From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ausable River
The
Ausable River
(
), also known as
AuSable River
and originally written as "
Au Sable
", runs in the U.S. state of
New York
, from the
Adirondack Mountains
and past the village of
Lake Placid
and
Au Sable Forks
to empty into
Lake Champlain
(at
44°33′40″N
73°25′25″W
/
44.56111°N 73.42361°W
/
44.56111; -73.42361
). It has an East and West branch that join at Au Sable Forks. The river forms a partial boundary between
Clinton County
and
Essex County
. The Ausable River is known for its
gorge
,
Ausable Chasm
, located a few miles east of
Keeseville
.
The Ausable River is 94 miles (150 km) long and drains a watershed of 516 square miles (1,340 km
2
).
[1]
It was originally named "Au Sable" (French for "sandy") by
Samuel de Champlain
when he first explored the region in 1609 because of its extensive sandy
delta.
[1]
West Branch Ausable River
[
edit
]
Wilmington High Falls
The West Branch of the Ausable arises from the
confluence
of the MacIntyre, South Meadow and Marcy Brooks, east of
Mount Jo
near the
Adirondak Loj
; it then runs 36 miles (58 km) northeast to
Au Sable Forks
(
44°26′25″N
73°40′28″W
/
44.44028°N 73.67444°W
/
44.44028; -73.67444
), and is fed by
Lake Placid
and the
Chubb River
along the way. At high water-levels, the upper end provides demanding white-water paddling opportunities. Further along, it runs through High Falls Gorge at the Wilmington Notch, a gorge formed by a fault zone, with 700-foot (210 m) cliffs on one side and 1,700-foot (520 m) cliffs on the other.
[2]
East Branch Ausable River
[
edit
]
The East Branch arises from Upper and Lower Ausable lakes in the Ausable Valley, which forms the south side of the
Great Range
. The first 4 miles (6 km) are especially scenic, and can be viewed from trails on either side maintained by the
Adirondack Trail Improvement Society
. The river is then met by the Cascade Brook which flows from the Cascade Lakes, beneath
Cascade Mountain
, on its way to Au Sable Forks.
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
AuSable River Valley Bridges MPS
- ^
Jamieson, Paul and Morris, Donald,
Adirondack Canoe Waters, North Flow
, Lake George, NY:
Adirondack Mountain Club
, 1987, pp. 259?260.
ISBN
0-935272-43-7
.
- ^
Jamieson, Paul and Morris, Donald,
Adirondack Canoe Waters, North Flow
, Lake George, NY:
Adirondack Mountain Club
, 1987, pp. 270?272.
ISBN
0-935272-43-7
.
