The West Branch Pleasant River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 22, 2011

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Piscataquis River The Piscataquis River is a major tributary of the Penobscot River, found in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. It starts from the confluence of its East Branch and West Branch () in Blanchard. The river flows in a mostly eastern direction ...

Piscataquis County Piscataquis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,800, making it Maine's least-populous county. Its county seat is Dover-Foxcroft. The county was incorporated on March 23, 1838, ta ...

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 ...

. From a location north of Fourth West Branch Pond () in Shawtown (Township A, Range 12, WELS), the river runs about counterclockwise around the White Cap Mountain

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, then about southeast to its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the East Branch of the Pleasant River in Brownville. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

crosses the West Branch () at The Hermitage Preserve in Bowdoin College Grant East (T.7 R.10 NWP). The Hermitage contains a roughly grove — one of the few stands of

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

Eastern White Pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...

remaining in New England. Just upstream from The Hermitage is

Gulf Hagas Gulf Hagas is a gorge located in the mountains of northern Maine woods and is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Maine. The West Branch of the Pleasant River cuts through the earth for three miles creating a vertically walled slate gorge w ...

(), a water-formed

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

. The river falls in the canyon, including multiple

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s. Gulf Hagas and The Hermitage are among the 14

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

s in Maine, designated in 1968 and 1977 respectively.

References

*
Maine Streamflow Data from the USGSMaine Watershed Data From Environmental Protection Agency
Tributaries of the Penobscot River Rivers of Piscataquis County, Maine Rivers of Maine {{Maine-river-stub

See also

References