Mooselookmeguntic Lake is located in Franklin County and Oxford County,

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 ...

, in the United States. It is part of the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River ( Abenaki: ''Aləssíkαntekʷ'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

watershed. It is located in the western part of Maine, near the border with the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and the Canadian province 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 ...

. The lake is just a few miles from 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 ...

. There are two islands in the southern portion of Mooselookmeguntic Lake called "Toothaker Island" and "Students Island".

Name

The name "Mooselookmeguntic" is an Abnaki word for "moose feeding place." Variant names listed by the USGS include "Mooselocmaguntic Lake" and "Mooselookmeguntick Lake".

Hydrology

Mooselookmeguntic Lake receives water from several sources. The Cupsuptic River flows into Cupsuptic Lake, which is directly connected with the northern part of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. The Rangeley River and Kennebago River both flow into northeastern Mooselookmeguntic Lake. The lake's waters flow out to the southeast, into

Upper Richardson Lake Upper Richardson Lake and Lower Richardson Lake are impounded as a single reservoir by Middle Dam at the outlet to Rapid River on the western shore of the lower lake. Rapid River flows to Umbagog Lake headwaters of the Androscoggin River. Upper R ...

. There is a dam between the two lakes called "Upper Dam". The dam raised the level of Mooselookmeguntic Lake about 14 feet, causing it to become joined to Cupsuptic Lake forming a reservoir. The two lakes had been separate before the dam was built. Mooselookmeguntic Lake's maximum depth is and its surface area is . It is the sixth largest lake in Maine. Mooselookmeguntic Lake's elevation is above sea level.

Environment

The lake has a variety of fish, and is a popular tourist attraction for fishing. It is surrounded by the

Stephen Phillips Memorial Preserve The Stephen Phillips Memorial Preserve is land and islands on Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Maine. Extending over 6,000 acres, it is one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the state. The Preserve was created in 1963 as a means of protecting th ...

protected wilderness area.

In literature

Lake Mooselookmeguntic is the location of the action in the book "Magic Thinks Big", an illustrated children's book by Elisha Cooper. The book features paintings of one of the islands in the lake, as well as a panorama of the lake.

References

External links

* {{authority control Reservoirs in Maine Lakes of Franklin County, Maine Lakes of Oxford County, Maine North Maine Woods Northern Forest Canoe Trail