Magaguadavic River
Encyclopedia
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Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
river located in the province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
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The name "Magaguadavic" is a Maliseet / Passamaquoddy
Passamaquoddy
The Passamaquoddy are the First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, primarily in Maine and New Brunswick....
term that is believed to translate into "River of Eels". It is most commonly pronounced "mack-uh-day-vick" or "mack-uh-day-vee".
Description
With a meander length of 129 km (80.2 mi), the Magaguadavic River is the sixth longest river in the province. It rises as an outlet of Magaguadavic Lake in York CountyYork County, New Brunswick
York County is located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county contains the provincial capital, Fredericton. Outside the city, farming and forestry are two major industries in the county, which is bisected by the Saint John River...
, flowing south through a low coastal mountain range called the St. Croix Highlands before emptying into Passamaquoddy Bay
Passamaquoddy Bay
Passamaquoddy Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its western shore bounded by Washington County, Maine. The southernmost point is formed by...
, a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
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The river has 103 named tributaries and 55 lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s draining a watershed measuring 1812 km² (699.6 sq mi).
One of the tributaries drains Lake Utopia into the river and is formally named "The Canal". Occasionally if water levels in the river are high enough, the Magaguadavic will drain into Lake Utopia through The Canal first, before eventually reversing course to drain back through The Canal and discharging into Passamaquoddy Bay.
Communities
The river passes through the following communities from north to south:York County
- Thomaston Corner
- Upper Brockway
- BrockwayBrockway, New BrunswickBrockway is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick....
Charlotte County
- Flume Ridge
- Pomeroy
- Pomeroy Ridge
- Piskahegan
- Lee Settlement
- Second Falls
- Bonny River
- St. GeorgeSt. George, New BrunswickSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
- CaithnessCaithness, New BrunswickCaithness is a Canadian rural community located in Charlotte County, New Brunswick....
* - Mascarene *
Crossings
There are several bridges and one dam crossing the Magaguadavic River, from north to south:- An unnamed railway bridge carrying the New Brunswick Southern RailwayNew Brunswick Southern RailwayThe New Brunswick Southern Railway and Eastern Maine Railway form a 189-mile railway system operating a former Canadian Pacific Railway mainline between Saint John, New Brunswick and Brownville Junction, Maine....
(NBSR) across the river, located approximately 200 m (656.2 ft) south of the beginning of the river at Magaguadavic Lake. This bridge was originally constructed for the European and North American RailwayEuropean and North American RailwayThe European and North American Railway is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine....
and was later operated by the New Brunswick RailwayNew Brunswick RailwayThe New Brunswick Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in western New Brunswick. Its headquarters were in Woodstock.The original NBR lines were built to the narrow gauge of...
and the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
before being purchased by NBSR.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Route 3New Brunswick Route 3Route 3 is 92 kilometres long and goes from Route 1 in St. Stephen to Route 2 at Longs Creek, near Fredericton.From St. Stephen, Route 3 goes north along the west bank of Dennis Stream, through the community of Moores Mills. The road turns northeast through Lawrence Station and mostly uninhabited...
across the river at Thomaston Corner.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Tweedside Rd across the river at BrockwayBrockway, New BrunswickBrockway is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick....
.
- "Magaguadavic River No. 7" is the name for a 63 ft (19.2 m) covered bridgeCovered bridgeA covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
carrying Mill Rd across the river at Flume Ridge. It was built in 1905 and is a Burr Truss design.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Piskahegan Rd across the river at Piskahegan.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Red Rock Rd across the river at Second Falls.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Route 770 across the river at Canal.
- A dismantled unnamed railway bridge that once carried the Grand Southern Railway and was later operated by the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
before being abandoned in 1988.
- Two unnamed highway bridges carrying the westbound and eastbound lanes of the Route 1New Brunswick Route 1Route 1 is an important highway in the southern part of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It begins in the west from the Canada-United States border at St. Stephen, and runs east for to Route 2 at River Glade....
expressway across the river at St. GeorgeSt. George, New BrunswickSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying Brunswick St across the river at St. GeorgeSt. George, New BrunswickSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
.
- The St. George Hydroelectric Station, owned by Saint George Pulp and Power which is a subsidiary of J.D. Irving Limited, has a dam across the river at St. GeorgeSt. George, New BrunswickSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
immediately upstream of a steep gorge that the river plunges into to sea level.
- An unnamed highway bridge carrying South St across the river at St. GeorgeSt. George, New BrunswickSt. George is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.St. George is nicknamed the "Granite Town" and is located on the Magaguadavic River between Passamaquoddy Bay and Lake Utopia. It is 70 km west of Saint John....
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It should also be noted that The Canal is crossed by a single bridge:
- "Canal Bridge" is the name for a 127 ft (38.7 m) covered bridgeCovered bridgeA covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
carrying Canal Rd across The Canal at Canal. It was built in 1917 and is a Howe Truss design.
Further reading
- C. L. Craig, The Young Emigrants: Craigs of the Magaguadavie: a story of the 84th Regiment, Royal Highland Emigrants, Craig family history and the settlement of the Magaguadavic River area of New Brunswick, self-published?, 1985.
External links
- St. George, New Brunswick
- Canal Bridge - Canal Wooden Covered Bridge