York River (Maine)


The York River is a stream in southeast Maine, United States. It is tidal for over half of its length. It rises at York Pond in Eliot, and conjoined by brooks and creeks, feeds the tidal section. The York River flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at York Harbor in the town of York.
The Abenaki name for the York River was Agamenticus, which means "Beyond-the-hill-little-cove". According to Eben Norton Horsford, Agamenticus "described the site of the mouth of Little York River to one approaching it from the north, as it lay behind the hill called by the Indians "Sassanows". Little York River, a short tidal river, was the "Beyond-the-hill-little-cove."

Legislation

On May 23, 2013, Rep Chellie Pingree introduced the York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2013 into the United States House of Representatives. If passed, the bill would require the National Park Service to study a segment of the York River in the state of Maine for potential addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The study would be to determine how the proposed designation would affect current recreational and commercial activities. The study would cost approximately $500,000.