Cobbosseecontee Lake

**Lake Cobbosseecontee**
Lake Cobbosseecontee
	A postcard of Pernette Cove
	Lake Cobbosseecontee Lake Cobbosseecontee
Location	Kennebec County, Maine
Coordinates	44°15′N 69°56′W / 44.250°N 69.933°W
Type	Reservoir
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	9 mi (14 km)
Surface area	5,543 acres (2,243 ha)
Max. depth	100 ft (30 m)
Water volume	127,371 acre⋅ft (157,110,000 m3)
Shore length1	62 miles (100 km)
Surface elevation	167 ft (51 m)
Islands	Belle Island, Black Island, Blue Bell Island, Cuba Island, Frog Island, Goodwin Island, Grape Island, Green Island, Hersey Island, Hodgdon Island, Horseshoe Island, Island Park, Ladies Delight Light, Leclair Island, Long Island, Lower Sister Island, Lovers Island, Maple Ridge Island, Merrill Island, Molazigan Island, Packards Ledge, Pine Island, Pinkham Island, Richards Island, Scott Island, Sheep Island, Upper Sister Island
Settlements	Litchfield, Manchester, Monmouth, West Gardiner, Winthrop
	1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Cobbosseecontee, also known as Cobbossee Lake, is a lake located in the towns of Litchfield, Manchester, Monmouth, West Gardiner, and Winthrop in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the largest lake in the Winthrop Lakes Region at 100 feet (30 m) deep, covering about 8.7 square miles (23 km²) in surface area, a length of 9 miles (14 km), and a shoreline of 62 miles (100 km). The word Cobbosseecontee translates to "plenty of sturgeon" in Wabanaki.^[2]

Recreation and physical characteristics[edit]

Lake Cobbosseecontee is known for its beautifully irregular shape, which consists of numerous glacial coves, jetties, and islands. It also has the only active inland waters lighthouse in Maine, Ladies' Delight Light. The 25-foot (7.6 m) high lighthouse, constructed in 1908, is under the ownership and care of the Cobbosseecontee Yacht Club (which changed its name to Cobbosseecontee Lake Association in 2022). Founded in 1904, the club is one of the oldest continually operating inland yacht clubs in the United States. The lighthouse marks the northern edge of a jagged underwater reef that runs down the middle of the lake. The archipelago of islands and exposed ledges are the visible high points of that reef. A state-owned public launch is located on the southwest shore of the lake in East Monmouth. Low hills and ridges surround the lake, and Monks Hill and Allen Hill rise a few miles north of the lake, while a gray line of hills form a barrier near Sabattus.

There are many year-round homes and cottages along the shoreline, with some new developments and gentrification having occurred steadily since the 1990s. The lake is home to Camp Cobbossee, Camp Kippewa, Pilgrim Lodge, and the YMCA Camp of Maine.

Water quality[edit]

Between the 1960s and the early 2000s, Lake Cobbosseecontee's water quality was impaired by severe algae blooms and murky water clarity during the hot summer months, both of which impacted recreation and fish populations quite extensively. However, several cleanup efforts began to surface in the 1970s, likely inspired in part by the EPA's Clean Water Act. A few decades later, the actions had proven successful, and Cobbosseecontee's water quality rapidly improved throughout the 90's and 2000's as phosphorus runoff decreased and the natural springs that feed the lake began to "flush out" many of the remaining pollutants. As of May 2007^[update], Cobboseecontee's water quality rivaled that of other clearwater lakes, with many boaters able to see over 8 feet (2.4 m) down, on occasion.^[3]

Fishing[edit]

The lake is nationally recognized as one of the best fishing lakes in America, mostly due to its impressive populations of Largemouth bass and Northern Pike.^[4] Despite both species being considered invasive in Maine, many anglers flock to Cobbosseecontee each season to hunt down these aggressive predators. There are also many other types of popular fish that can be found in the lake, including brook trout, brown trout, rainbow smelt, white perch, yellow perch, bullheads, sunfish and crappie. A popular bass fishing technique on Cobbosseecontee involves casting or slowly trolling around the lake's numerous islands, coves, and ledges during the summer months, while the pike are subsequently most active in these same areas during winter.

References[edit]

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cobbosseecontee Lake
^ John C. Huden, Indian Place Names of New England (New York: Museum of the American Indian, 1962), 55.
^ "Cobbossee Lake Restored: 35 Years of Sustained Work Succeeds" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. May 2007 – via EPA.gov.
^ "Three Maine lakes ranked nationally for bass fishing". 3 May 2013.

External links[edit]

[gnis-1] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cobbosseecontee Lake

[2] John C. Huden, Indian Place Names of New England (New York: Museum of the American Indian, 1962), 55.

[3] "Cobbossee Lake Restored: 35 Years of Sustained Work Succeeds" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. May 2007 – via EPA.gov.

[4] "Three Maine lakes ranked nationally for bass fishing". 3 May 2013.

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v t e Kennebec River Watershed
Tributaries	Abagadasset River Carrabassett River Dead River East Branch Eastern River East Branch Moose River East Branch Sebasticook River Eastern River Lemon Stream Little River Moose River Moxie Falls North Branch Dead River Roach River Sandy River Sebasticook River South Branch Dead River South Branch Moose River South Branch Sandy River West Branch Carrabassett River West Branch Eastern River West Branch Moose River
Lakes	Annabessacook Lake Attean Pond Brassua Lake China Lake Cobbosseecontee Lake East Pond Embden Pond Enchanted Pond First Roach Pond Flagstaff Lake Great Moose Lake Great Pond Indian Pond Long Pond (Belgrade Lakes) Long Pond (Moose River) Maranacook Lake Messalonskee Lake Moosehead Lake Moxie Pond Narrows Pond North Pond Pleasant Pond Sebasticook Lake Spencer Lake Staples Pond Unity Pond Wood Pond Wyman Dam
Towns	Albion Anson Athens Augusta Bath Belgrade Benton Bingham Burnham Caratunk Chesterville China Clinton Corinna Detroit Dexter Embden Fairfield Farmingdale Farmington Gardiner Greenville Hallowell Harmony Hartland Jackman Kingfield Madison Manchester Monmouth Moscow New Portland New Sharon New Vineyard Newport Norridgewock Oakland Phillips Pittsfield Readfield Richmond Rockwood Rome Saint Albans Sidney Skowhegan Solon Smithfield Stratton Strong Unity Vassalboro Vienna Waterville Wilton Winslow Winthrop Woolwich
Landmarks	Mount Abraham Arnold Trail Augusta Memorial Bridge Bath Iron Works Bigelow Preserve Mount Bigelow Carlton Bridge Crocker Mountain Fort Halifax Harris Station Dam International Railway of Maine Kennebec Central Railroad Maine Kennebec Bridge Major Reuben Colburn House Pearl Harbor Remembrance Bridge Mount Redington Sagadahoc Bridge Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad Somerset and Kennebec Railroad Somerset Railroad Spaulding Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain Togus