The is a
River , 150 mi (240 km) long, in the state of
Maine in the northeastern
United States . It rises in
Moosehead Lake in northern Maine and flows southward past the cities of
Madison ,
Skowhegan ,
Waterville , the state capital
Augusta , and the shipbuilding center of
Bath . Near its mouth, it is joined by the
Androscoggin River , at
Merrymeeting Bay , a 16 mi (26 km) long freshwater, tidal bay.
The river was explored by
Samuel De Champlain in
1604 and
1605 . In
1607 , the
Popham Colony , the first
English colony in
New England , was founded near its mouth. The river, then known as the
Sagadahoc River , also marked the northern border of the
1622 Land Patent of the
Province Of Maine granted to
Ferdinando Gorges and
John Mason . The ''
Virginia Of Sagadahoc '', the first oceangoing vessel built in the New World by English-speaking shipwrights, was launched into the river.
Hundreds of wooden and steel vessels have since been launched on the Kennebec, particularly in
Bath , the so-called ''City of Ships.'' The sole remaining shipyard is the
Bath Iron Works , one of the few yards still building warships for the
United States Navy .
Prior to the industrial era, the river contained many
Anadromous Fish , in particular the
Atlantic Salmon . The exploiting of
Hydroelectric Power in the region reduced the runs of such fish. The removal of dams on the river has been a controversial local issue in recent years. The removal of the
Edwards Dam in
1999 has led to increased anadromous activity on the river.
The river drains a total area of 5,870 square miles (15,200 km²), and on average discharges nearly six billion (5,893 million) US gallons per day into
Merrymeeting Bay at a rate of 9,111 cubic feet per second (258 m³/s).
