Amazing Facts about Sebago Lake
Sebago is the deepest lake in Maine (316 feet) with average depth of
107 feet.
Lake shoreline is 105 miles long, in seven towns -- Casco, Naples,
Raymond, Sebago, Standish, Windham and Frye Island.
If the shoreline of Sebago was pulled into a straight line it would
stretch from Kittery to Augusta or the length of the entire Maine Turnpike.
Sebago is is 28,771 acres in size (45.6 square miles). It is second
largest lake in Maine, 3rd largest in New England.
Sebago contains almost one TRILLION gallons of water. That's 830,000
gallons for every person living in Maine.
More than twice as much water evaporates from Sebago each day (49 million
gallons) than is drawn from the lake by the Portland Water District (22
million gallons).
Sebago contains nine natural sand beaches, most significant natural
inland beaches in organized territories of Maine.
Sebago's largest, Frye Island, is 800 acres and its own town.
Sebago is home to 28 species of fish.
Sebago has the present or former state record lake dwelling Atlantic
salmon, brown trout, chain pickerel, lake whitefish and cusk.
Sebago is site of world rod and reel record for lake dwelling Atlantic
salmon, 22.5 pounds, caught in 1907.
Sebago Lake is the water supply for over 200,000 people. It is the largest
public water supply in Maine.
Sebago is home to a rare plant called the Awlwort (Subularia aquatica),
a species of special state concern.
Area draining into Sebago: 436 square miles.
Headwater is Songo Pond, Bethel and small streams draining off White
Mountain National Forest on the Maine-New Hampshire border.
Bottom can be seen at depths from 24 to 45 feet depending on season
and annual variability.
Sebago is called an "oligotrophic" lake, meaning it is deep,
clear and infertile.
Nearly 500 acres of wetlands are connected to the lake. Vegetation includes
red maple, birch, willow, larch, Atlantic white cedar, alder, bayberry,
steeplebush, cattail, rushes and sedges.
Wetlands provide habitat for following animals: common loon, Canada
goose, mallard duck, black duck, bufflehead, wood duck, common merganser,
hooded merganser, great blue heron, American bittern, common snipe, greater
yellowlegs, mink, otter, muskrat, raccoon, whitetail deer, moose, water
shrew.
Upland animals near Sebago can include: black bear, oven bird, great
horned owl, wood thrush, deer mouse, chipmunk, gray squirrel, red squirrel,
woodland jumping mouse, northern flying squirrel, southern red-backed vole,
red fox, gray fox, smoky shrew, white-tailed deer, moose, bobcat, snowshoe
hare, longtailed shrew, porcupine, coyote, fisher.
Reptiles and amphibians near and in Sebago Lake include: spring peeper,
gray tree frog, red spotted newt, bullfrog, painted turtle, snapping turtle.
Fish species include brook trout, lake dwelling Atlantic salmon, lake
whitefish, lake trout*, burbot, smallmouth bass*, largemouth bass*, chain
pickerel, white perch, yellow perch, black crappie*, redbreast sunfish,
pumpkinseed, rainbow smelt, American eel, brown bullhead, white sucker,
longnose sucker, fallfish, creek chub, common shiner, blacknose dace, golden
shiner, three spined stickleback, nine spined stickleback, banded killifish,
slimy sculpin. * = non-native fish species.
Water plants native to lake include pipewort, bur reed, water lobelia,
spikerush, pondweeds, water celery, coontail.
About one in five Maine residents live within 25 miles of Sebago Lake.
At least 54 Native American archaeological sites are known around the
shores of Sebago Lake.