Saint John Ponds

Upper First Saint John Pond
Upper First Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°02′N 69°59′W / 46.033°N 69.983°W / 46.033; -69.983[1]
Max. length	600 yd (550 m)[2]
Surface area	30 acres (12 ha)[3]
Max. depth	7 feet (2.1 m)[4]
Water volume	105 acre⋅ft (130,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,831 ft (558 m)[1]

Lower First Saint John Pond
Lower First Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°02′N 69°59′W / 46.033°N 69.983°W / 46.033; -69.983[5]
Max. length	800 yd (730 m)[2]
Surface area	26 acres (11 ha)[3]
Max. depth	5 feet (1.5 m)[4]
Water volume	44 acre⋅ft (54,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,831 ft (558 m)[5]

Second Saint John Pond
Second Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°01′N 69°58′W / 46.017°N 69.967°W / 46.017; -69.967[6]
Max. length	0.9 mi (1.4 km)[2]
Surface area	112 acres (45 ha)[3]
Max. depth	5 feet (1.5 m)[7]
Water volume	249 acre⋅ft (307,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,811 ft (552 m)[6]

Third Saint John Pond
Third Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°02′N 69°57′W / 46.033°N 69.950°W / 46.033; -69.950[8]
Max. length	2.7 mi (4.3 km)[2]
Surface area	221 acres (89 ha)[3]
Max. depth	14 feet (4.3 m)[9]
Water volume	2,025 acre⋅ft (2,498,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,617 ft (493 m)[8]

Fourth Saint John Pond
Fourth Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°03′N 69°55′W / 46.050°N 69.917°W / 46.050; -69.917[10]
Max. length	1.1 mi (1.8 km)[2]
Surface area	194 acres (79 ha)[3]
Max. depth	22 feet (6.7 m)[11]
Water volume	2,095 acre⋅ft (2,584,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,460 ft (450 m)[10]

Fifth Saint John Pond
Fifth Saint John Pond
Coordinates	46°08′N 69°54′W / 46.133°N 69.900°W / 46.133; -69.900[12]
Max. length	4 mi (6.4 km)[2]
Surface area	680 acres (280 ha)[3]
Max. depth	20 feet (6.1 m)[13]
Water volume	9,622 acre⋅ft (11,869,000 m3)[3]
Surface elevation	1,394 ft (425 m)[12]

The Saint John Ponds are a chain of shallow lakes at the headwaters of the Baker Branch Saint John River in the North Maine Woods. The flow sequence is from the Upper First Saint John Pond, through the Lower First Saint John Pond, Second Saint John Pond, Third Saint John Pond, and Fourth Saint John Pond to the Fifth Saint John Pond. Flow from one pond to the next is sometimes called Baker Stream rather than the Baker Branch Saint John River.^[2] Great Northern Paper Company dug a canal from Fifth Saint John Pond 2 miles (3.2 km) westward to the North Branch Penobscot River in 1939, and built a dam at the north end of Fifth Saint John Pond so pulpwood logs harvested in the upper Saint John River watershed could be floated down the Penobscot River to Millinocket, Maine. The canal and dam have fallen into disrepair so most drainage from the ponds again flows down the Saint John River. All upstream ponds with the exception of the first had dams to regulate discharge flow for log driving, but those dams have similarly fallen into disrepair. Moose use the ponds as summer refuge from heat and biting insects.^[13]