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The Baker Branch Saint John River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed June 22, 2011
river. This river is a tributary of the
Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) The Saint John River (french: Fleuve Saint-Jean; Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Wolastoq'') is a long river that flows from Northern Maine into Canada, and runs south along the western side of New Brunswick, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean in the ...
, flowing in the Maine North Woods, in Maine, in the Northeastern United States.


Hydrography

The Baker Stream originates in Upper First Saint John Pond () northeast of Truesdale Mountain in the northwest corner of Maine Township 4, Range 17, WELS. The stream flows sequentially through Lower First Saint John Pond, Second Saint John Pond, and Third Saint John Pond before entering T.5 R.17, WELS, to flow into
Fourth Saint John Pond 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 Sai ...
. The outflow of 4th St. John Pond (), now the Baker Branch, flows into Fifth Saint John Pond on the boundary with T.6 R.17, WELS. In 1939, Fifth Saint John Pond was impounded in T.6 R.17 to form a diversion into the
North Branch Penobscot River The North Branch Penobscot River is a river in Somerset County, Maine. From its source at the outlet of Little Bog () about east of the Canada–United States border in Maine Township 6, Range 17, WELS, the river runs U.S. Geological S ...
, but most flow follows the original channel north to Baker Lake at the confluence with Sweeney Brook in T.7 R.17, WELS. Turner Brook and Brailey Brook are tributary to the branch in T.8 R.17, WELS, before the Baker Branch's
confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
with the Southwest Branch Saint John River in T.9 R.17, WELS.


History

The Baker Branch drains a portion of the Maine North Woods utilized for 20th century pulpwood production.
Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
and Balsam Fir trees were bucked into 4-foot (1.2-meter) lengths beginning in 1917 and loaded onto sleds towed by
draft animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...
s or log haulers to the nearest river or lake. Log drives would float the pulpwood logs to a downstream
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
when the snow and ice melted. A problem arose because pulpwood growing around the Saint John Ponds was destined for Great Northern Paper Company's Millinocket mill on the
West Branch Penobscot River The West Branch Penobscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 22, 2011 tributary of the Penobscot River through the North Maine Woods in Maine. The river ...
. The
Seboomook Lake and Saint John Railroad The Seboomook Lake and Saint John Railroad was a forest railway built to transfer pulpwood between drainage basins in the Maine North Woods. The railroad was built slowly in preparation for anticipated pulpwood harvesting, but onset of the Great D ...
was built in 1921 to carry pulpwood southerly from Fifth Saint John Pond to Seboomook Lake. The railroad followed the east bank of the Baker Branch between the 4th and 5th Saint John Ponds. The railroad was dismantled and converted to a truck road in the 1950s after the canal was constructed to convey floating pulpwood from Fifth Saint John Pond to the North Branch Penobscot River.


Baker Lake

Baker Lake is the largest lake on the Baker Branch. The lake was originally populated with
brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
, yellow perch, fallfish, and white sucker. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stocked the lake with land-locked
Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
in 1967, and then with rainbow smelt in 1970 as a food source for the salmon. Canadians introduced muskellunge into Lac Frontière in Quebec; and by 1986, muskellunge had entered Baker Lake by swimming down the Northwest Branch and up the Baker Branch.


Lower course of the river

The mouth of the Baker Lake has a bridge on the road linking the summit of Mount Brailey (altitude: ) located on the west side and the summit of Mount Baker (elevation: located on the east side. The "Baker Lake North Campsite" is located on the west side of the mouth. From the mouth of Lac Baker, the "Baker Branch Saint John River" flows over according to the following segments: * Northward through several rapids up to the confluence of the Turner creek (from the Southeast); * Northward forming a curve toward West, crossing the Township 8, Range 17 WELS, up to the confluence of the Brailey creek (from the West); * to the Northeast, up to the confluence of a stream (from the East); * Northward, up to an island; * to the Northwest bypassing an island (length: ; maximum width: ); * to the Northwest then the Northeast, crossing several rapids up to the confluence of the river in the T9 R17 WELSSegments of the river measured from the Atlas of Canada (posted on Internet), Ministry of Natural Resources Canada The confluence of the "Baker Branch Saint John River" is in the Somerset County, Maine in Maine to: * East of the Canada-US border; * South of the confluence of the Southwest Branch Saint John River.


See also

* List of rivers of Maine


References

*
Maine Streamflow Data from the USGSMaine Watershed Data From Environmental Protection Agency
{{authority control Rivers of Somerset County, Maine Tributaries of the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) North Maine Woods Rivers of Maine