York River (Maine)

York River
York River in 1908
Location
Country	United States
State	Maine

National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Recreational
Designated	December 29, 2022^[1]

The York River is a 13-mile-long (21 km)^[2] stream in southeast Maine, United States. It is tidal for over half of its length. It rises at York Pond in Eliot, and conjoined by brooks and creeks, feeds the tidal section. The York River flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at York Harbor in the town of York.

The Abenaki name for the York River is Agamenticus, which means "Beyond-the-hill-little-cove". According to Eben Norton Horsford, Agamenticus "described the site of the mouth of Little York River to one approaching it from the north, as it lay behind the hill called by the Indians "Sassanows" (the modern Agamenticus). Little York River, a short tidal river, was the "Beyond-the-hill-little-cove."

Legislation

[edit]

On May 23, 2013, Rep Chellie Pingree introduced the York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2013 (H.R. 2197; 113th Congress) would have required the National Park Service to study a segment of the York River for potential addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.^[3] The study would be to determine how the proposed designation would affect current recreational and commercial activities.^[4]^[5]

The 2023 federal government funding bill (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023) designated the York River as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. A stewardship committee will be created to manage more than 30 miles of the river and land around it.^[6]

References

[edit]

^ "National Wild and Scenic Rivers System". rivers.gov. National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 30, 2011
^ "CBO - H.R. 2197". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
^ "H.R. 2197 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
^ McDermott, Deborah (30 January 2013). "Renewed effort aims to designate York River 'Wild and Scenic'". Seacoast Online. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
^ "York River earns 'Wild and Scenic' National Park Service designation". Maine Public. 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2023-01-01.

Eben Norton Horsford, The Indian Names of Boston, and Their Meaning; John Wilson & Son, University Press, Cambridge 1886

External links

[edit]

History of Sewall's Bridge
"York River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 30 September 1980. Retrieved 2009-09-17.

43°7′45″N 70°38′15″W / 43.12917°N 70.63750°W / 43.12917; -70.63750

Gulf of Maine estuaries

Maine

Bays	Blue Hill Bay Casco Bay Chandler Bay Dennys Bay Englishman Bay Frenchman Bay Harrington Bay Machias Bay Maquoit Bay Merrymeeting Bay Muscongus Bay Narraguagus Bay Passamaquoddy Bay Penobscot Bay Pleasant Bay Saco Bay Wohoa Bay
River mouths	Batson River Benjamin River Cape Neddick River Damariscotta River Johns River Jordan River Josias River Kennebunk River Little River (Boothbay) Little River (Drakes Island) Little River (Georgetown) Little River (Goosefare Bay) Little River (York) Morse River Mousam River Ogunquit River Pemaquid River Piscataqua River Sheepscot River Sprague River Webhannet River York River

Massachusetts

Bays	Cape Cod Bay Massachusetts Bay
River mouths	Annisquam River Eagle Hill River Egypt River Ipswich River Jericho Creek Merrimack River Roger Island River Rowley River Skug River

New Brunswick

Bays	Bay of Fundy Chignecto Bay Cumberland Basin Passamaquoddy Bay Shepody Bay
River mouths	Big Salmon River Quiddy River Saint John River

New Hampshire

River mouths	Blackwater River Hampton River Piscataqua River

Nova Scotia

Bays	Bay of Fundy Annapolis Basin Cobequid Bay Cumberland Basin Minas Basin St. Marys Bay
River mouths	Tusket River

Rivers of Maine by drainage system

Bay of Fundy

Passamaquoddy Bay

Saint John River Watershed

Casco Bay

Fore River Watershed	Fore River Long Creek Stroudwater River South Branch Stroudwater River
Presumpscot River Watershed	Bear River Chute River Crooked River East Branch Piscataqua River Little River Muddy River North Branch Little River Northwest River Piscataqua River Pleasant River Presumpscot River Songo River Sticky River Tenny River
Others	Cousins River Harraseeket River Little River New Meadows River Royal River

Gulf of Maine

Blue Hill Bay (Union River Watershed)	Bog River East Branch Union River Little Bog River Middle Branch Union River Union River West Branch Union River
Chandler Bay	Sandy River
Dennys Bay	Dennys River Hardscrabble River Orange River
Englishman Bay	Chandler River East Branch Chandler River Englishman River
Frenchman Bay	Jordan Stream Skillings River
Harrington Bay	Harrington River Mill River
Little River Watershed	Little River (Drakes Island) Merriland River
Machias Bay (Machias River Watershed)	Crooked River East Machias River Machias River Maine River Middle River West Branch Machias River
Mousam River Watershed	Littlefield River Middle Branch Mousam River Mousam River
Narraguagus Bay (Narraguagus River Watershed)	Little Narraguagus River Narraguagus River Spring River West Branch Narraguagus River (Cherryfield) West Branch Narraguagus River (Hancock County)
Pleasant Bay (Pleasant River Watershed)	Little River Pleasant River West Branch Pleasant River Western Little River
Piscataqua River Watershed	Great Works River Little River Neoutaquet River Piscataqua River Salmon Falls River
Sheepscot River Watershed	Back River Cross River Dyer River Marsh River Sasanoa River Sheepscot River West Branch Sheepscot River
Wohoa Bay	Indian River Southwest Branch Indian River West River
Others	Batson River Benjamin River Cape Neddick River Damariscotta River Johns River Jordan River Josias River Kennebunk River Little River (Boothbay) Little River (Georgetown) Little River (Goosefare Bay) Little River (York) Morse River Ogunquit River Pemaquid River Sprague River Webhannet River York River

Merrymeeting Bay

Androscoggin River Watershed

Kennebec River Watershed

Muscongus Bay

Saint George River Watershed	Back River Dead River East Branch Oyster River Mill River Oyster River Saint George River West Branch Oyster River
Others	Back River (Medomak) Back River (Meduncook) Goose River Medomak River Meduncook River

Penobscot Bay

Penobscot River Watershed

Others

Saco Bay

Saco River Watershed	Charles River Cold River Hancock Brook Kezar River Little Cold River Little Ossipee River Little River Little Saco River Mad River Middle Branch Mad River Old Course Saco River Ossipee River Saco River Shepards River South Branch Mad River South River Tenmile River West Branch Tenmile River
Others	Dunstan River Libby River Nonesuch River Scarborough River Spurwink River

Protected areas of Maine

Federal

National Parks and Historic Sites	Acadia National Park Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
National Wildlife Refuges	Aroostook Carlton Pond Waterfowl Production Area Cross Island Franklin Island Maine Coastal Islands Moosehorn Petit Manan Pond Island Rachel Carson Seal Island Sunkhaze Meadows Umbagog
National Forests	White Mountain
National Cemeteries	Acadia National Cemetery Togus National Cemetery
National Trails	Appalachian Trail
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Wells
National wild and scenic rivers	Allagash Wilderness Waterway York River

State

State Parks	Allagash Wilderness Waterway Androscoggin Riverlands Aroostook Baxter Birch Point Bradbury Mountain Camden Hills Cobscook Bay Crescent Beach Damariscotta Lake Ferry Beach Fort Point Grafton Notch Holbrook Island Sanctuary Lake St. George Lamoine Lily Bay Mackworth Island Moose Point Mount Blue Mount Kineo State Park Owls Head Light State Park Peacock Beach Peaks-Kenny Penobscot River Corridor Popham Beach Quoddy Head Range Ponds Rangeley Lake Reid Roque Bluffs Shackford Head Sebago Lake Swans Falls Campground Swan Lake Two Lights Vaughan Woods Warren Island Wolfe's Neck Woods
State Historic Sites	Bible Point Colburn House Colonial Pemaquid Eagle Island Fort Baldwin Fort Edgecomb Fort Halifax Fort Kent Fort Knox (Penobscot Narrows Observatory) Fort McClary Fort O'Brien John Paul Jones Katahdin Iron Works Mayall Mills Whaleback Shell Midden
State Forests	Durham

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry