Long Lake (Maine)

Long Lake
Location of Long Lake in Maine, USA.
Location of Long Lake in Maine, USA.
Long Lake
Location of Long Lake in Maine, USA.
Location of Long Lake in Maine, USA.
Long Lake
LocationBridgton / Harrison / Naples, Maine, United States
Coordinates44°02′00″N 70°39′00″W / 44.03333°N 70.65000°W / 44.03333; -70.65000
Typemesotrophic
Primary inflowsStevens Brook
Primary outflowsSongo River
Catchment area114 sq mi (300 km2)
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length11 miles (18 km)
Max. width1 mile (1.6 km)
Surface area5,295 acres (2,143 ha)
Average depth23 ft (7.0 m)
Max. depth59 ft (18 m)
Water volume129,726 acre⋅ft (160,015,000 m3)
Residence time1.1 years
Shore length138.1 mi (61.3 km)
Surface elevation268 ft (82 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Long Lake[1] is a twelve-mile (19 km) lake between the towns of Naples, Maine, Bridgton, Maine and Harrison, Maine. It is connected to Brandy Pond through the Chute River. Long Lake was created by receding glaciers, and has many coves and rocks.

Canal boats from Portland harbor reached Long Lake through the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, completed in 1832. The canal's Songo Lock facilities still control Long Lake water level. Each November, Long Lake is drained by about three feet (0.91 m) so that melting snow does not cause a flood in the spring. The lake is the site of many summer camps, including Camp Newfound, Camp Owatonna, Camp Takajo, and Camp Wildwood (actually located on nearby Wood's Pond).

The famous author, E.B. White, owned a vacation house on Long Lake in the North Bridgton section. Long Lake is the home of fictional character David Drayton in Stephen King's 1980 novella, The Mist, which was made into a 2007 movie, The Mist. Long Lake is the story's opening setting, as well as origin of the mysterious mist.

While the official max depth is listed as 59 ft (18 m), there is a spring near Half Loon Bay, a small bay near Bridgton Academy, that registers as being 216 ft (66 m) deep, according to depth finders on multiple boats.