuncook Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | Piscataquis County, Maine |
| Coordinates | 45°59′14″N 69°20′27″W / 45.98722°N 69.34083°WCoordinates: 45°59′14″N 69°20′27″W / 45.98722°N 69.34083°W |
| Type | Mesotrophic |
| Catchment area | 1,420 square miles (3,700 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 22.5 miles (36.2 km) |
| Max. width | 1–4 mi (1.6–6.4 km) |
| Surface area | 25,183 acres (101.91 km2) |
| Average depth | 40 feet (12 m) |
| Max. depth | 150 feet (46 m) |
| Water volume | 136,667 acre·ft (168,576,000 m3) |
| Residence time | 6 months |
| Surface elevation | 942 feet (287 m) |
| Islands | Gero Island |
| Settlements | Chesuncook Township, T2 R12 WELS, T3 R11 WELS, T3 R12 WELS |
Chesuncook Lake is a reservoir in the North Maine Woods and Piscataquis County, Maine. It is formed by the damming of the West Branch Penobscot River, by dams built in 1835, 1903, and 1916. It is approximately 22 miles (35 km) long and 1–4 miles wide, with a surface area of 25,183 acres (101.91 km2) and a maximum depth of 150 feet (46 m). It is the third-largest body of fresh water in Maine.
The lake was named "goose place" by combining the call of the Canada goose schunk with auke (the Abenaki word for place) to form Chesuncook. Henry David Thoreau visited Chesuncook (village) and lake in 1853 and wrote about its beginnings in his book "The Maine Woods" Chesuncook Part 4; 'Ansell Smith's the oldest and principal clearing about this lake,...' Thoreau observed no geese on the lake during his visit.
The original lake was enlarged by construction of Ripogenus Dam in 1916 to cover Ripogenus Lake, Caribou Lake, and Moose Pond. The enlarged lake became less suitable for Lake trout because of fluctuating reservoir levels for generating hydroelectricity.
The lake is on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
In H.P. Lovecraft's horror short story The Thing on the Doorstep, the ill-fated Edward Derby found himself lost in the town of Chesuncook, "close to the wildest, deepest, and least explored forest belt in Maine."
Chesuncook Lake features in First Lensman by EE "Doc" Smith as a clandestine handover point for a shipment of illegal drugs.
Chesuncook Village is a small settlement located on the northwestern shore of Chesuncook Lake with a year-round population of approximately 10 people on this otherwise uninhabited lake. It is in an unorganized township in the heart of the east coast's largest unsettled logging forest and is considered to be the last wilderness area on the eastern seaboard of the United States. It is approximately 60 miles from the nearest towns of Greenville and Millinocket, Maine. It is completely off grid with no infrastructure.
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