Sebago Lake

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Sebago Lake is the deepest and second largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is 316 feet deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of 101 feet, covers about 45 square miles in surface area, has a length of 12 miles and a shoreline length of 105 miles. The surface is around 270 feet above sea level, so the deep bottom is below the present sea level. It is located in Cumberland County, Maine and bordered by the towns of Casco, Naples, Raymond, Sebago, Standish and Windham. The seasonally occupied town of Frye Island is on an island in the lake.

The lake is connected to Brandy Pond by the Songo River and eventually to Long Lake in Naples. The name comes from a local Native American tribe. The lake is drained primarily by the Presumpscot River. The outlet to the river has been dammed since 1875 by the Eel Weir Dam and the Head Dam, owned and operated by one of the paper companies operating in Maine.

Water Supply

Sebago Lake is the primary water supply for the Portland Water District, which serves the Greater Portland region and about 15% of Maine's population. The lake's watershed is more than 50 miles long and covers parts of 24 Maine towns.

The lake holds roughly 995 billion gallons of water that on average resides 5.1 to 5.4 years in the lake. The direct watershed is about 171 square miles of land plus the 45 square miles of the lake, and the indirect watershed about 190 square miles of land plus about 28 square miles of other bodies of water. As of May 1990, roughly 86% of the watershed was forests and fallow fields, 2.5% in active timber operations, 9.3% in residential, agricultural, and commercial use, and 2.2% used for other purposes. Water inflow is estimated at 544 million gallons per day and outflow at 498 million gallons per day, of which 24 million gallons/day are for the water district.

Recreation

In 1938, Maine opened Sebago Lake State Park as one of its original five state parks. The area was a recreation center even before this. The park is now 1,400 acres (mostly forested), open year-round, and has facilities including two public boat launches and a 250-site campground. There are also numerous private campgrounds, cottages, and other recreational facilities in the area. Sebago Lake is located in the portion of Maine that the Maine tourism industry refers to as the Lakes Region.

Fishing

The lake contains natural populations of land-locked salmon (Salmo salar sebago) and smelt. When the last major glaciers retreated, the entire watershed was under seawater, and populations of these marine animals became established as the land rose and sea waters retreated. Other game fish that can be found in the lake include lake trout, brook trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and northern pike. Some of these are stocked by the state, either in the lake directly or in connected bodies of water, while others were introduced illegally. The state encourages anglers to kill, hold, and notify them of all northern pike taken in the lake because they were introduced illegally, are not native to the region, and could disrupt the lake ecosystem.

External links

• [Portland Water District - Sebago Lake Facts]

References