The chain of Debsconeag 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 ...

is a tributary to 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 is ...

. The flow sequence is from the Sixth Debsconeag Lake through the Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second, and First into the Debsconeag Deadwater on the West Branch.

First Debsconeag Lake

The first lake is the second-largest of the chain, and holds more water than the combined total of the four smaller lakes. The west end of the first lake receives discharge from the upstream lakes of the Debsconeag chain, while the eastern end overflows into the Debsconeag Deadwater on the West Branch at about the same level as the first lake. The first lake supports a population of

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 ...

and 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 ...

Second Debsconeag Lake

The second lake is the fourth-largest of the chain, but twice as large as the fifth lake. In addition to discharge from the upstream lakes of the Debsconeag chain, the west end of the second lake receives drainage from Big and Little Beaver Ponds, Big and Little Minister Ponds, and Moose Pond. The east end of the second lake overflows into the first lake to the east. The population of native

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 ...

fare poorly in competition with

pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

and

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

Third Debsconeag Lake

The third lake is larger than the combined total of all the other lakes in the chain. Drainage from the fourth lake enters the end of the western arm of the lake, while the northwestern arm of the lake overflows into the second lake to the north. This unusually clear lake supports a native population of brook trout and lake trout.

Fourth Debsconeag Lake

The fourth lake is the third-largest of the chain, and holds more water than the combined total of the three smaller lakes. Drainage from the fifth lake enters the north side of the lake, while the east end of the lake overflows into the third lake to the east. This unusually clear lake supports a few brook trout, but is a more favorable habitat for lake trout.

Fifth Debsconeag Lake

The fifth lake is the second-smallest of the chain. It is three times as large as the smallest sixth lake. Drainage from the upstream ponds enters the west end of the lake, while the east end of the lake overflows into the fourth lake to the southeast. The lake supports a population of native brook trout in competition with introduced yellow perch. Falls below the lake prevent upstream migration into the lake.

Sixth Debsconeag Lake

The sixth lake (sometimes called the sixth ''pond'') is the smallest of the chain. The lake supports a population of native brook trout. The east end of the lake overflows into the fifth lake.

Debsconeag Ponds

The Eighth Debsconeag Pond at drains through the Seventh Debsconeag Pond at into the chain of lakes downstream of the sixth lake and upstream of the fifth lake. These ponds are much smaller than any of the six lakes.

Sources

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