Beech Hill Pond is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (The Walking Dead), Otis (''The Walking Dead' ...

Hancock County, Maine Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,478. Its county seat is Ellsworth. The county was incorporated on June 25, 1789, and named for John Hancock, the first governor of ...

, in the United States. It is long, half a mile wide, and up to deep. Trout, salmon, and other species of fish have been observed in the lake.

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s and

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

s also live on the shoreline.

Location and description

The pond is located near

Maine State Route 180 State Route 180 (SR 180) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maine traveling from U.S. Route 1A (US 1A) in Ellsworth to SR 9 near Eddington. Route description SR 180 begins at an intersection with US 1A about ...

. It is also not far from the community of

Ellsworth, Maine Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after United States Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, it contains historic buildings and ...

. Middle Brook and a number of other small brooks feed into it and Beech Hill Stream flows from the lake. The lake is long and around. On average, it is wide. The average elevation is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. Beech Hill Pond has an area of and a maximum depth of . The average depth is . The temperature at the surface is , while at a depth of , the temperature is . In 1912, the volume of Beach Hill Pond was . Beech Hill Pond experiences

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and also lacks a

buffer Buffer may refer to: Science * Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas * Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH * Buffering agent, the weak acid or base in a buffer solution * Lysis buffer, in cell biology * Metal ion buffer * ...

in some places. The

Secchi depth The Secchi disk (or Secchi disc), as created in 1865 by Angelo Secchi, is a plain white, circular disk in diameter used to measure water transparency or turbidity in bodies of water. The disc is mounted on a pole or line, and lowered slowly down ...

of the lake was approximately in 1999, in 2003, in 2004, and in 2007.

Shoreline

There is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

located underground on the western side of Beech Hill Pond.

Ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

has been found in it as late as July, causing it to be known as the "Cold Cellar". The terrain at the edges of the Beech Hill Pond is relatively steep. 90 percent of the shoreline of Beech Hill Pond is developed. Development in the area has substantially increased since the early 1950s. Beech Hill Pond can be divided in to five distinct areas: * Turtle Cove * Schoolhouse Cove * Beech Hill Landing / Boatlanding Beach * Cellarshore / Cellar Cove * Beechwood Bay

History

A public

boat landing A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

was built on Beech Hill Pond in 1983. The Pond was allegedly, according to the Town and BHPA, named for the nearby ‘Beech Hill’, which can be seen from the majority of the shoreline.

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

Hill is named for the types of trees found along its rise. In 2012, the ice receded from Beech Hill Pond on March 21, which is the earliest that it has left the lake since at least 1878. Prior to 2012, the earliest the ice had receded was April 2 (in 2006) and the latest it had receded was May 17 (in 1888).

Biology and recreation

Fish found in Beech Hill Pond include

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

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 ...

, smallmouth bass, and several others. Pickerel are rare in the pond and the

white perch The white perch (''Morone americana'') is not a true perch but is a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America. In some places it is referred to as "Silver Bass". The name "White perc ...

population is declining. The largest lake trout in Maine was caught on the lake in 1958. It weighed .

Icefishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

is also done on the lake. Beech Hill Pond was said to be one of the "best bets for Maine lake trout" by Tom Seymour. It is impossible to fish from the lake's shore, although fishing can be done out on the lake. The pond is a coldwater and warmwater fishery. A total of 14 adult

s and one chick were observed on Beech Hill Pond in 2007 and 2008. There are two nesting families of

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s on the lake.

References

External links