View source for Fore River (Maine)

{{Short description |Estuary in Maine, United States}}
{{Distinguish|Fore River (Massachusetts)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
[[File:Portland (Maine) waterfront 1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Fore River, looking towards Portland from South Portland]]

The '''Fore River''' is a short horn-shaped [[estuary]], approximately {{convert|5.7|mi}} long,<ref>U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic map series: Portland East and Portland West quadrangles</ref> separating [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] and [[South Portland, Maine|South Portland]] in [[Maine]] in the [[United States]]. Many of the port facilities of the Portland harbor are along the estuary, which is formed just southwest of Portland by the confluence of several creeks. The estuary was initially known as Levett's River, so named by the first English settler of the [[Casco Bay]] region, Capt. [[Christopher Levett]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fDcZzZmwcZgC&dq=%22levett's+river%22+maine&pg=PA171 The Beginnings of Colonial Maine, 1602&ndash;1658, Henry S. Burrage, Printed for the State, Marks Printing House, Portland, Maine, 1914]</ref> But shortly afterwards, the estuary came to have the name by which it is known today.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeJpJoopshEC&dq=%22levett's+river%22+maine&pg=PA14 Portland in the Past, with Historical Notes of Old Falmouth, William Goold, B. Thurston & Company, Portland, Me., 1886]</ref>

The [[Stroudwater River]] flows into the Fore River estuary. The [[Cumberland and Oxford Canal]] connected the estuary with [[Sebago Lake]] via the Stroudwater River from 1832 through 1870.  The estuary enters [[Casco Bay]] on the southeast edge of Portland, a short distance after [[Long Creek (Fore River tributary)|Long Creek]] flows into it. Like other coastal areas along the [[Gulf of Maine]], it experiences moderately high tides, and thus the water level in the estuary and the harbor varies greatly throughout the day, leaving mud flats at low tide. It is spanned by the [[Pan Am Railways]] bridge and three highway bridges: the [[Casco Bay Bridge]] which connects Portland to South Portland, [[Veterans Memorial Bridge (Portland, Maine)|Veterans Memorial Bridge]] which carries [[U.S. Route 1|Route 1]], and a causeway which carries [[Interstate 295 (Maine)|I-295]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=portland+maine&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&ei=6L6bUZ26COffiAL8loD4CQ&ved=0CAsQ_AUoAg |title=Portland, ME |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2013 |website=Google Maps |access-date=21 May 2013}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{coord|43|39|42.1|N|70|18|28.2|W|display=title}}

{{Portland, Maine}}
{{Rivers of Maine}}

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[[Category:Geography of South Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Geography of Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Rivers of Cumberland County, Maine]]
[[Category:Port of Portland (Maine)]]
[[Category:Rivers of Maine]]


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