242 IRVING B. CROSBY 



The Grand Trunk Railway occupies a pass in the hills near 

 Bryant Pond with a summit elevation of 720 feet above the sea 

 or 85 feet above the Androscoggin at Bethel. From Bryant Pond 

 the Little Androscoggin River flows southeasterly and joins the 

 Androscoggin at Lewiston with a retrograde course. At Snows 

 Falls in the town of Paris the valley is blocked by a rock hill and the 

 stream is crowded into a very narrow gorge. The height of the 

 pass and the obstruction at Snows Falls make it appear that this 

 is not the preglacial course of the Androscoggin. However, glacial 

 outwash material in the valley and pass indicate that in glacial 

 times a large stream flowed this way. 



The postglacial origin of the lower part of the Little Andros- 

 coggin is shown by its retrograde course and its interruption 

 by two falls. The preglacial course was probably through Poland 

 into CascoBay. 



The present course of Crooked River and the basin of Sebago 

 Lake will now be considered. Crooked River joins the Songo 

 River a little north of Sebago Lake and the joint stream is tributary 

 to that lake. If Crooked River is followed upstream, a surprising 

 discovery is made: its source is only two miles from the Andros- 

 coggin near Bethel and the divide separating the two rivers is only 

 35 feet above the Androscoggin (Fig. 5). 



The examination of Crooked River and the basin of Sebago 

 Lake makes it appear that this route was occupied during pre- 

 glacial times by a large river which flowed southerly from Bethel. 

 This stream was formed in the vicinity of Bethel by the junction 

 of two major streams. One of these headwater streams came 

 from the Mount Winthrop Divide and the other from the north, 

 probably receiving tributaries from the valleys of Sunday and 

 Bear rivers. For convenience this preglacial stream will be referred 

 to as the " Sebago River." 



The character of the valley of Crooked River becomes of great 

 importance when considered as a possible course of a large river. 

 The valley is broad and has a direct course with no sharp turns. 

 The name of the stream implies a crooked course, but the windings 

 are all of minor magnitude ; they are the meanders of a small stream 

 flowing in a broad valley of low gradient. 



