Stantec's visualizations of the Orland-Narramissic River before and after dam removal give some sense of what the river might look like without the dam. Different perspective is offered by other reversing tidal falls in Maine, shown in the slideshow below. Being attractive places to people, many tidal falls have roads across them (which can accentuate the falls by restricting them further); others, like the Sullivan Tidal Falls and Basin Cove in Harpswell, have public parks. The rapids are popular with whitewater boaters. The Bagaduce and Damariscotta falls are probably most similar to what might be at Orland.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
A reversing falls at Orland?
Historical documents and engineering studies suggest that beneath the Orland Dam lay a tidal or "reversing" falls. These are fairly unique features in Maine, the result of glacial action and geologic circumstances that create narrow constrictions near the head of tide. Given the tremendous power of moving water, reversing falls were good places to build mills and other industry dependent on water power.
Stantec's visualizations of the Orland-Narramissic River before and after dam removal give some sense of what the river might look like without the dam. Different perspective is offered by other reversing tidal falls in Maine, shown in the slideshow below. Being attractive places to people, many tidal falls have roads across them (which can accentuate the falls by restricting them further); others, like the Sullivan Tidal Falls and Basin Cove in Harpswell, have public parks. The rapids are popular with whitewater boaters. The Bagaduce and Damariscotta falls are probably most similar to what might be at Orland.
Stantec's visualizations of the Orland-Narramissic River before and after dam removal give some sense of what the river might look like without the dam. Different perspective is offered by other reversing tidal falls in Maine, shown in the slideshow below. Being attractive places to people, many tidal falls have roads across them (which can accentuate the falls by restricting them further); others, like the Sullivan Tidal Falls and Basin Cove in Harpswell, have public parks. The rapids are popular with whitewater boaters. The Bagaduce and Damariscotta falls are probably most similar to what might be at Orland.
