Mooselookmeguntic Lake
Mooselookmeguntic Lake is a lake in the western part of Maine. It is near the border of New Hampshire and the Canadian province of Quebec. It is inside two counties; Franklin and Oxford. It is part of the Androscoggin River watershed. The lake is just a few miles from the Appalachian Trail.
| Mooselookmeguntic Lake | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Franklin / Oxford counties, Maine, United States |
| Coordinates | 44°54′18″N 70°48′32″W / 44.90500°N 70.80889°WCoordinates: 44°54′18″N 70°48′32″W / 44.90500°N 70.80889°W |
| Lake type | mesotrophic |
| Catchment area | 389 sq mi (1,010 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 16,300 acres (6,600 ha) |
| Average depth | 60 ft (18 m) |
| Max. depth | 132 ft (40 m) |
| Water volume | 562,121 acre·ft (693,366,000 m3) |
| Residence time | 1.1 years |
| Shore length1 | 57.5 mi (92.5 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,467 ft (447 m) |
| Islands | Toothaker Island, Students Island |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Geography
Mooselookmeguntic Lake gets water from several rivers. These are the Cupsuptic River, the Rangeley River in Rangeley and the Kennebago River.
The lake's waters flow out to the southeast, into Upper Richardson Lake. There is a dam between the two lakes. It raises the level of Mooselookmeguntic Lake about 14 feet. When the dam was built, this connected Mooselookmeguntic with Cupsuptic Lake. The two lakes had been separate before.[1] The new lake is used as a reservoir.
Mooselookmeguntic Lake's deepest part is 132 feet (40 m). Its surface area is 25.5 square miles (66 km2).[2] It is the fourth largest lake in Maine. Mooselookmeguntic Lake is 1,467 feet (447 meters) above sea level.
There are two large islands south of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. These are named "Toothaker Island" and "Students Island".
River name
The name "Mooselookmeguntic" is really an Abnaki word that means "moose feeding place".
There is a local story that a Native American was hunting moose in the area, and he saw one. The native had forgotten to load his rifle with ammunition, but shot at the animal anyway. Thinking he had ruined his rifle, he began yelling at the moose about his bad luck. He said: "Moose, look! My gun stick"! This is only a legend but is told often as history.[3] Because of this, another spelling sometimes used is Mooselookmeguntick Lake.[3]
Mooselookmeguntic Lake is one of the longest place names in the United States. It is tied in third place with Kleinfeltersville, a small town in Pennsylvania. They both have 17 letters.[4][5]
Fishing
The lake has a good variety of fishes,[1] and is a popular tourist attraction for fishing.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Fishes of Mooselookguntic and Cupsuptic Lakes" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and WIldlife (Maine gov). 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Maine Fishing Depth Maps: Lakes & Ponds by County. DeLorme. 2007. ISBN 978-0-89933-350-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nile, LeRoy (15 August 1948). Tales of the Rangeley Lakes. Knowlton & McLeary Co. p. 128.
- ↑ "Domestic Names - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)". U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Ash, Russell (10 November 2011). Boring, Botty and Spong. RHCP. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4090-9739-6. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ David P. Boucher (March 2008). "Mooselookmeguntic Lake Fishery Management". Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.