place

Scarborough River

Rivers of Cumberland County, MaineRivers of MaineScarborough, Maine
Amtrak downeaster scarborough marsh 2002
Amtrak downeaster scarborough marsh 2002

Scarborough River is a 3.7-mile-long (6.0 km) coastal estuary and river draining through the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine. It empties into Saco Bay between Pine Point Beach and Western Beach and marks the bay's northern end. The main tributaries are the Nonesuch River, Dunstan River, and Libby River, as well as smaller brooks and streams. In its natural state, it was a sediment sink for Saco Bay, storing sediment migrating northward up the bay from the beaches to the south and ultimately from the Saco River. The channel migrated regularly in response to natural events; as it did so, abandoned sand banks would replenish the sand on both Pine Point Beach to the south and Western and Ferry beaches to the north. In the early 17th century, Christopher Levett gave the name of the river, or perhaps the marshes it drains, as Owascoag, after the Abenaki Indian name. The English fishing fleet offshore in 1624 was over 50 vessels, and the shores of the river were settled by fishermen and their families early in the period of English settlement; when the primary road in Maine ran along the coastline for its entire length, a ferry operated across the mouth of the river, running from Pine Point Beach to Ferry Beach. In the late 19th century, Little River Inlet, a tidal reentrant located at the south end of Pine Point Beach, was dammed and diverted into the Scarborough River. In 1962, the Army Corps of Engineers stabilized the river channel, in part by building a jetty at the southern edge of the river mouth. This has allowed a stable river channel for use by those fishing and pleasure boats harbored in the river and for occasional launches from a town-managed dock. The stabilized channel gradually fills with sediment, and has needed to be dredged roughly every five years. Materials from the 2004 dredging were deposited on Western Beach in imitation of the natural sediment flow.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Scarborough River (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Scarborough River
Eastern Trail,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Scarborough RiverContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.5616 ° E -70.3696 °
placeShow on map

Address

Eastern Trail

Eastern Trail
04074
Maine, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Amtrak downeaster scarborough marsh 2002
Amtrak downeaster scarborough marsh 2002
Share experience

Nearby Places

Scarborough Downs

Scarborough Downs Race Track was a horse-racing track located in Scarborough, Maine, United States. It was Maine's largest race track. It was home to The Downs Club restaurant as well as a grandstand for race viewing, and includes 2 track-side lounges as well as a VIP Room. It held its final races on November 30, 2020.Scarborough Downs was constructed in 1949 as a racetrack for thoroughbred horse races and was completed in 1950. It was the only one of its kind in the state. Harness racing was introduced in the 1960s and for a while the track hosted both types of horse racing. However, in September 1972 the track became solely a harness racing track. In the 2000s, owner Joseph Ricci, also known for being one of the founders of the infamous Élan School, introduced simulcast wagering and the track began to offer simulcast races from premier thoroughbred and harness tracks from around North America. On October 1, 1980, a pre-dawn fire at Scarborough Downs, ignited as the result of an overloaded electrical box in a tack room, destroyed a 240-foot barn, killing eleven horses. The track hosted its final race ever on November 28, 2020, due to an agreement with developer Mike Cianchette, great-nephew of former Bangor and Lewiston Track Owner Bud Cianchette. The racing meet will move to Cumberland Fairgrounds which has held long meets before, with the expectation it will be full-time horse racing course by 2022. The 2021 season at Cumberland will be 64 days long total including 2021 fair First Tracks LLC got state approval and a license on February 8, 2021. MaineHealth has been using the facility as a COVID-19 vaccine distribution site since February 2021.