# Richardson Lakes (Maine)

Upper Richardson Lake and Lower Richardson Lake are impounded as a single reservoir by Middle Dam at the outlet to Rapid River on the western shore of the lower lake. Rapid River flows 5 miles (8.0 km) to Umbagog Lake headwaters of the Androscoggin River. Upper Richardson Lake is in the western portion of Richardsontown township, and the lower lake is on the border of Magalloway and Maine Township C. Primary inflow is discharge over Upper Dam on Mooselookmeguntic Lake on the eastern shore of the upper lake. Smaller tributaries entering the north end of the upper lake include Mill Brook draining the Richardson Ponds, Fish Brook draining Fish Pond, and Beaver Brook draining Beaver Pond, Little Beaver Pond, and Aziscohos Pond. Other small tributaries include Rand Brook on the western shore, and Mosquito Brook, Metallak Brook, and Bailey Brook on the eastern shore. The lake offers excellent habitat for adult trout, but with dams on the outlet and major inlet, fish populations are limited by the insufficient spawning and nursery areas of these small tributaries. The public boat launch area at the north end of the upper lake is 1 mile (1.6 km) off Maine State Route 16; and the boat launch area at the south end of the lower lake is accessed by driving 12 miles (19 km) north of Andover on South Arm Road.

## Climate

Climate data for Middle Dam, Maine 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1926-2020: 1460ft (445m) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 59 (15) | 63 (17) | 78 (26) | 86 (30) | 90 (32) | 94 (34) | 94 (34) | 96 (36) | 92 (33) | 81 (27) | 70 (21) | 62 (17) | 96 (36) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 46 (8) | 47 (8) | 57 (14) | 72 (22) | 81 (27) | 87 (31) | 87 (31) | 86 (30) | 82 (28) | 73 (23) | 62 (17) | 50 (10) | 89 (32) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 27.4 (−2.6) | 36.0 (2.2) | 48.0 (8.9) | 61.6 (16.4) | 71.1 (21.7) | 76.2 (24.6) | 75.2 (24.0) | 67.6 (19.8) | 54.2 (12.3) | 41.4 (5.2) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 51.1 (10.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 13.4 (−10.3) | 15.1 (−9.4) | 24.2 (−4.3) | 37.3 (2.9) | 50.3 (10.2) | 60.1 (15.6) | 65.2 (18.4) | 63.9 (17.7) | 56.3 (13.5) | 44.2 (6.8) | 32.8 (0.4) | 21.3 (−5.9) | 40.3 (4.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 2.4 (−16.4) | 2.8 (−16.2) | 12.4 (−10.9) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 38.9 (3.8) | 49.2 (9.6) | 54.2 (12.3) | 52.5 (11.4) | 45.1 (7.3) | 34.3 (1.3) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 12.3 (−10.9) | 29.6 (−1.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −22 (−30) | −17 (−27) | −10 (−23) | 13 (−11) | 27 (−3) | 36 (2) | 44 (7) | 41 (5) | 32 (0) | 23 (−5) | 9 (−13) | −9 (−23) | −23 (−31) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −34 (−37) | −33 (−36) | −28 (−33) | −10 (−23) | 16 (−9) | 28 (−2) | 33 (1) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 12 (−11) | −8 (−22) | −28 (−33) | −34 (−37) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.49 (63) | 2.27 (58) | 2.64 (67) | 3.24 (82) | 3.69 (94) | 4.20 (107) | 4.01 (102) | 3.80 (97) | 3.22 (82) | 4.63 (118) | 3.18 (81) | 3.47 (88) | 40.84 (1,039) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 18.7 (47) | 20.1 (51) | 16.8 (43) | 5.8 (15) | 0.1 (0.25) | trace | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | trace | 1.0 (2.5) | 5.2 (13) | 19.8 (50) | 87.5 (221.75) |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS (snowfall, temp records & monthly max/mins) ||||||||||||||

## Sources

* 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lower Richardson Lake
* 1 2 3 The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (Thirteenth ed.). Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping Company. 1988. p. 18. ISBN 0-89933-035-5.
* 1 2 Maine Depts. of Environmental Protection and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (2005-08-04). "Maine Lakes: Morphometry and Geographic Information". Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, The University of Maine. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
* 1 2 "Richardson Lakes" (PDF). Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game. State of Maine. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
* ↑ Rich, Louise Dickinson (2007). We took to the woods. ISBN 978-0-89272-736-0. OCLC 164603623.
* ↑ "Middle Dam, Maine 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved October 26, 2023.
* ↑ "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 26, 2023.