Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)

The Saint John River is very long.

It flows through Maine and New Brunswick. It ends at the Bay of Fundy.

Many people lived here a long time ago. The Wolastoqiyik people called the river Wolastoq. This name means it is a good river.

The river has many trees and plants. Some plants are rare to find here. The land is good for farming too.

Sometimes the water rises very high. This happens in the spring when snow melts.

This can cause floods in the towns.

It is a very important place in North America. Do you like to see big rivers?

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\n\nThe Wolastoqiyik people call the river the Wolastoq. This name means \"beautiful river.\" The river was their home for a long time.

\n\nIn the middle part, the land has rolling hills. The soil is very good for farming. This area has special forests. You can find rare plants like wild ginger there.

\n\nThe river can be very powerful. In the spring, melting snow makes the water rise. This can cause big floods in towns like Fredericton.

\n\nNear the end, the river meets the sea. The tides from the ocean push into the river. At a place called Reversing Falls, the tide is so strong it makes the river flow backward. This makes the river a very exciting place to study.", "media": [ "File:Disputed Border in the East.jpg", "File:Wohngebiet Maliseet.png", "File:Saint John River monument marker, Fredericton, New Brunswick.jpg",

The Saint John River is a major waterway in North America. It is the longest river in eastern Canada. The river starts in the Notre Dame Mountains near the Quebec border. From there, it flows through northern Maine and western New Brunswick. Finally, it reaches the northwest shore of the Bay of Fundy.

This river has a very long history with the land. The Wolastoqiyik and Passamaquoddy peoples lived along its banks for a long time. The Wolastoqiyik call the river the Wolastoq. This name means "bountiful and good."

For these people, the river was a place for hunting and fishing. They even built villages in places that were safe from seasonal floods. Their culture remains closely tied to this beautiful river today.

The middle part of the river is a special place for nature. The land has rolling hills and very fertile soil. This makes it a great place for farming in New Brunswick. You can find rare plants here, such as wild ginger and maidenhair fern.

This area is part of the Saint John River Valley Hardwood Forest. Most of this forest is gone now due to human activity. Only about one percent of the original forest remains.

The river is also very powerful because of the ocean tides. Near the end of its journey, the river meets the Bay of Fundy. At a place called Reversing Falls, the incoming tide is very strong. It is strong enough to force the river to flow backward.

This creates a narrow, deep gorge where the salt water meets the fresh water.

Because the river is so large, it can sometimes cause trouble. In the spring, melting snow and heavy rain make the water rise quickly. This can lead to large floods in towns like Fredericton and Saint John. Flooding has been recorded in this valley for more than 300 years. Some big floods happened in 1923, 1936, and 1973. More recently, major floods occurred in 2018 and 2019. Scientists watch these patterns closely as the climate changes.

The Saint John River is a major waterway in eastern North America. It is the longest river in eastern Canada. The river begins in the Notre Dame Mountains near the border of Maine and Quebec. It flows through northern Maine and western New Brunswick. Finally, it empties into the northwest shore of the Bay of Fundy. Its drainage basin is one of the largest on the east coast of North America.

The river has a deep history with the Wolastoqiyik and Passamaquoddy peoples. The Wolastoqiyik call the river the Wolastoq, which means "bountiful and good." These people used the river for hunting, fishing, and trading. They lived in the Dawnland and had cultural ties across North America. They understood the river's patterns very well. For example, they built villages like Meductic above the floodplain. They cultivated crops at lower elevations where floodwaters provided natural fertilizer.

European explorers arrived in the region in the early 1600s. Samuel de Champlain visited the mouth of the river in 1604. He named it the Rivière Saint-Jean, or the Saint John River in English. During the 1600s, French and English fur traders competed for resources. This competition brought new goods but also new diseases. These diseases reduced the Wolastoqiyik population to less than one thousand by 1612. Later, Acadian colonists settled the lower river valley. The Wolastoqiyik became strong allies of the Acadians during various conflicts.

The river's geography is divided into three distinct basins. The upper basin contains the headwaters in the New England and Acadian forests. This area includes the Allagash River and the Madawaska River. The middle basin runs from the confluence of the Aroostook and Tobique rivers. This section flows southeast toward the Mactaquac Dam. This area is the only place in Atlantic Canada where Appalachian Hardwood Forest grows. This specific forest type is called the Saint John River Valley Hardwood Forest.

In the middle basin, the land features rolling hills and very fertile soils. These soils are fine, loamy, and well-drained. They consist of glacial tills sitting over limestone and sandstone. Because of this, the area is heavily farmed in New Brunswick. The climate here is warmer and drier than the surrounding regions. Rare plants grow here, including wild ginger, black raspberry, and maidenhair fern. However, human activities have reduced this forest to less than one percent of its original size.

The lower basin includes lakes, islands, wetlands, and a tidal estuary. It flows toward Saint John Harbour on the Bay of Fundy. One notable feature is the Kennebecasis River, which is a fjord with a sill. A sill is a rise in depth near the mouth of a fjord. Near the Reversing Falls, the river forms a narrow, deep gorge. Here, the incoming tide is so strong it forces the river to flow backward. A wedge of salt water also extends upriver beneath a layer of fresh water.

Water flow in the river changes significantly with the seasons. The average discharge is 1,100 cubic meters per second. Flow is lowest in the autumn. During the spring freshet, the flow can be six times the average rate. This high volume of water often causes flooding in the valley. Surface runoff from heavy rain, rapid snowmelt, and ice jams can all cause floods. Flooding has been documented in this area for more than 300 years.

Major floods have affected many towns, including Edmundston and Fredericton. Significant floods occurred in 1923, 1936, and 1973. In 1936, high temperatures caused fast snowmelt and heavy rain. This raised the water level to 5.5 meters above the summer level. More recent major floods happened in 2018 and 2019. Scientists believe the frequency of flooding may increase due to climate change. It is predicted that temperatures in New Brunswick will rise by 5 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The river also played a role in international politics. A dispute arose over the border between the United States and Canada. The Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842 eventually established the boundary. It set the border along approximately 200 kilometers of the river. This settled the line between New Brunswick and Maine. The river remains a vital part of the landscape and the economy today. It is regulated by hydroelectric dams like the Mactaquac Dam.