St. Croix River (Maine–New Brunswick)

(Redirected from St. Croix River (Maine – New Brunswick)) River forming part of the US–Canada border For other uses, see St. Croix River (disambiguation).

St. Croix River Fleuve Sainte-Croix Skutik
St. Croix River at Vanceboro, Maine.

Location
Country	Canada/United States
Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Chiputneticook Lakes

Mouth
• location	Passamaquoddy Bay
• coordinates	45°04′23″N 67°05′35″W / 45.073°N 67.093°W / 45.073; -67.093
• elevation	sea level
Basin size	1,500 square miles (3,900 km)

The St. Croix River (French: Fleuve Sainte-Croix; Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: Skutik) is a river in northeastern North America, 71 miles (114 km) in length, that forms part of the Canada–United States border between Maine (U.S.) and New Brunswick (Canada). The river rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen. It discharges into Passamaquoddy Bay, in the Bay of Fundy.

Geography

The river forms from the Chiputneticook Lakes (North Lake, East Grand Lake, Mud Lake, and Spednic Lake) along the Canadian–U.S. border. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps show the St. Croix River as beginning at the 1.0-mile-long (1.6 km) outlet stream from East Grand Lake, then flowing through the short Mud Lake and entering Spednic Lake, extending 20 miles (32 km) to its outlet at Vanceboro, Maine, and the start of the river proper. Adding the section of river and lake from the outlet of East Grand Lake gives a total length of 95 miles (153 km) to the St. Croix.

The total drainage area of the river is approximately 1,500 square miles (3,900 km). In the 20th century, the river was heavily developed for hydroelectric power. The river had previously hosted a large population of Atlantic salmon; however, the salmon population was reduced after building hydroelectric dams upriver from Calais-St. Stephen.

The river is an estuary between Calais-St. Stephen and the river's mouth at Robbinston and St. Andrews. This tidal area extends for approximately 16 miles (26 km) along this section and exhibits a tidal bore.

Navigation

The Saint Croix River was an early trade corridor to interior Maine and New Brunswick from the Atlantic coast. Ocean ships could navigate upstream to Calais and St. Stephen; although tidal fluctuation made Eastport a preferred port for deeper draft vessels. The river upstream of Calais and St. Stephen became an important transportation corridor for log driving to bring wooden logs and pulpwood from interior forests to sawmills and paper mills built to use water power at Calais and Woodland.

Historical boundary issues

The boundary issues of the St. Croix River came out of the Treaty of Paris that was signed in 1783. The geography of the river was not charted clearly until the Jay Treaty (1794) provided provisions for surveying the boundary. The boundary between Maine and New Brunswick north of the headwaters of the Saint Croix took another four decades to establish. Following the War of 1812 there was a push to settle this disputed territory north of the St. Croix on the St. John watershed and it remained in dispute until 1842. During this conflict Maine, Massachusetts and New Brunswick continued to issue some lumbering permits to the disputed territory. With or without a permit, lumbermen were in a race to cut the best timber from the land while it was under dispute. Although it was illegal to cut trees with no permit, the Saint John River enabled this activity because it increased business at the local mills, shipyards and timber ponds in New Brunswick so the officials were slow to halt the ongoing illegal activity.

During this time, the lumbermen were very serious and competitive about the trees. Whoever got to the best trees first claimed them. Dynamite was used as a tool of sabotage to blow up some of the log booms that were strung across the river to catch the recently cut trees. It is also known that at times the timber men purposely sorted their logs incorrectly to attempt to confuse local officials charged with regulating timber trade and transportation.

Prior to 2001, it was possible for boaters to use campsites on both sides of the river. However, boaters must now stay on the same shore that they entered from, and report their trip to the appropriate border agency.

Water level monitoring

Canada

The Water Survey of Canada maintains six river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed:

St. Croix, New Brunswick (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.5689°N 67.4297°W / 45.5689; -67.4297)
Baring, Maine (45°08′12″N 67°19′05″W / 45.1367°N 67.3181°W / 45.1367; -67.3181)
Dennis Stream near St. Stephen, New Brunswick (45°12′35″N 67°15′45″W / 45.2097°N 67.2625°W / 45.2097; -67.2625)
East Grand Lake at Forest City, New Brunswick (45°39′54″N 67°44′10″W / 45.6650°N 67.7361°W / 45.6650; -67.7361)
Spednic Lake at St. Croix, New Brunswick (45°34′09″N 67°25′41″W / 45.5692°N 67.4281°W / 45.5692; -67.4281)
Forest City Stream, below the Forest City Dam at Forest City, New Brunswick (45°39′51″N 67°44′04″W / 45.6642°N 67.7344°W / 45.6642; -67.7344)

United States

The United States Geological Survey maintains two river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed.

Vanceboro, Maine (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.56889°N 67.42972°W / 45.56889; -67.42972) where the rivershed is 413 square miles (1,070 km), 400 feet (100 m) downstream from the Spednik Lake Dam.
Baring Plantation, Maine (45°34′08″N 67°25′47″W / 45.56889°N 67.42972°W / 45.56889; -67.42972) where the rivershed is 1,374 square miles (3,559 km), 5.6 miles (9.0 km) downstream of the nearest dam. The maximum recorded flow here is 23,500 cubic feet (670 m) per second and the minimum 262 cubic feet (7.4 m) per second.

USGS also maintains a water chemistry monitor at Milltown, Maine (45°10′11″N 67°17′50″W / 45.16972°N 67.29722°W / 45.16972; -67.29722) where the rivershed is 1,455 square miles (3,768 km). For water year 2001, the pH ranged from 6.6 to 7.2.

Crossings

Seven active international bridges cross the river at the following locations:

St. Croix, New Brunswick-Vanceboro, Maine (Saint Croix–Vanceboro Bridge, road
St. Croix-Vanceboro (Saint Croix–Vanceboro Railway Bridge), rail
Mohannes, New Brunswick-Woodland, Maine (unnamed Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
Upper Mills, New Brunswick-Baring, Maine (unnamed Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine, International Avenue Bridge, road
St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (Milltown International Bridge), road
St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (unnamed New Brunswick Southern Railway/Maine Central Railroad bridge), rail
St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine (St. Stephen-Calais Bridge), road

One defunct crossing exists:

St. Stephen, New Brunswick-Calais, Maine, ferry (at site of St. Stephen-Calais Bridge)

Derived names

HMCS St. Croix (I81), previously USS McCook (DD-252), became a Canadian ship in 1940 as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. It was renamed after the St. Croix River to follow the Canadian tradition of naming destroyers after Canadian rivers while recognizing the shared national history of the ship.

Dam removal

New Brunswick Power has indicated their desire to remove the 138 year old Milltown Dam on the St Croix River between St. Stephen, New Brunswick (Canada), and Calais, Maine (USA). Currently, New Brunswick Power stakeholders, government officials, the Peskotomuhkati Tribe, locals, and the public are examining this proposed dam removal. Milltown Dam removal would restore Salmon Falls between St. Stephen and Calais. The Peskotomuhkati Tribe is also advocating for the removal of Milltown Dam and the full restoration of Salmon Falls. Milltown Dam was built in 1881 by New Brunswick Power and is the oldest operating hydro facility in Canada. Atlantic Salmon, shad, eels, and alewives would all benefit from this dam's removal and ongoing habitat restoration. St Croix River oxygen levels would also improve with the restoration of Salmon Falls.

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed June 22, 2011
DeLorme Mapping Company The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (13th edition) (1988) ISBN 0-89933-035-5 map 37
"404 Not Found | International Boundary Commission". {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
Judd, Richard., Judd, Patricia. “Forging an International Economy,” A Century of Logging in Northern Maine. Orono: University of Maine Press, 1988), 21-39.
Professor Jason Hall. May 7th, 2015. Rivers, International Conflicts and Cooperation Lecture, Rivers in World History. St. Thomas University.
"Plan Your Trip". St. Croix Waterway. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
G.J. Stewart; J.P. Nielsen; J.M. Caldwell; A.R. Cloutier (2002). "Water Resources Data – Maine, Water Year 2001" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2006-05-07.
Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.

External links

U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Saint Croix River

Rivers of Maine by drainage system

Bay of Fundy

Passamaquoddy Bay

Saint John River Watershed

Casco Bay

Fore River Watershed	Fore River Long Creek Stroudwater River South Branch Stroudwater River
Presumpscot River Watershed	Bear River Chute River Crooked River East Branch Piscataqua River Little River Muddy River North Branch Little River Northwest River Piscataqua River Pleasant River Presumpscot River Songo River Sticky River Tenny River
Others	Cousins River Harraseeket River Little River New Meadows River Royal River

Gulf of Maine

Blue Hill Bay (Union River Watershed)	Bog River East Branch Union River Little Bog River Middle Branch Union River Union River West Branch Union River
Chandler Bay	Sandy River
Dennys Bay	Dennys River Hardscrabble River Orange River
Englishman Bay	Chandler River East Branch Chandler River Englishman River
Frenchman Bay	Jordan Stream Skillings River
Harrington Bay	Harrington River Mill River
Little River Watershed	Little River (Drakes Island) Merriland River
Machias Bay (Machias River Watershed)	Crooked River East Machias River Machias River Maine River Middle River West Branch Machias River
Mousam River Watershed	Littlefield River Middle Branch Mousam River Mousam River
Narraguagus Bay (Narraguagus River Watershed)	Little Narraguagus River Narraguagus River Spring River West Branch Narraguagus River (Cherryfield) West Branch Narraguagus River (Hancock County)
Pleasant Bay (Pleasant River Watershed)	Little River Pleasant River West Branch Pleasant River Western Little River
Piscataqua River Watershed	Great Works River Little River Neoutaquet River Piscataqua River Salmon Falls River
Sheepscot River Watershed	Back River Cross River Dyer River Marsh River Sasanoa River Sheepscot River West Branch Sheepscot River
Wohoa Bay	Indian River Southwest Branch Indian River West River
Others	Batson River Benjamin River Cape Neddick River Damariscotta River Johns River Jordan River Josias River Kennebunk River Little River (Boothbay) Little River (Georgetown) Little River (Goosefare Bay) Little River (York) Morse River Ogunquit River Pemaquid River Sprague River Webhannet River York River

Merrymeeting Bay

Androscoggin River Watershed

Kennebec River Watershed

Muscongus Bay

Saint George River Watershed	Back River Dead River East Branch Oyster River Mill River Oyster River Saint George River West Branch Oyster River
Others	Back River (Medomak) Back River (Meduncook) Goose River Medomak River Meduncook River

Penobscot Bay

Penobscot River Watershed

Others

Saco Bay

Saco River Watershed	Charles River Cold River Hancock Brook Kezar River Little Cold River Little Ossipee River Little River Little Saco River Mad River Middle Branch Mad River Old Course Saco River Ossipee River Saco River Shepards River South Branch Mad River South River Tenmile River West Branch Tenmile River
Others	Dunstan River Libby River Nonesuch River Scarborough River Spurwink River

Rivers of New Brunswick by drainage system

Bay of Fundy

Cumberland Basin	Missaguash River
Chignecto Bay	Upper Salmon River
Passamaquoddy Bay	Magaguadavic River St. Croix River
Watershed of Saint John River	Aroostook River Becaguimec Stream Canaan River Hammond River Iroquois River Jemseg River Kennebecasis River Keswick River Little Iroquois River Madawaska River Meduxnekeag River Nashwaak River Nerepis River North Branch Meduxnekeag River Oromocto River River De Chute Saint Francis River Saint John River Tobique River Wolastoq
Shepody Bay (watershed of Petitcodiac River)	Jonathan Creek Memramcook River Petitcodiac River Turtle Creek
Others	Big Salmon River Quiddy River

Gulf of
Saint Lawrence

Chaleur Bay (watershed of Restigouche River)	Belle Kedgwick River Gounamitz River Kedgwick River Little Main Restigouche River Little Southeast Upsalquitch River North Branch Gounamitz River Northwest Upsalquitch River Patapédia River Popelogan River Restigouche River South Branch Kedgwick River Southeast Upsalquitch River Upsalquitch River West Branch Gounamitz River
Miramichi Bay (watershed of Miramichi River)	Barnaby River Bartholomew River Bartibog River Cains River Dungarvon River Little Southwest Miramichi River Miramichi River Napan River North Pole Stream Northwest Miramichi River Oyster River Renous River Sevogle River Southwest Miramichi River Tuadook River
Northumberland Strait	Buctouche River Kouchibouguac River Kouchibouguacis River Molus River Richibucto River
Watershed of Saint Lawrence River	Rimouski River
Others	Black River Caraquet River Nepisiguit River Pokemouche River Rivière du Nord

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