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South Twin Lake (Maine)
Encyclopedia
South Twin Lake having about 3200 acres (12.9 km²) is wholly within Penobscot County, Maine
. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Millinocket, Maine
and is part of the Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
. The lake is centered at 45°37.25′N 68°51′W and has spillway elevation 492 feet (150 m) above sea level. It is part of the watershed
of the West Branch
of the Penobscot River
.
There is a State-sponsored boat access ramp in Partridge Cove off Maine State Route 11 at 45.59920°N 68.82070°W ′format=dms". Parallel to the east side of the lake is Route 11 and the tracks of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
. The north south extent of the lake is about 1.8 miles (3 km) at the east end due to the extent of Partridge Cove at the southeast corner of the lake and the same at the west end due to Lincoln Cove at the northwest end. The average width of the lake appears to be 1.25 miles (2 km) roughly north to south and about 4 miles (6 km) long in a WNW direction. A gravel-surfaced road called Turkey Tail services the south side camps and connects to Route 11 at Partridge Cove. The lake has several rocks which are navigation hazards and in the spring of the year, one should be on the lookout for drifting logs.
Ice has gone out as soon as April 13, but sometimes has gone out later. The lake is surrounded by second growth forests consisting of hemlock
, red spruce
, balsam fir
and scattered white pines
. The broad-leaf component of the forest is aspen
, white
and yellow birch
, red oak, red
and sugar maple
and black ash. Tributaries include Lincoln Brook at the northwest end, and east and west Ragged Brooks coming in from the south. Fish include yellow
and white perch
, atlantic salmon
, brook trout
, eel
s, chain pickerel
, hornpout, whitefish
, chub
s. Henry David Thoreau
passed this lake in the evening of Saturday, September 5, 1846 while paddling up North Twin Lake, but did not enter South Twin.
The history is primarily that of the North Twin Dam. Thoreau mentions that there is an abundance of large white pine around South Twin. In 1836 and 1839, the Maine legislature passed acts whereby dams could be built at Chesuncook and North Twin Lake. Apparently the North Twin dam was not built in 1839 but by 1846 the dam had a 12 feet (3.7 m) head. This was raised to 16 feet (4.9 m) in 1867. The present dam was established by the Great Northern Paper Company in 1903–04 and was built by J.B. Mullen.
Penobscot County, Maine
Penobscot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. For U.S. Census statistical purposes, it is part of the Bangor, Maine, New England County Metropolitan Area . As of 2010, the population was 153,923...
. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Millinocket, Maine
Millinocket, Maine
Millinocket is a former mill town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,203 at the 2000 census. Millinocket is both a forest products and recreational area.-History:...
and is part of the Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes
The Pemadumcook Chain of Lakes are a set of large lakes in north-central Maine in the United States.- Name:Thoreau's Pamadumcook or Joseph Chadwick's Bennedumcook is rendered by the United States Geographical Board in an 1897 decision as "Pemadumcook Lake".-Geography:The Pemadumcook chain of lakes...
. The lake is centered at 45°37.25′N 68°51′W and has spillway elevation 492 feet (150 m) above sea level. It is part of the watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the West Branch
West Branch Penobscot River
The West Branch Penobscot River is a tributary of Maine's Penobscot River. The river flows from Seboomook Lake in Seboomook, Somerset County; the lake's principal inflows are the North Branch and South Branch Penobscot River...
of the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
.
There is a State-sponsored boat access ramp in Partridge Cove off Maine State Route 11 at 45.59920°N 68.82070°W ′format=dms". Parallel to the east side of the lake is Route 11 and the tracks of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Its Canadian subsidiary is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company. The entire system is owned by Rail World,...
. The north south extent of the lake is about 1.8 miles (3 km) at the east end due to the extent of Partridge Cove at the southeast corner of the lake and the same at the west end due to Lincoln Cove at the northwest end. The average width of the lake appears to be 1.25 miles (2 km) roughly north to south and about 4 miles (6 km) long in a WNW direction. A gravel-surfaced road called Turkey Tail services the south side camps and connects to Route 11 at Partridge Cove. The lake has several rocks which are navigation hazards and in the spring of the year, one should be on the lookout for drifting logs.
Ice has gone out as soon as April 13, but sometimes has gone out later. The lake is surrounded by second growth forests consisting of hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
, red spruce
Red Spruce
Picea rubens is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.-Physical description:...
, balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
and scattered white pines
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
. The broad-leaf component of the forest is aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
, white
White Birch
White Birch may refer to:* Betula papyrifera* Betula pendula* Shirakabaha, Japanese literary group* The White Birch , Norwegian recording artists...
and yellow birch
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...
, red oak, red
Red Maple
Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...
and sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
and black ash. Tributaries include Lincoln Brook at the northwest end, and east and west Ragged Brooks coming in from the south. Fish include yellow
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
and white perch
White perch
The white perch, Morone americana, is not a true perch but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America.The name "white perch" is sometimes erroneously applied to the white crappie....
, atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....
, brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
, eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s, chain pickerel
Chain pickerel
The chain pickerel, Esox niger , is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the american pickerel belong to the Esox genus of pikes.-Range:...
, hornpout, whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
, chub
Chub
The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...
s. Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
passed this lake in the evening of Saturday, September 5, 1846 while paddling up North Twin Lake, but did not enter South Twin.
Islands and Reefs
Larger islands include Oak Island near the south shore just east of Ragged Brook and Peanut Island, having some large boulders in the northeast part of the lake. There is a reef of rocks extending north from Peanut Island to the Rock Pile which is on the northern boundary of South Twin Lake.History
Citations
- The Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau
- The Penobscot Boom and the Development of the West Branch of the Penobscot River for Log Driving 1825–1931 by Alfred Geer Hempstead, Copyright 1975