The river is joined at The Forks by its tributary the Dead River, also called the West Branch.[2]. The removal of the Edwards Dam in 1999 has led to increased anadromous activity on the river. "I felt something prehistoric...and I was like freaking out. [5] Changes in the industry since the mid-20th century have resulted in the decline in US shipbuilding, as jobs moved offshore. They also killed and scalped Fr. The sole remaining shipyard in Bath is the Bath Iron Works, owned by General Dynamics; this is one of the few yards still building warships for the United States Navy. Two additional river stage gauges (no flow data) are in Augusta (44°19′06″N 69°46′17″W / 44.31833°N 69.77139°W / 44.31833; -69.77139 (Augusta, Maine)) and Gardiner (44°13′50″N 69°46′16″W / 44.23056°N 69.77111°W / 44.23056; -69.77111 (Gardiner, Maine)); both of these gauge heights are affected by ocean tides.[20]. In 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain navigated the coast of what is now Maine, charting the land and rivers of what was then called New France, L'Acadie, including the Kennebec as far upriver as present-day Bath, as well as the St. Croix, and Penobscot rivers. Although the shortnose sturgeon is an endangered species, the Kennebec River has some of the best habitat for sturgeon in Maine. Segments of the East Coast Greenway run along the Kennebec.

In 1837, the Edwards Dam was built across the Kennebec River, just shy of the limit of tidal influence. [citation needed], The river drains 5,869 square miles (15,200 km2), and on average discharges 5.893 billion US gallons (22,310,000 m3) per day into Merrymeeting Bay at a rate of 9,111 cubic feet per second (258.0 m3/s). The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river flows southward. KENNEBEC RIVER (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The Atlantic sturgeon is an endangered fish that is making a comeback in Maine. An increase in raptor populations, such as ospreys, bald eagles, herons, cormorants, and kingfishers, is evident. © 2020 NEWS CENTER Maine.

The first is at Indian Pond (45°30′40″N 69°48′39″W / 45.51114°N 69.81080°W / 45.51114; -69.81080 (Indian Pond, Maine)) where the rivershed is 1,590 square miles (4,100 km2). Flow here has ranged from 1,160 to 232,000 cu ft/s (33 to 6,570 m3/s). A U.S. Coast Guard cutter breaks ice on the Kennebec River near Bath, Maine; March 2005, The Kennebec at the capital city of Augusta, The name "Kennebec" comes from the Eastern Abenaki /kínipekʷ/, meaning "large body of still water, large bay".[3]. Bath became known as the "City of Ships".

"It hit me in the back of the head and then flipped over me and landed on Patty," she told NEWS CENTER Maine. In 1999, the dam was removed, after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determined that the ecological benefits of removing it outweighed the value of the electricity it produced, and refused the renewal of the dam license.

It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. During the War of 1812, United States and British Canadian forces fought at the Battle of Hampden in Maine. The city of Waterville and the towns of Winslow, Skowhegan, Norridgewock, Madison, Anson, and Bingham were all related to the lumber trade. The settlers built the Virginia of Sagadahoc, the first oceangoing vessel built in the New World by English-speaking shipwrights. Scientists do not know why sturgeon leap into the air. Following the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, the US enjoyed a lengthy period of expansion of international trade, which increased the demand for shipbuilding and stimulated the growth of maritime fleets.

Tributaries of the Kennebec include the Carrabassett River, Sandy River, and Sebasticook River. Made of timber and concrete, it extended 917 feet (280 m) across the river and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. Introduced smallmouth bass will suffer from the re-introduced striped bass, which tend to feed on young smallmouth bass. An English trading post, Cushnoc, was established on the Kennebec in 1628. By April 2, 1987, the river had crested at 34.1 ft (10.4 m) above the normal 13 ft (4.0 m) flood stage, meaning the river rose 21 ft (6.4 m). The United States government maintains three river flow gauges on the Kennebec river. It has finally happened on the Kennebec. The Maine Central Railroad and U.S. Route 201 were later constructed to make use of the flatlands along the river through these towns and cities. The removal of dams on the river has been a controversial local issue in recent years. Over the last 20 years, people have seen fish of ever-increasing size leaping into the air along several Maine rivers, especially the Kennebec.

At 8000 cubic feet per second, these Kennebec River Turbine Tests are the biggest whitewater releases in Maine. With waterways the most accessible travel routes, the Kennebec River served as an early trade corridor to interior Maine from the Atlantic coast. They cut it by hand, floated the huge chunks to an ice house on the bank, and stored it until spring. In 1976 Suzanne and Wayne Hockmeyer, of Kennebec Whitewater Expeditions (now Northern Outdoors), pioneered whitewater rafting through the Kennebec gorge just below Harris Station Dam. The exploiting of hydroelectric power in the region reduced the runs of such fish. [8][9], Abenaki warriors along the Kennebec resisted English encroachment by armed confrontations, in what American historians sometimes refer to as Father Rale's War (1722–1725). Ocean ships could navigate upstream as far as Augusta. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. The cities of Bath, Gardiner, Hallowell and Augusta, and the towns of Woolwich, Richmond and Randolph, all developed along this transportation corridor.

[16], Despite several negative visual and environmental factors at first, the ecosystem is healing itself. Prins, Harald E.L. 1984 "Foul Play on the Kennebec: The Historical Background of Fort Western and the Demise of the Abenaki Nation", "Maine's Ice Industry" by Richard Judd, in, "Bath's Historic Downtown - History Overview", "Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada", "About Northern Outdoors, Maine Rafting Resort Pioneer", "Kennebec River Turbine Test Releases - Maine White Water Rafting", "Kennebec Dam Removal — Freeing Maine's Kennebec River", "20 Years Later, Conservationists Celebrate Edwards Dam Removal", "Edwards Dam and Kennebec River Restoration", "Water Resources Data - Maine, Water Year 2001", West Branch Narraguagus River (Cherryfield), West Branch Narraguagus River (Hancock County), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kennebec_River&oldid=979281423, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW, Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW with an wstitle parameter, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 September 2020, at 21:35.