Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) - Misplaced Pages

Reservoir in Coos County, New Hampshire

Lake Francis
Lake Francis as seen from U.S. Route 3 along its northern shore
Lake FrancisShow map of New HampshireLake FrancisShow map of the United States
Location	Coos County, New Hampshire
Coordinates	45°2′24″N 71°19′48″W / 45.04000°N 71.33000°W / 45.04000; -71.33000
Type	Reservoir
Etymology	Francis P. Murphy
Primary inflows	Connecticut River
Primary outflows	Connecticut River
Basin countries	United States

Max. length	5.4 mi (8.7 km)
Max. width	1.3 mi (2.1 km)
Surface area	1,934 acres (783 ha)
Average depth	40 feet (12 m)
Max. depth	82 feet (25 m)
Surface elevation	1,379 ft (420 m)

Settlements	Pittsburg; Clarksville

Lake Francis is a reservoir on the Connecticut River in northern New Hampshire, United States. The lake is located in Coos County, east of the village of Pittsburg and along the boundary between the towns of Pittsburg and Clarksville. The lake is impounded by Murphy Dam, built in 1940 as a flood control project. The 117-foot (36 m) earthen dam is owned by the Water Division of the state's Department of Environmental Services, and is operated by TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Corporation).

Lake Francis and Murphy Dam are named after Francis P. Murphy, who served as the Governor of New Hampshire from 1937 to 1941. The lake covers nearly 2,000 acres (8 km), has a capacity of 131,375 acre-feet (162,049,000 m), and has average and maximum depths of 40 feet (12 m) and 82 feet (25 m), respectively.

The lake is classified as a coldwater fishery, with observed species including rainbow trout, brown trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, and chain pickerel. There are two public boat launch locations, and ice fishing is permitted from January through March.

Lake Francis State Park is located on the northeast side of the lake, where the Connecticut River flows in. North of Lake Francis is Back Lake, while First Connecticut Lake (one of a series of four Connecticut Lakes that serve as the headwaters of the Connecticut River) lies to the northeast.

Topographical map of Lake Francis (bottom center), with Back Lake to its north, and First Connecticut Lake to the northeast
View of Murphy Dam looking up at the embankment; fence in the foreground is part of a local baseball field
View of Lake Francis at the public boat launch along U.S. Route 3
View looking south from near the boat launch

References

^ "Lake Francis". New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes Region. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
Where the Great River Rises: An Atlas of the Connecticut River Watershed in ... by Rebecca A. Brown, page 65
"Murphy Dam (francis Lake)". Archived from the original on 2011-08-27.
Ackerley, Carl (February 14, 1970). "Tracks 'n Trails (column)". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. p. 8. Retrieved August 14, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Lake Francis, Pittsburg, Clarksville" (PDF). NH Fish & Game. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

External links

Lake Francis Flight (uncut) via YouTube

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

Categories:

See also

References

External links