Long Pond (Lakeville, Massachusetts)

Long Pond aka Lake Apponequet
Long Pond
Location	Lakeville and Freetown, Massachusetts
Coordinates	41°48′00″N 70°56′58″W / 41.80000°N 70.94944°W / 41.80000; -70.94944Coordinates: 41°48′00″N 70°56′58″W / 41.80000°N 70.94944°W / 41.80000; -70.94944
Primary inflows	Stream fed from marshes
Primary outflows	Long Pond River, aka Snake River
Basin countries	United States

Max. length	4 mi (6.4 km)
Max. width	1 mi (1.6 km)
Surface area	1,721 acres (6.96 km²)
Average depth	9 ft (2.7 m)
Max. depth	12 ft (3.7 m)
Surface elevation	54 ft (16 m)

Islands	3 (Lewis Island, Nelson Island, Goat Island) and Pankhurst canal island

Long Pond is a lake within the towns of Lakeville and Freetown, in southeastern Massachusetts. It shares its waters with Assawompset Pond. These lakes provide a source of drinking water to the city of New Bedford, the largest city in southeastern Massachusetts. Long Pond is roughly one mile wide by four miles long, and contains three islands within its boundaries. In 1894 Assawompset Pond was dammed, increasing the water depth of Long Pond (which is connected by a small river) by about five feet. This created Nelson Island and caused Sunken Island to disappear due to erosion. All that remains of Sunken Island are the rocks in a shallow area just to the north of Lewis Island. Lewis Island is the largest of the three remaining islands today, containing sixteen privately owned cottages, while the second largest island, Nelson Island, was purchased in 2005 and now is a year-round private residence. The smallest island, Goat Island, was recently purchased from the Boy Scouts by a private citizen. Along the perimeter of the lake are many homes and private access points to the waterfront. Long Pond is well known for fishing and boating.

At the northeast corner of the lake is a canal that meanders through the Parkhurst development and is navigable by boat. There is a small bridge that allows foot and road traffic onto the artificial island. In the northwest corner of the lake is a river that feeds into Assawompset Pond, which winds through the marshland before passing under Route 18 and connecting with Assawompset. It is locally known as the "Snake River," but is also labeled as the Long Pond River on some maps.

Islands

There are three islands on Long Pond. They are listed from the southernmost to the northernmost island.

Goat
Lewis
Nelson

Navigational Hazards

The lake has several potentially hazardous areas for boaters. There is a sand bar that connects Nelson Island to the mainland that varies from about three feet to only inches deep, and is sometimes fully exposed in the mid to late summer. Because of the lake's shallow depth (on average around nine feet), many large rocks pose serious threats. Not all of these rocks are clearly marked, but most are.

The largest of these rocks is known as Acre Rock because of its approximate size. It is flat on its top, lies close to the surface and sits midway between the east and west shores of the pond, approximately 1/4 mile north of Hemlock Point at Long Pond's southern end. Acre Rock sits approximately at the town line separating Lakeville and Freetown.

Another hazard to look out for is Sunken Island. It is located about 100 yards north from the north east corner of Lewis Island. Birds can sometimes been seen resting on these rocks.

For a boater inexperienced navigating Long Pond, it is always advisable to remain on the western side of the islands when traveling north or south to avoid the many rocks and sandbars that exist. Also when passing Nelson Island going north or south, always do so in the middle of the channel between the island and shoreline, due to a string of several rocks running north and south off the island's western tip. When entering the lake's southwestern area, to the west of Hemlock Point, avoid the middle of the entrance due to several rocks that are not always marked.

External links

Freetown, Massachusetts

Assonet East Freetown Assonet Bay Assonet River Long Pond Freetown & Lakeville Public Schools Freetown Elementary School Freetown-Lakeville Middle School Apponequet Regional High School Battle of Freetown Freetown-Fall River State Forest John M. Deane Mark A. Howland Marcus Morton

Taunton River Watershed

Tributaries	Assonet River Canoe River Cedar Swamp River Cocasset River Cotley River Forge River Hockomock River Matfield River Mill River Nemasket River Rumford River Salisbury Plain River Satucket River Segreganset River Snake River Taunton River Three Mile River Town River Wading River Winnetuxet River

Lakes/Ponds	Assawompset Pond Great Quittacas Pond Little Quittacas Pond Lake Nippenicket Norton Reservoir Lake Mirimichi Lake Rico Lake Sabbatia Leach Pond Long Pond Pocksha Pond Somerset Reservoir Turnpike Lake Watson Pond Winnecunnet Pond

Miscellaneous	Assonet Bay Hockomock Swamp

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, December 12, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.