Allagash River

Allagash Falls

It drains a remote and scenic area full in the Maine North Woods north of Mount Katahdin.

The name " Allagash " is derived from the Penobscot word / walakésk ʸ ihtək ʸ /, meaning " bark - stream".

The Allagash River forms the outflow of Churchill Lake ( formerly known as Heron Lake ) at Churchill Depot in northern Piscataquis County.

Originally drained the Allagash River, the following lakes: Allagash Lake, Chamberlain Lake and Telos Lake. However, several dams were built in the 1840s, so that since then the water flows of these lakes for East Branch Penobscot River. The purpose of this derivation was the rafts of logs to the south to coast of Maine.

The Allagash River flows predominantly in a north-easterly direction. He passes through a chain of natural lakes. Finally he meets at Allagash near the international border with New Brunswick ( Canada ) on the Saint John River.

The relatively unspoilt river reaches of the Allagash River is an attractive destination for canoeists.

In 1857, Henry David Thoreau took with his coming from Concord friend Edward S. Hoar and the Penobscot leader Joseph Polis a canoe trip to the source of Allagash River, the Heron Lake.

His records while traveling, known as "The Allegash and East Branch ," were published posthumously as the third chapter of The Maine Woods, 1864.

1966 residents of Maine voted for the preservation and protection of the river. Much of the stretch of river is now in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. In 1970, this waterway part of the National Wild and Scenic River program. In the 1990s, built with wood Churchill Dam was replaced by a concrete dam. This led to criticism from environmental activists. Recreational use and conservation of the river system remain a controversial issue.

5 km above the river mouth operates the U.S. government a level. The measured mean runoff of the Allagash River there is 56 m³ / s