Chamberlain Lake is one of the largest and deepest lakes in the

North Maine Woods The North Maine Woods is the northern geographic area of the state of Maine in the United States. The thinly populated region is overseen by a combination of private individual and private industrial owners and state government agencies, and is di ...

. The lake originally drained north through

Eagle Lake Eagle Lake may refer to: Cities, towns, townships etc. Canada * Eagle Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario * Eagle Lake, Parry Sound District, Ontario * Eagle Lake 27, Ontario (Indian reserve) * Eagle Lake, Kenora District, Ontario United States * ...

and Churchill Lake into the

Allagash River The Allagash River is a tributary of the Saint John River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 in northern Maine in the United States. It d ...

tributary to the Saint John River. Nineteenth-century logging operations diverted the lake into the Penobscot River before designation of the

Allagash Wilderness Waterway The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is a protected area extending from Aroostook County, Maine into Piscataquis County, Maine. It is a ribbon of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams of the Maine North Woods that includes much of the Allagash River T ...

in 1966.

History

Telos Lake drained into the south end of Chamberlain Lake until the Telos Cut was excavated in 1841 to allow Telos Lake to drain east into Webster Lake and the Penobscot River. In the 1850s Eben S. Coe built the timber crib Lock Dam across the outlet from Chamberlain Lake causing Chamberlain Lake to overflow southward through Round Pond, Telos Lake, Webster Lake and Webster Brook into the

East Branch Penobscot River The East Branch Penobscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 22, 2011 tributary of Maine's Penobscot River. It flows in Piscataquis County, Maine, Piscataqu ...

Baxter State Park Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park in Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County in north-central Maine, United States. It is in the North Maine Woods region and borders the Katahdin Woods and Wat ...

. These changes allowed logs harvested in the upper Saint John River watershed to be floated to Bangor sawmills. The combined level of Chamberlain Lake, Round Pond, and Telos Lake has subsequently been regulated by Telos Dam.

Togue habitat

Summer water temperatures range from 64° near the surface to 52° in the deepest pools. Cold water with high dissolved

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

concentrations provides good habitat for togue if water levels are stable after autumn spawning occurs in the rocky shallows.

Lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

and

round whitefish The round whitefish (''Prosopium cylindraceum'') is a freshwater species of fish that is found in lakes from Alaska to New England, including the Great Lakes. It has an olive-brown back with light silvery sides and underside and its length is ge ...

are the main food source for Chamberlain Lake togue. The lake also supports brook trout.

Sources

{{authority control Lakes of Piscataquis County, Maine North Maine Woods Penobscot River Lakes of Maine