Saint John Ponds

The Saint John Ponds are a chain of shallow lakes at the headwaters of the Baker Branch Saint John River in the North Maine Woods. The flow sequence is from the Upper First Saint John Pond, through the Lower First Saint John Pond, Second Saint John Pond, Third Saint John Pond, and Fourth Saint John Pond to the Fifth Saint John Pond. Flow from one pond to the next is sometimes called Baker Stream rather than the Baker Branch Saint John River.[2] Great Northern Paper Company dug a canal from Fifth Saint John Pond 2 miles (3.2 km) eastward to the North Branch Penobscot River in 1939, and built a dam at the north end of Fifth Saint John Pond so pulpwood logs harvested in the upper Saint John River watershed could be floated down the Penobscot River to Millinocket, Maine. The canal and dam have fallen into disrepair so most drainage from the ponds again flows down the Saint John River. All upstream ponds with the exception of the first had dams to regulate discharge flow for log driving, but those dams have similarly fallen into disrepair. Moose use the ponds as summer refuge from heat and biting insects.[13]

Upper First Saint John Pond
Upper First Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°02′N 69°59′W[1]
Max. length600 yd (550 m)[2]
Surface area30 acres (12 ha)[3]
Max. depth7 feet (2.1 m)[4]
Water volume105 acre⋅ft (130,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,831 ft (558 m)[1]
Lower First Saint John Pond
Lower First Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°02′N 69°59′W[5]
Max. length800 yd (730 m)[2]
Surface area26 acres (11 ha)[3]
Max. depth5 feet (1.5 m)[4]
Water volume44 acre⋅ft (54,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,831 ft (558 m)[5]
Second Saint John Pond
Second Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°01′N 69°58′W[6]
Max. length0.9 mi (1.4 km)[2]
Surface area112 acres (45 ha)[3]
Max. depth5 feet (1.5 m)[7]
Water volume249 acre⋅ft (307,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,811 ft (552 m)[6]
Third Saint John Pond
Third Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°02′N 69°57′W[8]
Max. length2.7 mi (4.3 km)[2]
Surface area221 acres (89 ha)[3]
Max. depth14 feet (4.3 m)[9]
Water volume2,025 acre⋅ft (2,498,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,617 ft (493 m)[8]
Fourth Saint John Pond
Fourth Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°03′N 69°55′W[10]
Max. length1.1 mi (1.8 km)[2]
Surface area194 acres (79 ha)[3]
Max. depth22 feet (6.7 m)[11]
Water volume2,095 acre⋅ft (2,584,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,460 ft (450 m)[10]
Fifth Saint John Pond
Fifth Saint John Pond
Coordinates46°08′N 69°54′W[12]
Max. length4 mi (6.4 km)[2]
Surface area680 acres (280 ha)[3]
Max. depth20 feet (6.1 m)[13]
Water volume9,622 acre⋅ft (11,869,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation1,394 ft (425 m)[12]

First Saint John Pond

The first pond is the smallest of the chain. The pond has an upper and lower basin connected by a narrow neck less than 200 yards (180 m) long. The upper basin is spring fed with a firm, rocky shoreline, while the lower basin is surrounded by boggy, organic mud. Beaver sometimes construct dams below one or both basins which may raise the water level by approximately 2 feet (61 cm). Native brook trout and yellow perch live in both basins, but during warmer summer weather trout favor the cooler water where springs emerge in the upper basin.

Second Saint John Pond

The west end of the second pond is 800 yards (730 m) south of the overflow from the south end of the lower basin of the first pond. The east end of the second pond overflows into the third pond 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east.[2] The second pond is the shallowest of the chain, and offers the least favorable habitat for brook trout. White sucker and yellow perch are well adapted to the muddy bottom of the second pond.[7]

Third Saint John Pond

The overflow stream from the second pond is augmented by drainage from 30-acre (12 ha) Robinson Pond[3] before reaching the west side of the third pond. The east side of the third pond overflows to the fourth pond 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east.[2] Fallfish, white sucker, and yellow perch thrive in the third pond; and brook trout retreat to areas fed by cool springs during warm summer weather.[9]

Fourth Saint John Pond

The overflow stream from the third pond is augmented by Austin Brook from 43-acre (17 ha) Austin Pond and by Summit Brook from 52-acre (21 ha) Summit Pond[3] before reaching the south end of the fourth pond. The Seboomook Lake and Saint John Railroad followed Summit Brook from Summit Pond and along the east shore of the fourth pond from 1922 to 1946. The north end of the fourth pond overflows to the fifth pond 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north.[2] The fourth pond is the deepest of the chain. Fallfish, white sucker, and yellow perch dominate the fourth pond, but brook trout do well in the tributaries.[11]

Fifth Saint John Pond

The fifth pond is the largest of the chain. The water level dropped 10 feet (3.0 m) when the dam was abandoned, and the formerly flooded area south of the original pond is boggy. The boggy area receives flow from Beaver Brook and Span Brook in addition to overflow from the fourth pond.[2] The fifth pond has hornpout in addition to the species in the upstream ponds.[13]

Sources
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Upper First Saint John Pond
  2. The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (Thirteenth ed.). Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping Company. 1988. p. 48. ISBN 0-89933-035-5.
  3. Maine Depts. of Environmental Protection and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (2005-08-04). "Maine Lakes: Morphometry and Geographic Information". Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, The University of Maine. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  4. "Upper and Lower First Saint John Ponds" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lower First Saint John Pond
  6. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Second Saint John Pond
  7. "Second Saint John Pond" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  8. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Third Saint John Pond
  9. "Third Saint John Pond" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  10. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fourth Saint John Pond
  11. "Fourth Saint John Pond" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  12. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fifth Saint John Pond
  13. "Fifth Saint John Pond" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
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