Saint Francis River (Canada–United States)

The St. Francis River (French: Rivière Saint-François) is a river roughly 75 miles (120 km) long, which forms part of the Canada–United States border. The river rises (47°44′07″N 69°17′15″W) in a lake of the same name located 12 miles (20 km) east of the Rivière du Loup in Quebec. The portion that forms the boundary starts at the bottom of Lake Pohenegamook at the very northernmost point of New England between Estcourt Station, Maine, and Estcourt, Quebec. The river along the international boundary flows south and then south-east through two deep, narrow lakes to its mouth on the Saint John River at St. Francis, Maine/Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick.^[1]

Saint Francis River
Saint Francis River from Petit-Témis
Show map of Maine Show map of Quebec Show map of the United States
Etymology	Saint Francis Xavier
Native name	Rivière Saint-François (French)
Location
Country	Canada, United States
State (US)	Maine (United States)
Providence (Canada)	Quebec (Canada) New Brunswick (Canada)
County (US)	Northwest Aroostook (Maine) St. Francis (Maine)
Region (Canada)	Bas-Saint-Laurent (Quebec) Rivière-Bleue (Quebec) Saint-François Parish (New Brunswick)
Physical characteristics
Source	Saint-Hubert-de-Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec (Québec)
• coordinates	47°40′36″N 69°21′19″W
• elevation	359 metres (1,178 ft)
Mouth	St. Francis (Maine) Saint-François Parish (New Brunswick); flowing in Saint John River
• coordinates	47°10′49″N 68°54′14″W
• elevation	163 metres (535 ft)
Length	102.4 kilometres (63.6 mi)
Basin features
Landmarks	Kelly Rapids
Tributaries
• left	(from the mouth) Canadian Tuladi Brook, Bogasse Brook, Petite coulée Creuse, Coulée Creuse Brook, Jim Brook, Pelletier brook, Botsford Brook, Bleue River, Providence Brook, Beaupré Brook (discharge of Volcan Lake), Des Saules Brook, discharge of Morrison Lake and Yards Lake, Turner Brook, Cascades Brook, Armstrong Brook, Castonguay Brook.
• right	(from the mouth) Falls Brook, Yankeetuladi Brook, Jones Brook, Dead Brook, Wildcat Brook, Rousseau Brook, Chouinard Brook, Bouchard Brook, Boucanée River, Cèdres Brook, Black Brook.
Waterbodies	Beau Lake, Glazier Lake

USS Bancroft (DD-256) became a Canadian ship as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement and was renamed after the St. Francis River to follow the Canadian tradition of naming destroyers after Canadian rivers while recognizing the shared national history of the ship.^[2]

Beau Lake

Beau Lake
Lac Beau (French)
Beau Lake Show map of Maine Beau Lake Show map of Quebec
Location	Temiscouata Regional County Municipality (Quebec) Aroostook County, Maine
Coordinates	47°20′N 69°03′W
Type	Lake
River sources	Saint Francis River
Basin countries	Canada United States
Max. length	5 mi (8.0 km)[3]
Max. width	1 km (1,100 yd)[3]
Surface area	1,795 acres (726 ha)[4]
Max. depth	180 feet (55 m)[5]
Water volume	138,678 acre⋅ft (171,057,000 m3)[4]
Surface elevation	575 ft (175 m)[3]
References	[3][4][5]

Saint Francis River passes through Beau Lake on the border between Maine and Quebec. The river enters the north end of Beau Lake 15 miles (24 km) downstream of Lake Pohenegamook and leaves the south end of Beau Lake 13 miles (21 km) upstream of the Saint John River confluence.^[3] Beau Lake is one of the deepest lakes in northern Maine. The lake is ideal habitat for lake trout, brook trout, and land-locked Atlantic salmon; but these species are in competition with a large population of yellow perch, and muskellunge are migrating into the lake from downstream.^[5]

Glazier Lake

Glazier Lake
Lac Glazier (French)
Glazier Lake Show map of Maine Glazier Lake Show map of New Brunswick
Location	Madawaska County (New Brunswick) Aroostook County, Maine
Coordinates	47°13′40″N 69°00′00″W
Type	Glacial lake
River sources	Saint Francis River
Basin countries	Canada United States
Max. length	5.5 mi (8.9 km)[3]
Surface area	703 acres (284 ha)[4]
Max. depth	118 feet (36 m)[6]
Water volume	47,001 acre⋅ft (57,975,000 m3)[4]
Surface elevation	559 ft (170 m)[3]
References	[6]

Saint Francis River passes through Glazier Lake on the border between Maine and New Brunswick. The river enters the north end of Glazier Lake 3 miles (4.8 km) downstream of Beau Lake and leaves the south end of Beau Lake 4 miles (6.4 km) upstream of the Saint John River confluence. Tributaries to the lake include Yankeetuladi Brook on the Maine side, and Canadian Tuladi Brook on the New Brunswick side.^[3] Glazier Lake is deep and narrow similar to Beau Lake, and offers similarly suitable habitat for lake trout, brook trout, salmon, and muskellunge.^[6]

See also

• Lake Pohenegamook, a water body of Quebec
• Saint-Hubert-de-Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, a municipality
• Saint-Honoré-de-Témiscouata, Quebec, a municipality
• Pohénégamook, Quebec, a municipality
• Rivière-Bleue, Quebec, a municipality
• Témiscouata Regional County Municipality, in Quebec
• Saint-François Parish, New Brunswick, a municipality
• Madawaska County, a county of New Brunswick
• Blue River (St. Francis River), a stream
• Boucané River, a stream
• Saint John River, a stream
• List of rivers of Quebec
• List of rivers of New Brunswick
• List of rivers of Maine

References

1. Bailey 1894 pp. 27–28
2. Milner 1985 p. 23
3. The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (13th ed.). Freeport, Me.: DeLorme Mapping Co. 1987. ISBN 0899330355. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
4. Maine Depts. of Environmental Protection and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (2005-08-04). "Maine Lakes: Morphometry and Geographic Information". Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, The University of Maine. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
5. "Beau Lake" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. State of Maine. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
6. "Glazier Lake" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. State of Maine. Retrieved 16 May 2016.

• Bailey, J. W. (1894). The St. John River in Maine, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Cambridge: Riverside Press. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
• Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.