Scarborough River
Encyclopedia
Scarborough River is a 3.7 miles (6 km) coastal estuary and river draining through the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine. It empties into Saco Bay
between Pine Point Beach and Western Beach and marks the bay's northern end. The main tributaries are the Nonesuch River
, Dunstan River
, and Libby River
, as well as smaller brooks and streams.
In its natural state, it was a sediment
sink for Saco Bay, storing sediment migrating northward up the bay from the beaches to the south and ultimately from the Saco River
. The channel migrated regularly in response to natural events; as it did so, abandoned sand banks would replenish the sand on both Pine Point Beach to the south and Western and Ferry beaches to the north.
In the early 17th century, Christopher Levett
gave the name of the river, or perhaps the marshes it drains, as Owascoag, after the Abenaki Indian
name. The English fishing fleet offshore in 1624 was over 50 vessels, and the shores of the river were settled by fishermen and their families early in the period of English settlement; when the primary road in Maine
ran along the coastline for its entire length, a ferry operated across the mouth of the river, running from Pine Point Beach to Ferry Beach.
In the late 19th century, Little River Inlet, a tidal reentrant located at the south end of Pine Point Beach, was dammed and diverted into the Scarborough River. In 1962, the Army Corps of Engineers
stabilized the river channel, in part by building a jetty
at the southern edge of the river mouth. This has allowed a stable river channel for use by those fishing and pleasure boats harbored in the river and for occasional launches from a town-managed dock. The stabilized channel gradually fills with sediment, and has needed to be dredged roughly every five years. Materials from the 2004 dredging were deposited on Western Beach in imitation of the natural sediment flow.
Saco Bay (Maine)
Saco Bay is a small arcuate embayment of the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic coast of Maine in the United States. The name derives "from a map of the coastline made in 1525 by the Spanish explorer Esteban Gómez...
between Pine Point Beach and Western Beach and marks the bay's northern end. The main tributaries are the Nonesuch River
Nonesuch River
The Nonesuch River is a river in southern Maine in the United States. It rises in Saco and travels northeast, then east, then southwest through the town of Scarborough, becoming the primary source of fresh water to the Scarborough Marsh and the Scarborough River...
, Dunstan River
Dunstan River
The Dunstan River is a river in the town of Scarborough in Cumberland County, Maine. Its lower portion flows through salt marshes, and it is a tributary of the tidal Scarborough River.-References:**...
, and Libby River
Libby River
The Libby River is a river in the town of Scarborough, Maine, in the United States. It is tidal in its lower reaches, and it is a tributary of the Scarborough River, joining it just above that river's mouth at the Atlantic Ocean.-References:**...
, as well as smaller brooks and streams.
In its natural state, it was a sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
sink for Saco Bay, storing sediment migrating northward up the bay from the beaches to the south and ultimately from the Saco River
Saco River
The Saco River is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
. The channel migrated regularly in response to natural events; as it did so, abandoned sand banks would replenish the sand on both Pine Point Beach to the south and Western and Ferry beaches to the north.
In the early 17th century, Christopher Levett
Christopher Levett
Capt. Christopher Levett was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine...
gave the name of the river, or perhaps the marshes it drains, as Owascoag, after the Abenaki Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
name. The English fishing fleet offshore in 1624 was over 50 vessels, and the shores of the river were settled by fishermen and their families early in the period of English settlement; when the primary road in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
ran along the coastline for its entire length, a ferry operated across the mouth of the river, running from Pine Point Beach to Ferry Beach.
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
stabilized the river channel, in part by building a jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
at the southern edge of the river mouth. This has allowed a stable river channel for use by those fishing and pleasure boats harbored in the river and for occasional launches from a town-managed dock. The stabilized channel gradually fills with sediment, and has needed to be dredged roughly every five years. Materials from the 2004 dredging were deposited on Western Beach in imitation of the natural sediment flow.