The Beaver River is a small mountain stream which flows from the
Adirondack Mountains to the
Black River at Naumburg, north of
Lowville in northwestern
New York. The Beaver flows through parts of
Hamilton,
Herkimer, and
Lewis counties. Its source is
Lake Lila in
Long Lake.
Owing to its high
gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
as it drops out of the mountains, the Beaver is a favorite destination for
whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
kayakers and canoeists. In September of each year, hundreds of whitewater paddlers descend on the Beaver from all parts of the
US and eastern
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
.
Also because of its high gradient, there are several
hydropower
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...
projects along the Beaver's course. These projects, created between 1905 and 1920 have fostered a series of highly productive fisheries in the reservoir chain. Popular among locals, the Soft Maple Reservoir is an excellent Smallmouth Bass fishery.
The hamlet of
Beaver River at the east end of Stillwater Reservoir, in the town of
Webb has a year-round population of three that increases during the summer as many people have camps in this wilderness area. No roads lead to the hamlet; it is accessible only by hiking, rail car or boat in the summer and by snowmobile, snowshoes or cross country skis in the winter.
Fishing
The Beaver River is a true northern freshwater fishery, consisting of Northern Pike, Pickerel, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Bullhead, Catfish, Muskellenge, Carp, and Sunfish. Smallmouth Bass are a staple of the river, and it is not uncommon to catch a nice 20" bass anywhere is the upper reservoirs, particularly Effley and Soft Maple. Soft Maple Reservoir is the only place on the Beaver River that supports a population of Tiger Muskellenge, which are stocked on a periodic basis by the NYS DEC.
See also
*
List of New York rivers
References
External links
*National Whitewater River Inventory:
1. Moshier Section2. Eagle Section3. Taylorville Section
Rivers of New York (state)
Rivers of Hamilton County, New York
Rivers of Herkimer County, New York
Rivers of Lewis County, New York
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