The Dead River, sometimes called the West Branch, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed June 30, 2011

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in central

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its source is Flagstaff Lake, where its two main tributaries,

South Branch Dead River The South Branch Dead River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 tributary of the Dead River in Franklin County, Maine. From the outflow of Saddleback Lak ...

and

North Branch Dead River The North Branch Dead River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 tributary of the Dead River in Franklin County, Maine. It is paralleled by Maine State R ...

, join (). It flows generally east to join the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...

The Forks, Maine The Forks is a plantation in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 48 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the plantation has a total area of , of which is land and (4.46%) is water. T ...

. The Dead River played a role in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. In the fall of 1775 then newly commissioned Colonel

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

led a force of over 1000 men on a grueling trip through Maine, as part of the invasion of Canada. Ascending the Kennebec in

bateau A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. Th ...

x, they avoided the rapids of the lower Dead River via a

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

of about at the "Great Carrying Place" ( Carrying Place– Carrying Place Town, Maine

Townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

1–2, Range 3, BKP WKR) to a position above Long Falls (now drowned in Flagstaff Lake). They proceeded up the North Branch of the Dead River, through the Chain of Ponds to Arnold Pond in Coburn Gore (T.2/3 R.6 WBKP), and across the

height of land A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

into the watershed of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Chaudière River The Chaudière River (French for "Cauldron" or "Boiler"; Abenaki: Kik8ntekw) is a river with its source near the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in southeast Quebec, Canada. From its source Lake Mégantic in the Estrie region, it runs northwards to flo ...

. The

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

industry is prominent in the area. Flagstaff Lake was formed by Long Falls Dam in 1950, to regulate the flow of the Dead River into the Kennebec River. At the time, the river drive was still a primary means of delivering timber to the pulp mills downstream. Although improved highways and the trucking industry have replaced the river drive, water releases continue to serve hydroelectric power-generating plants downstream.

Recreation

The majestic Bigelow Mountain Range looks down from Flagstaff Lake's southern shore, making the Dead River region a scenic favorite for outdoor enthusiasts. It is a popular river with

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 ...

boaters and rafters. The whitewater releases are controlled from Flagstaff Lake, which has been dammed and made into a reservoir, and range from 1200 to 7000 ft³/s (35–200 m³/s) and range in difficulty from easy class 2 to class 4+. The length of the run is from the put-in at Spencer Stream to the take-out at West Forks with no easy access by road. Boaters must be prepared for at least 5 hours of paddling of varying difficulty. There are 8 whitewater releases every rafting season with 7,000+cfs releases in the spring, 3500cfs in the summer and 6000cfs in the fall. The

Northern Forest Canoe Trail The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is a marked canoeing trail in the northeastern United States and Canada, extending from Old Forge in the Adirondacks of New York to Fort Kent, Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states ...

(NFCT) is a marked

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

route extending from Old Forge,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to Fort Kent,

. From a four-mile portage between Wrangler on

Wrangler Lake Wrangler Lake is a lake located in Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a few miles from the Wapiti Lake Trailhead. Description ''The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide'' describes the lake as fishless. There is a roundtrip tr ...

and Dallas Plantation on the South Branch, the trail runs about down the Dead River, to the mouth of Spencer Stream below Grand Falls.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Tributaries of the Kennebec River Rivers of Franklin County, Maine Rivers of Somerset County, Maine North Maine Woods Northern Forest Canoe Trail Rivers of Maine