Lake Sunapee
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Lake Sunapee is located within Sullivan County and Merrimack County in western New Hampshire, the United States. There are 800 ponds and lakes in New Hampshire, and Lake Sunapee is the fifth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire.
The lake is approximately 8.5 miles long (north-south) and from one-half to three miles wide (east-west), covering 6.4 square miles (4,090 acres), with a maximum depth of between 105' and 144'. It contains eight islands (Great Island, Burkehaven Island, Star Island, Little Island, Loon Lighthouse Island, Emerald Island, Treasure Island and Minute Island) and is indented by several peninsulas and lake fingers, a combination which yields a total shoreline of some 70 miles. There are seven sandy beach areas including Mount Sunapee State Park beach; some with restricted town access. There are six boat ramps to access the lake at Sunapee Harbor, Georges Mills, Newbury and Mount Sunapee State Park, Burkehaven Marina, and a private marina. The lake contains three lighthouses on the National register. The driving distance around the lake is 25 miles with many miles of lake water view. The lake is 1,093 feet above sea level.
The lake's outlet is in Sunapee Harbor, the headway for the Sugar River, which flows west through Newport and Claremont to the Connecticut River and then to the Atlantic Ocean. The lake discharges about 250 cubic feet per second (on average), and the Sugar River drops approximately 800 feet on its 27 mile journey to the Connecticut River.
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[edit] History
Lake Sunapee is a glacial lake. The glaciers deposited large rocks scattered everywhere in the woods when the ice melted about 11,000 years ago. These rocks are called glacial erratics. An example of a large glacial erratic can be found sitting on Minute Island in front of the John Hay Wildlife Refuge accessible along the wildlife shoreline trail.
The Native Americans, probably Algonquins, called the lake Soo-Nipi or "Wild Goose Waters" for the many geese that passed over the lake during migration. Lake Sunapee also resembles a bird (goose) in flight, with the bird's head as the harbor area, from an aerial view, and at times from Mount Sunapee.
Some local people can trace their ancestry back to the Penacooks who hunted geese in the autumn and fished for speckled trout using nets, weirs and spears.
[edit] Cities & Towns
The lake is surrounded by three towns: Sunapee lies to the west, incorporating the villages of Sunapee Harbor, as shown in the photograph, and Georges Mills; Newbury lies to its southeast and southwest; and New London is to its east.
[edit] Facts about Lake Sunapee
- Depth
- At its deepest, Lake Sunapee is about 105' to 144' deep at a point called Hedgehog. Historical maps indicate a depth of 142' but no recent soundings have exceeded 108'. There is a scuba school in Newbury on the lake.
- Water Quality
- The water is exceptionally pure. The water is captured frequently by the LSPA (Lake Sunapee Protective Association) and analyzed at the Colby-Sawyer College aquatic laboratory. The source of much of the water comes from cold underground springs rising from a bedrock aquifer. On a sunny day, objects can been seen to a depth of 30'. The lake has a rocky base (glacial erratics) and is currently milfoil-free, except for a 20 square foot quarantined area.
- Rainfall
- One inch of rainfall on the lake produces 116 million gallons of water. One inch in the 28,800 acre watershed potentially produces nearly 900 million gallons of water in Lake Sunapee.
- Ice Out
- Records have been kept since 1869. Ice Out usually occurs in April each year. Occasionally Ice Out occurs in March or May, including:
- May 10, 1869
- May 10, 1870
- May 03, 1872
- May 06, 1873
- May 09, 1974
- May 12, 1975
- May 11, 1876
- May 12, 1879
- May 06, 1881
- May 07, 1983
- May 02, 1984
- May 07, 1987
- May 04, 1988
- May 13, 1893
- May 03, 1899
- Golden Trout and Sunapee Trout
- Salvelinus aureolus oquassa (Bean 1887). Common Name: blueback trout, Sunapee trout. Other names: Sunapee trout, blueback char, blueback trout, golden trout, white trout.
- The Sunapee Historical Society published a report in 1968 about Sunapee's Golden Trout which had a dull silver color like the females most of the year. The Golden Trout were really White Trout, but in the fall, their nuptial season, the males turned a flaming color, attracting the name Aureolus (Golden Halo). The Golden Trout had a forked tale rather than the square tail of the Brook Trout.
- On January 15, 1921, the Lake Sunapee Fish and Game Club was founded. Rearing tanks were built at Georges Mills in 1922, and 50,000 land-locked salmon, 12,000 chinook salmon, 10,000 silver trout, and 2,000 brook trout, all fingerlings, were reared and planted. By 1940, when the fishery was closed, it had planted 347,403 landlocked and chinook salmon, 196,040 trout, 345,000 mixed trout and salmon, and more than 70 million smelt eggs.
- With the introduction of Lake Trout into Sunapee, which was believed to be an error, the Golden Trout were bred out of existence.
- Fish of Lake Sunapee
- Lake Trout (which bred out the Golden Trout); Landlocked Salmon (Atlantic Salmon) requiring deep, pure cold water; Small Mouth Bass; Chain Pickerel; Yellow Perch; Brown Bullhead Catfish; Rock Bass (Red Eye Bass)—predatory, introduced accidentally into the lake, population controlled with children's fishing contests; Rainbow Smelt; Burbot (Ling Cod).
- Animals of the Watershed
- It is not uncommon to spot a moose swimming across the lake in the morning; Black Bear; Red Foxes; White Tail Deer; Porcupines; Woodchucks; Eastern Cotton Rabbits; Eastern Chipmunks; Eastern Gray Squirrels, Red Squirrels; Northern Flying Squirrels; Raccoons; American Beavers; Muskrats; Mink; Northern River Otters; Long Tail Weasels; American Martins; Fishers.
- Loons
- Nearly every year loon watchers are treated to the awesome sight of loons arriving on Lake Sunapee and fishing en masse. Recorded photos show as many as 40 loons arriving at the same time. The wild calls and yodeling of the loons can be heard morning and night around the lake, although it is believed that the loons do not nest on Lake Sunapee. Also called the Northern Diver, they dive for fish at depths of up to 100 feet and fly in excess of 100 miles an hour. The loon population has been on the upswing, particularly with the use of artificial nesting islands.
- Notable Residents, Past and Present
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- John Hay, former Secretary of State under President Lincoln. Hay's lakeshore estate (called "The Fells") is located within the John Hay National Wildlife Refuge and is open for tours.
- Nobel Laureate Robert Coleman Richardson
- Steve Tyler of the band Aerosmith
[edit] Lake Sunapee Watershed
New Hampshire is divided into five large river basins. The Lake Sunapee watershed is part of the Connecticut River Basin. The watershed is surrounded by high hills and 55 square miles of town lands including parts of Sunapee, Newbury, Sutton, New London, Springfield and Goshen. There are 35 streams or tributaries that empty into Sunapee. The land/water ratio is 7:1. A watershed is an ecosystem of animals, plants, micro-organisms and people who all affect the physical and chemical environment.
- Lakes in the Sunapee Watershed Region
- A large number of lakes lie in the watershed that contributes to Lake Sunapee. Directly upstream from Georges Mills at the north end of the lake is Otter Pond (1125' elevation), which in turn is fed by Little Sunapee Lake. Otter Pond is about 32 feet higher than Lake Sunapee, and Little Sunapee (1220') is about 127 feet higher. Other lakes in the watershed include Ledge Pond (1309'), Baptist Pond, Star Lake, Morgan Pond, Dutchman Pond, Goose Hole, Mountainview Lake (1116'), and Chalk Pond, as well as numerous small, unnamed water bodies.
- Mountains in the Sunapee Watershed Region
- To the north - Leavitt Hill, Hoyt Hill, Sanborn Hill, Morgan Hill; to the south - Mount Sunapee, South Peak, Bly Hill; to the east - Kings Hill, Burpee Hill; to the west - Prospect Hill, Trow Hill, Brown Hill, Burkhaven Hill, Baisdell Hill.
[edit] Lighthouses
There are five lighthouses in New Hampshire; two on the Atlantic shore and three on Lake Sunapee. The Lake Sunapee lighthouses are Loon Lighthouse, Burkehaven Lighthouse and Herrick's Cove Lighthouse.
[edit] The Steamboat Era
Lake Sunapee was a popular vacation area long before the introduction of the automobile. Newbury Harbor contains a colorful antique caboose commemorating the railroad line that passed by, bringing vacationers from other parts of the country. Steamships ferried passengers from the south end of the lake to cottages and large resort hotels around the lake. One of the first commercial boats was actually propelled by horses in 1854.
N.S. Gardner purchased Little Island for $1.00 and put a bowling alley on it. He then launched the Penacook (later renamed Mountain Maid) steamer to carry passengers to Little Island, and so the steamboat era began. The Woodsum brothers launched the Lady Woodsum in 1876. It was 50 feet long and could carry 75 passengers. The 90-foot Edmund Burke was launched in 1885, carrying 600 passengers. In 1887, the Amenia White was launched; it was 101 feet long and carried 650. It was the flagship of the Woodsum fleet and the biggest steamer ever to sail Lake Sunapee.
In 1897 the MV Kearsarge was launched at 70' carrying 250 passengers and sails daily in the summer months. In 1902 the 50' Weetamoo was launched and was later scuttled near Newbury. The ship is still intact and is visited frequently by local SCUBA clubs.
The 50-foot MV Mount Sunapee was launched in 1965 and takes passengers on lake cruises in summer months. The original Mount Sunapee was named Susie Q and had been a rum runner in Damariscotta, Maine.
There were major steamer landings at Sunapee Harbor, Georges Mills, Lakeside Landing, Blodgett Landing, Brightwood, Pine Cliff, Lake Station, Soo-Nipi, Burkehaven, and Granliden to service the grand hotels. The automobile led to the demise of the steamer era.
[edit] Lake Sunapee State Beach
Lake Sunapee has seven white sandy beach areas: Sunapee Harbor; Dewey Beach, Georges Mills, Newbury Harbor, Soo-Nipi, Granliden, and the Sunapee State Beach. The entrance to Sunapee State Beach is on the traffic circle opposite the entrance to the Mount Sunapee ski area in Newbury off Route 103B. There is ample parking. The sandy shore slopes gradually to crystal clear deeper waters allowing bathers an opportunity to wade waist high for some distance from the shore line. The Beach is the starting point for and occasional Iron Man Triathlon one-half mile swim sprint off the beach, followed by a 100 mile bike race around the lake, followed by a marathon run around Lake Sunapee.
[edit] Sunapee Dam
Lake Sunapee was the source of water power for the mills that were built on the banks of the Sugar River as it meandered through Newport and Claremont. Benjamin Giles built the first grist mill in 1768. Later in 1813, James Wolcott built a textile mill in Newport. The flow of water out of Lake Sunapee, however, was not regular; there would be either too much flooding or too much drought. Mills had to shut down in periods of low water.
In 1820, some proprietors formed a group that led to the formation of the Sunapee Dam Corporation which, through an act of the New Hampshire legislature, obtained sole control of the lake's water level. The Dam Corporation lowered the dam threshold to 10 feet below the low water mark with flood gates to control the level of the lake.
Operation of the dam was uneventful from 1820 to 1858. By 1858 tourism became an important industry as more people were attracted to the beauty of Lake Sunapee. As the lake was lowered to power mills, the steamboats had difficulty maneuvering the waters, and farmers had to extend fences out into the water to contain livestock. Docks had to be extended.
The controversy over the management of the water level became more contentious and continued to the turn of the 20th century. The New Hampshire legislature began to shift policy and concluded that (i) Lake Sunapee lake was mismanaged, and (ii) that all the lakes in New Hampshire should be managed for the benefit and access of the public. In 1905, legal actions ensued until finally all the parties to the suit, including the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, founded in that same year, agreed that the lake level must be maintained within the range of 1108.5' and 1111.5' elevation. (DamStory).
[edit] Sailing
Starboats: The Lake Sunapee Yacht Club is host to 23 Starboats, one of the largest inland fleets of Olympic class Starboats. The Sunapee Starboat Regatta is the largest unsanctioned sailing event in the USA.
[edit] Lake Sunapee Protective Association
The LSPA is the oldest environmental association in New Hampshire. The association has been working to protect and preserve lake Sunapee and other lakes in the region since 1898. "The lake is the one jewel that calls us all here," said the first president , Colonel Hopkins of LSPA. LSPA has been testing the waters of Lake Sunapee since 1950. Water is collected regularly and analyzed at Colby-Sawyer College Labs. LSPA is a non-profit educational association.
[edit] Mount Sunapee State Park
Mount Sunapee abuts Lake Sunapee at the mid-southern end of the lake in Newbury. Many people refer to the Sunapee area as "The Tahoe of the East".
Mount Sunapee State Park offers activities for all seasons. Probably best known for the skiing and snowboarding on Mount Sunapee, the park also offers opportunities for front-country camping, hiking, and swimming on the beach on Lake Sunapee.
The park hosts the annual week long exhibition of the League of New Hampshire Craftsman every August.
Depending on weather, the park is open from 9:30 am - 7:30 pm. Entrance fees apply.
[edit] Summer/Winter Activities
- Boat Parade: In August 2006, the 25th annual Boat Parade around Lake Sunapee featured 41 antique "old woodies" in pristine condition. Some of these "old woodies" have been fetched from the bottom of Lake Sunapee and restored. Others have never left Lake Sunapee.
- Sunapee Bike Race: Sanctioned by the USCF. Includes races for children as young as 10 as part of the Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Racing Series.
[edit] References
^ White, Jane (Summer 2006). "The Whole Dam Story". Soo Nipi Magazine XXIII (2): 17–21. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
