RANGELEY LAKES, MAINE: FISHES, ANGLING, AND FISH CULTURE. 



491 



head; and one on the Androscoggin below the mouth of the Magalloway, at Errol, 14 

 feet high with 14-foot head. The present dams are mentioned in connection with the 

 individual lakes controlled by them. 



There is much outlying or tributary water composed of lakes and streams, some of 

 which are of considerable size. Some of the ultimate headwaters of these Rangeley 

 Lakes aflfluents are in close proximity to the headwaters of other river systems, as the 

 Connecticut, St. Lawrence, and Kennebec, but doubtless in most, if not all, instances 

 there are topographical barriers to the interpassage of fishes. 



There are no available date, as to when the lakes begin to freeze or which 

 freezes first. The time of freezing depends greatly upon the season, and probably the 

 smaller bodies of water will be completely frozen first. The time of the breaking up 

 and clearing of the lakes varies also with the season. 



The phenomenon of the clearing of the lakes of ice is usually referred to as "going 

 out. " One says, "The ice has gone out of the lakes, " as though it had at some particu- 

 lar time left by the way of the outlet. As a matter of fact, its departure is mainly by 

 the reverse process of its coming; the melting process, however, is aided by winds and 

 waves, which drive the ice about and dash it against the shores. 



The depth to which the lakes freeze depends upon the weather conditions, but the 

 Rangeleys oftentimes freeze at least 3 feet. On April 7, 1893, it was reported that the 

 ice was 28 inches thick, all solid blue ice; about the middle of March, 1895, Jt was said 

 to be fully 3 feet thick, one-half of which was solid blue ice and the rest snow ice; and 

 on April 19, of the same year, it was stated that the ice was 22 inches thick. 



The following statement shows the dates of the clearing of the lakes from 1875 to 

 1 91 5, inclusive: 



187s May 28 



1876 May 26 



1877 May 6 



1878 Apr. 26 



1879 



1880 May 8 



1881 May IS 



1882 May 21 



1883 May 14 



1884 May II 



rSSs May 16 



1886 May 5 



1887 May 20 



1888 May 23 



1889 Apr. 29 



1890 May 9 



1891 May 14 



1892 May 9 



1893 May 21 



1894 May 2 



1895 May 7 



1896 May 9 



1897 May 12 



1898 May 6 



1899 May 7 



1900 May 15 



1901 May 4 



1902 Apr. 28 



1903 Apr. 29 



1904 May I 



1905 May 2 



1906 May 13 



1907 May 19 



1908 May 10 



1909 May 14 



1910 Apr. 19 



1911 May 13 



1912 May 3 



1913 May 4 



1914 May 18 



1915 Apr. 29 



OQUOSSOC LAKE. 



Oquossoc or Rangeley Lake proper, sometimes called Upper Rangeley Lake, is the 

 uppermost of the series. It is generally but irregularly rhomboidal in shape but with 

 long coves at each angle — Rangeley Cove at the northeast, Greenvale Cove at the south- 

 east. Outlet Cove at the northwest, and South Bog Cove at the southwest. The other 

 pmncipal coves, named in order from the eastward, are Hunter and Smith Coves on the 

 north and South and Little South Coves on the south. The islands are few in number, 

 principally Dicksons, northwestward of Greenvale Cove, and South Bog Islands at the 

 entrance of South Bog Cove. 



